Avid Everywhere Prepares Tomorrow’s Filmmakers For Success at The Savannah Film Festival

BURLINGTON, MA, 2015/11/04

Avid hosts panel and master class featuring award-winning industry professionals Dan Lebental and Steven Ticknor to help nurture the next generation of creative talent

Avid® (Nasdaq: AVID) announced today its support of this year’s prestigious Savannah Film Festival, organized by the Savannah College of Arts & Design (SCAD). To help prepare the next generation of creative professionals to thrive in today’s challenging media environment, Avid sponsored this year’s festival, and hosted a panel and master class featuring film editor Dan Lebental (Ant-Man, Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man, Iron Man 2), and supervising sound editor Steven Ticknor (Total Recall, The Lincoln Lawyer, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Spider-Man).

Lebental and Ticknor gave attendees insight into how they’ve embraced Avid EverywhereTM to create some of the biggest movies using Avid Artist® Suite creative tools powered by the Avid MediaCentral™ Platform. The top 20 SCAD students received additional one-on-one time with Lebental and Ticknor as part of an editorial master class.

Lebental has been editing feature films for over 20 years, working with some of Hollywood’s top movie studios and directors. His long-time collaboration with Jon Favreau has yielded blockbusters like Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and Elf. He also has a close relationship with actor/director Vince Vaughan, cutting Couple’s Retreat, Wild West Comedy Show and The Break-Up.

Throughout his career, Lebental has continued to support and mentor students and aspiring professionals, taking pleasure in fostering a new generation of editors. “I had a great time speaking at the Savannah Film Festival and sharing my knowledge as a film editor who has spent the last 25 years glued to my Avid system while fashioning great stories,” said Lebental.

Based at Sony Pictures since 1990, Ticknor is a veteran sound supervisor, re-recording mixer and sound designer with more than 100 feature film and television credits, including Surf’s Up, Flags of our Fathers, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and Spider-Man. He serves as the re-recording FX mixer on many of the films he designs and/or supervises.

"Nothing gives me more pleasure than passing along my knowledge of working in the film industry and how it’s evolving,” said Ticknor. "I’ve been in design and mixing for the past 26 years with Sony. When I entered the business, no one used a computer. Today, I can confidently say that there’s one industry standard, and that’s Avid. I was fortunate to learn from some of the best people in the industry, and what makes the industry so strong is that willingness to share. I always look forward to inspiring young minds and passing along a few stories.”  

“Today’s film students face a very challenging and competitive environment when they transition into real-world careers,” said Kyle Kim-Hays, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Avid. “By working closely with educational institutions like SCAD to give students access to industry-standard tools, advanced educational resources, and insight from the industry’s most successful professionals, we can help prepare tomorrow’s creative professionals for future success.”