MEWShop Welcomes Editor Karen Sim as Our Latest Artist in Residence!

MEWShop is proud to welcome editor Karen Sim as our Artist in Residence for our September/October 2017 Six Week Intensive Art of Editing Workshop.

Karen Sim is the editor of such acclaimed films as the Emmy Award-winning documentaries Juliard (American Masters, PBS) and Burden of Innocence (Frontline, PBS). Sim edited director Liz Garbus’ documentary Coma (Moxie Firecracker Films, HBO), which premiered at the Full Frame Film Festival, and Garbus’ feature documentary exploring the state of free speech in America, Shouting Fire: Stories from The Edge of Free Speech, which premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival before showing on HBO. Sim has worked with filmmakers as diverse as D.A. Pennebaker, Ofra Bikel, and Maro Chermayeff. 

Her other work include the acclaimed Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper, Back on Board: Greg Louganis, and Watchers of the Sky.

For more information on our Six Week Intensive or for registration information please go to our Filmmakers Intensive Course.

"Show Me A Hero" Editor Jo Francis, ACE Joins our June/ July 2017 Six Week Intensive Workshop

MEWShop is proud to welcome editor Jo Francis, ACE as our Artist in Residence for our June/July 2017 Six Week Intensive Art of Editing Workshop.

Jo Francis has long career as both a feature film and television editor.  Her longstanding relationship with director Paul Haggis started with the television show The Black Donnellys, and has continued on with the feature films The Next Three Days, In the Valley of Elah, Third Person, and the television show Crash.  They also collaborated on HBO's acclaimed mini-series Show Me Hero starring Oscar Issac.  Her other work includes Netflix's Daredevil, Starz's Power and Counterpart, and TNT's Animal Kingdom. 

For more information on our Six Week Intensive.

Oscar-Nominated Editor Dylan Tichenor, ACE Headlines One Day Post Production Summit

Sight, Sound & Story’s Fifth Annual Event Sells Out For Second Year in a Row

New York, New York –July 6, 2017 - On June 10, 2017, Sight, Sound and Story celebrated their fifth annual Post Production Summit at the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway.  Over 300 filmmakers, editors and post-production professionals gathered for a front row seat to a full day of panels focused on the art of post-production. This year’s panels included “Anatomy of a Scene: Deconstructing Documentary Films,” “Cinematic 360/VR Panel: 360 Degrees of Storytelling,” “TV is the New Black: Television's Cinematic Revolution” and “Inside the Cutting room with Bobbie O’Steen;” for an in-depth discussion with acclaimed film editor Dylan Tichenor, ACE.  The day-long summit was followed by a two-hour networking party sponsored by American Cinema Editors (ACE.)

Manhattan Edit Workshop President Jason Banke said, “Sight, Sound and Story is a unique opportunity to bring people together, learn from some of the best in the industry and build community.  Each year we are blown away by the panel discussions and we’re fortunate that companies such as OWC, Vimeo, Blackmagic Design, Boris FX, EditStock, American Cinema Editors and Padcaster make events like this possible for the industry.”  Banke added, “We look forward to presenting this event for years to come and returning this December with our annual evening devoted to the art of cinematography.”

 "I've been an editor for over 20 years and this was my first “Sight, Sound and Story” event. Great networking and excellent speakers that were informative, inspiring and entertaining." - Mike Trentacosti, Editor

Panel Highlights

During the Anatomy of a Scene: Deconstructing Documentary Films  panel, Editor Amy Foote (The Work, Mavis!, A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt) explained some of her editing techniques and how she often begins her documentary edits with a verite scene and no VO to pull the audience in. When initially watching the footage, Maya Mumma, ACE (O.J.: Made in America, Restrepo) remembers the moments that ‘hit her in the gut’ and holds onto them because “they will hit the audience” too. Seasoned editor Sam Pollard (Four Little Girls, When The Levees Broke) also mentioned that editors sit with footage for so long that they can feel ownership of it and sometimes have to “step back and see another view.”  Mumma added that when editing documentaries she looks for how the smaller stories can connect to reveal the bigger story.

The second panel, Cinematic 360/VR Panel: 360 Degrees of Storytelling, began with a discussion about what VR and 360 degree video actually means. Senior Editor at The New York Times Graham Roberts said that VR is a “brand new medium. It's just getting out of the gate."  When Julina Tatlockstarted in VR, she explained that it was difficult figuring out what the VR production rules were and which ones they could break. The story focus is vital in VR especially in emotional breaks within the story and knowing where to look.

