Make Your Mark Wrap-up
M-Audio, Digidesign, Avid and Softimage team up for Microsoft-sponsored four-city tour
On October 3, the excitement in Boston was palpable. As thousands of fans watched the Red Sox take the first game of the American League playoffs, aspiring musicians and filmmakers eagerly checked out the starting lineup of the Make Your Mark tour.

The roster boasted top names in video, music, and 3D production, providing a rare opportunity for up-and-comers to connect with established professionals and gain valuable insights into launching or furthering their own careers. Guests also experienced the most advanced digital content production tools on the PC platform, and explored ways to express their creativity through Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, and Softimage technology.

After the Boston University event, the Microsoft-sponsored tour landed in New York at the Millennium Broadway Hotel, then proceeded to the Los Angeles Film School before concluding at San Francisco State University’s downtown campus. Each event featured premier local talent, plus members of the Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, and Softimage teams. Many guests took advantage of the diverse offerings, attending breakout meetings presented by companies previously unknown to them. Two composers even connected with filmmakers at the event and arranged for their music to be placed in upcoming films.

Avid executives Nancy Hawthorne (interim CEO) and Greg Estes (Chief Marketing Officer) kicked off each event with a welcome address, introducing all the companies that make up the Avid family—including Digidesign, M-Audio, Softimage, Sibelius, Pinnacle, and more. Each city offered an industry roundtable titled Making It: Insider Advice on How to Stand Out and Get Noticed. The panels featured representatives from the SXSW Film Conference and Festival, Independent Film Channel, Modus FX, WHISKYTREE, Artists & Directors Cooperative, and Santa Monica College—plus renowned remixer/producer and composer Carmen Rizzo and music industry consultant Tim Sweeney. The discussions delivered practical advice on career-building, fostering relationships, keeping up with technology, fueling passion, being original, and persevering to the end. At the conclusion of each roundtable, guests attended their choice of focused breakout sessions.


Avid

In Boston and San Francisco, extreme sports filmmaker Dan Moses explained how passion and persistence were key to making his dreams reality. He asked to shadow respected TV and film production pros—and soon the industry took notice of his tireless attitude and willingness to tackle challenging projects. This put Moses on the fast track: He moved quickly from one professional gig to the next. In addition to having the right attitude, Moses explained how cutting-edge HD workflows—including Avid Media Composer software editing system—would greatly benefit tomorrow’s filmmakers.

At the New York stop, Shelley Westerman (additional editor on Robert Pulcini’s Nanny Diaries) talked about her long journey to carve out a career in the cutting room. Her key advice—never turn down any job, and approach all work with a positive attitude—was supported by years of personal experience. After working at the Fed for eleven years, her first industry jobs included menial PA work and assistant positions on Velvet Goldmine and You’ve Got Mail. She persevered, making key connections and continually moving upward. Westerman also provided helpful advice on using the Governor’s List and IMDB to find crew opportunities. She discussed the importance