The TV is the New Black: Television's Cinematic Revolution panel kicked off with a pre-recorded introduction from long time collaborator and actor Sarah Jessica Parker, introducing moderator Michael Berenbaum, ACE (Sex and the City, The Americans, Divorce).  As the conversations began, it became clear that Kabir Akhtar, ACE (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Arrested Development, New Girl) and Julius Ramsay (The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica, Outcast) had known each other from very early on in their careers.  They spoke of their editing war stories as they climbed the ladder in the industry and encouraged the audience to seek out people doing the kind of work you want to do.  Suzy Elmiger, ACE (Mozart in the Jungle, Master of None, Casual) spoke of her longtime feature film editing career and how she has found diving into the online and television programing to be invigorating.   She mentioned that a film can get bogged down, but in TV you have no choice but to keep moving.

Watch: Editor Kabir Akhtar, ACE on Crafting a Musical Number in “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”

Editor Kabir Akhtar, ACE on crafting a musical number in "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." Recorded at "Sight, Sound & Story" on June 10, 2017. Kabir Akhtar, ACE, is an Emmy-winning director/editor whose work includes The Academy Awards, "Arrested Development," "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," "New Girl," "Speechless," and "Unsolved Mysteries."

  Read more highlights from the event from postPerspective: postPerspective Sight Sound & Story 2017

This year’s headline panel, Inside the Cutting Room with Bobbie O'Steen, featuring Dylan Tichenor, ACE (There Will Be Blood, Brokeback Mountain, Boogie Nights, The Town) went into an in-depth discussion on how Tichenor cuts particular scenes, the challenges he’s faced and his path through the industry.  Tichenor said he got early breaks mostly by showing passion and saying “yes to doing things.”  Speaking on technique, he mentioned that when a scene feels rhythmic or is cut to the music; breaking that rhythm is what keeps the audience’s attention.  In editing the opening sequence of Magnolia, Tichenor found challenges establishing character introductions, their connections, rhythm and theme.  Tichenor says that as an artist, if you aren’t feeling self doubt, you’re not on the edge enough.

“This was one of the best events I’ve ever covered.” - Justin Morrow - Writer, No Film School

Watch: Editor Dylan Tichenor, ACE on Shaping a Quiet Scene in “There Will Be Blood”

Editor Dylan Tichenor, ACE on shaping a quiet scene in "There Will Be Blood." From "Inside the Cutting Room with Bobbie O'Steen" panel from Sight, Sound & Story on June 10th, 2017. Dylan Tichenor, ACE, began working on films as an assistant to Geraldine Peroni (an American film editor) in the 1990's.

Read more about our feature panel from No Film School:  Full Feature Panel Write-up From No Film School

About "Sight, Sound & Story" Speaker Series

Produced by Manhattan Edit Workshop, Sight, Sound & Story is an ongoing high-profile speaker series that brings audiences "behind the scenes" with legends of visual storytelling.  This year’s Award-winning guests included Garret Savage (My Perestroika, Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship), Amy Foote (The Work, Mavis!, A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt), Maya Mumma, ACE (O.J.: Made in America, Restrepo), Sam Pollard (Four Little Girls, When The Levees Broke), Ross Shain, Chief Marketing Officer at Boris FX & Imagineer Systems, Ulrike Futschik, PhD (Chief Operating Officer at Koncept VR), Graham Roberts  (Senior Editor at The New York Times), Julina Tatlock (Co-founder 30 Ninjas), Michael Berenbaum, ACE (The Americans, Sex and the City, Marco Polo), Kabir Akhtar, ACE (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Arrested Development, New Girl), Suzy Elmiger, ACE (Mozart in the Jungle, Master of None, Casual), Julius Ramsay (The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica, Outcast), Bobbie O'Steen ("Cut to the Chase," "The Invisible Cut") and Dylan Tichenor, ACE (There Will Be Blood, Brokeback Mountain, Boogie Nights, The Town).

To see video clips on our YouTube click here: http://bit.ly/28YAWFi

Press Contact
Jason Banke
Manhattan Edit Workshop
President
Jason@mewshop.com
(p) 212-414-9570

ICA DaVinci Resolve Workshops Return to MEWShop!

Manhattan Edit Workhsop has just announced new dates for our DaVinci Resolve workshops, which will be taught by Warren Eagles, professional color grader and co-founder of the International Colorist Academy (ICA). Touted as the color grading system of choice for many of Hollywood’s blockbuster production studios, DaVinci Resolve 14 was announced at NAB this year to much excitement over its expanded set of editing features among many other upgrades.

ICA 101: An Introduction to Colorist Strategies with DaVinci Resolve

A great introduction to Resolve 14 software, this class is ideal for first time users with little to no Resolve or colorist experience. This class mixes the operational side of Resolve with some practical real world training on workflows, basic color theory, grading approaches and techniques. Among many other topics, students will learn:

• A complete demo of the system, looking at every area of the new software and how it works with the control surface

• Basic color theory, looking at the waveform, vectorscope and histogram as well as how different colors interact with increased saturation/contrast; why some colors complement each other more than others

• Using the pan, tilt, zoom and rotate controls to explore how far you can zoom in on a film or digital image; Keyframing in the timeline and auto tracking

• Resolve workflows including Film, Red, Canon, Arri Alexa, Sony F3 and other digital files

• How to create looks and styles within Resolve to get a project started, including orange and teal, cross process, bleach bypass, Schindler’s red coat, duotones and day for night

Monday, July 29 – Wednesday, August 1, from 10am – 5pm

Cost: $1,495

Click here for more information.

ICA 201: Advanced Colorist Strategies with DaVinci Resolve

This two-day class is designed around a small conformed sequence that you can take away. We will work through the project from start to finish not only looking at Resolve, but also using general colorist strategies. You will be able to keep the project and stills, a great way to continue your learning.

What You Will Learn in ICA 201:

• Start with dailies. Grade a look for editing from the RAW camera files
• Making a LUT, exporting LUTs and Looks
• Render ProRes or DNxHD for offline editing, H264 for the web
• Export and XML/AAF from FCP/Premiere. How to roundtrip successfully
• Conform the ProRes in Resolve using the XML, it’s not correct what can we do?
• V12 editing page explained
• Bring in audio .wav then compare the conform with the offline reference movie
• Swap to the RAW camera files
• “Conform v Bake”, what are the pros and cons of each workflow?
• Where do we start the grade?
• Primary grading. 3 way color corrector, Curves and LOG grading
• Look creation. How to preview a look through the whole timeline using the split screen mode
• Plugin FXs, is this for the Colorist?
• Advanced secondary grading, keying, window tracking and animating
• VFX shots inserted into the timeline
• Physically add grain and scratches from supplied ICA media
• Fix audio and Optical flow issues
• Using the new RGB node 
• External mattes, how do they help us?
• Finish Render out to 709/DCP

Thursday, August 3 – Friday, August 4, from 10am – 5pm

Cost: $1,095

Click here for more information. 

Sight, Sound & Story - The Post Production Event of the Year; Celebrates 5th Year Anniversary, NYC, June 10th

Oscar-nominated Dylan Tichenor, ACE, heads this year’s lineup of celebrated editors, VR industry leaders and more. Tickets available now.

New York, New York - Manhattan Edit Workshop (MEWShop), the cutting-edge authorized digital training hub for post-production and content creators, announces their all-star list of guest speakers and panelists for “Sight, Sound & Story” 2017. The annual one-day event is held this year on June 10, 2017 at the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway, just footsteps from Columbus Circle and Lincoln Center. “Sight, Sound and Story” is a high-profile speaker series that brings audiences behind the scenes and face to face with the legends of visual story telling.

MEWShop President, Jason Banke comments, “Each year we strive to bring the best talent from Post Production directly to our live audiences at “Sight, Sound and Story”. The event showcases a unique opportunity to learn directly from our industry’s leaders and experience the passion that goes into filmmaking, documentary editing, directing for TV, creating virtual reality experiences and more. Last year’s sold-out event was a huge success and we look forward to producing this exceptional experience for many years to come.”

Panel Topics This Year include; “Television's Cinematic Revolution,” “Deconstructing Documentary Films”, Cinematic 360/VR, and "Inside the Cutting Room with Bobbie O’Steen" featuring Dylan Tichenor, ACE (There Will Be Blood, Brokeback Mountain, Boogie Nights, The Town.)

This special one-day symposium features the some of the best in the business:

•     Dylan Tichenor, ACE ("There Will Be Blood," "Brokeback Mountain," "Boogie Nights," 'The Town")
•     Suzy Elmiger, ACE ("Mozart in the Jungle," "Master of None," "Casual")
•     Kabir Akhtar, ACE ("Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," "Arrested Development," "New Girl)
•     Maya Mumma, ACE ("O.J.: Made in America," "Restrepo")
•     Julius Ramsay ("The Walking Dead," "Battlestar Galactica," "Outcast")
•     Bobbie O'Steen, ("Cut to the Chase," "The Invisible Cut")
•     Michael Berenbaum, ACE ("The Americans," "Sex and the City")
•     Julina Tatlock (Co-founder 30 Ninjas)
•     Amy Foote ("The Work," "Mavis!," "A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt")
•     Sam Pollard ("Four Little Girls," "When The Levees Broke")
•     Garret Savage ("My Perestroika," Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship)
•     Graham Roberts (Senior Editor at The New York Times)
•     Joergen Geerds (CEO and Creative Director at Koncept VR)
•     Ross Shain, Chief Marketing Officer at Boris FX & Imagineer Systems

For more information about panel topics, speakers and moderators, please click here.

Josh Apter, owner of Manhattan Edit Workshop states "Our mission is to entertain, educate and provide our audience with unprecedented access and insight from some of today’s greatest story tellers."

Past Award Winning Guests have included; Anne V. Coates, ACE ("Lawrence of Arabia," "The Elephant Man"), Michael Kahn, ACE ("Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Lincoln"), William Goldenberg, ACE ("Argo," "The Imitation Game," "Zero Dark Thirty"), Alan Heim, ACE ("All That Jazz," "Network"), Sidney Wolinsky, ACE ("The Sopranos," "The Strain," "Ray Donovan"), Cindy Mollo, ACE ("House of Cards," "Mad Men"), Rob Legato ("Avatar," "Hugo"), Susan Morse, ACE ("Manhattan," "Hannah and Her Sisters") and more!

View clips from last years Sight, Sound and Story here.

Registration for June 10, 2017:

Make sure to secure your ticket before they sell out! Following the event is a networking/tech party sponsored by the American Cinema Editors (ACE) including hors d’oeuvres, drinks and giveaways. Event admission is $89.00 including access to the after-party, with discounts available at select partner organizations. To register, please click here.

Tickets also include a special attendee giveaway from Boris FX & Imagineer Systems! 
MEWShop has partnered with Boris FX/Imagineer to giveaway a free, 3-month subscription license to professional visual effects tools. Choose between: Mocha VR, Boris Continuum and Sapphire.

Manhattan Edit Workshop – Certified Training in NYC
Founded in 2002 and headquartered in the Flatiron District of New York City, Manhattan Edit Workshop provides cutting-edge instruction in Apple®, Adobe®, Avid®, Autodesk®, Smoke® platforms and more. MEWShop’s highly skilled and certified faculty instructs results-oriented curriculum in small workshop settings that have quickly won MEWShop the reputation as ‘New York’s premier post-production teaching facility’.

MEWShop also offers a signature Six-Week Intensive program to jump-start aspiring post-production creatives, as well as weekend and one-week courses in Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, Pro Tools, digital production courses and more.

Corporate, group training and customized curriculum are available either in-house or on-site for professionals to further new skills.

"Manhattan" Editor Susan E. Morse, ACE Joins our May 2017 Six Week Intensive Workshop

MEWShop is proud to welcome Oscar nominated editor Susan E. Morse, ACE, as our Artist in Residence for our Six Week Intensive Art of Editing Workshop that starts May 1, 2017.   To find out more information about our Six Week Intensive program or to register, please click here.

About Susan E. Morse, ACE:  Susan is best known for her more than twenty year collaboration with writer/director Woody Allen, beginning as an assistant film editor on his 1977 film Annie Hall, uncredited co-editor on Interiors, and her first solo editing credit on Manhattan, for which she received her first British Academy Award Nomination for Best Film Editing. In addition to her prolific collaboration with Allen, Morse has edited films for directors Steve Gordon, Jim Kouf, Lee Davis, Marc Lawrence, Chazz Palmintieri and, more recently, first-time director Massy Tadjedin, as well as serving stints as an associate film editor on Walter Hill’s The Warriors (with a team of editors headed by David Holden), and briefly on Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull (with longtime friend and three time Oscar- winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker.)  The 32 feature films Morse has edited have earned worldwide critical acclaim, including a total of 41 Oscar nomina- tions and 7 Oscars. In addition, two of the films she has edited with first- time writer/directors–Arthur (with Steve Gordon in 1981) and Two Weeks Notice (with Marc Lawrence in 2002)– were major successes at the box office.

Morse has been interviewed for numerous books on the craft of editing including The Business of Show Business by Judith A. Katz, Selected Takes by Vinnie LoBrutto, and Reel Women by Ally Acker, as well as Microsoft’s Cinemania ’97. She has also been a guest of Richard Brown’s New School adult education class, the National Film Board of Canada in Montreal, the Filmwerkstatt in Essen, Germany, and film festivals in Seattle, Washington and Washington, D.C. among other venues.

But it is for her contributions to pacing, structure, clarity, character develop- ment and comic timing that Morse is most sought after as a film editor. For her many successes in that regard, she has five times been voted British Academy Award nominations by her peers—for Manhattan, Zelig, Radio Days, Crimes and Misdemeanors and Hannah and Her Sisters. In addition, the members of the Academy voted her an Oscar nomination for Hannah and Her Sisters, she is listed in Who’s Who in the World and she was honored with a Muse Award by New York Women in Film and Television in 2005.

Susan Morse, ACE talks about "Annie Hall." From the panel "Inside the Cutting Room with Bobbie O'Steen," at "Sight, Sound & Story" on June 8th, 2013. Susan E. Morse (born 1952) is an American film editor with more than 30 film credits. She had a notable collaboration with director Woody Allen from 1977 to 1998.

Editor Susan Morse, ACE talks with moderator Bobbie O'Steen about the difficulty with beginnings, using a scene from "Manhattan." From the panel "Inside the Cutting Room with Bobbie O'Steen," at "Sight, Sound & Story" on June 8th, 2013. For more information go to: www.SightSoundandStory.com. Susan E.

Susan E. Morse ACE, known as "Sandy," graduated Yale with a degree in History before going to Film School at NYU. She never graduated film school, though, because she took an internship that turned into a job and she never looked back. Early in her career she was an Assistant Editor, working on "Annie Hall" and Interiors.

Editor Susan Morse, ACE recounts a story that foreshadows her brilliant contributions to the world of filmmaking, during the Legends of the 70's panel from "Inside the Cutting Room with Bobbie O'Steen," at "Sight, Sound & Story" on June 8th, 2013. This event was produced by Manhattan Edit Workshop.

An Interview with "E.T." editor Carol Littleton, ACE

Carol Littleton's body of work as an editor spans several decades and genres, from the 1970s to the present. She's perhaps best known for her collaborations with Steven Spielberg and Lawrence Kasdan, on films including E.T., The Big Chill, and The Manchurian Candidate, and was nominated for an Academy Award for her work on E.T.  MEWShop's Director of Education Janet Dalton, talked to her about her early career and how studying literature made her a stronger editor.

Read more.

"Frontline" Editor Steve Audette, ACE Joins our March 2017 Six Week Intensive Workshop!

MEWShop is proud to welcome acclaimed documentary editor Steve Audette, ACE as our Artist in Residence for our Six Week Intensive Art of Editing Workshop that starts March 6, 2017.   To find out more information about our Six Week Intensive program or to register, please click here.

About Steve Audette, ACE: Steve has been making documentaries for over 20 years. With more than 50 film credits, his work has contributed to many Emmy Award-winning documentaries, as well as Peabody, Polk and DuPont Columbia Award-winning programs. In 2008 Steve was nominated for an Eddie Award from American Cinema Editors, in the category of Best Documentary Editor for the Frontline documentary “Bush’s War.” The film also went on to win a News and Documentary Emmy that year. In 2015 the Frontline documentary Steve edited “United States of Secrets” won overall Best Documentary at the News and Documentary Emmy’s.

Steve is currently Senior Documentary Editor for Frontline/PBS and was accepted as a member of American Cinema Editors in 2016. This year Steve has cut three Frontline’s “Netanyahu at War” (120 min), “The Secret History if ISIS” (60 min) and “The Choice” (120 min). He is currently editing four hours for January 2017 called “Divided States of America.”

In 2010 Steve expanded his production credits beyond editor to include producer, writer and director. The film short, “Nico’s Challenge,” made with his partner Karen Audette, was the first documentary out of Audette’s company, Mezzotint Films LLC. The documentary has garnered wide acclaim in both national and international film festivals. Including an accreditation at the Cannes film festival, American Pavilion. Mezzotint films second short film “The Nike Chariot Earring” Also screened at Cannes, and is currently in the film festival circuit. A third short film is in production with more in the works.

Click here to read more about Steve's work take a look at "Art of the Cut with Steve Audette of Frontline" by Steven Hullfish.

"Logan" Editor Mike McCusker, ACE joins MEWShop's January Six Week Intensive Program! Class starts January 9th!

MEWShop is proud to welcome Oscar nominated film editor Mike McCusker, ACE as our Artist in Residence for our Six Week Intensive Art of Editing Workshop that starts January 9, 2017.

Mike's first feature film in the editor’s chair resulted in an Oscar nomination for Best Achievement in Film Editing: Walk the Line.  Walk the Line won the ACE Eddie that year for Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical. Since then he has edited 3:10 to Yuma, Australia, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Wolverine, 13 Hours, The Girl on the Train, and the soon to be released Wolverine sequel Logan. 

For more information on our Six Week Intensive or for registration information please go to http://mewshop.com/six_week_workshop/overview/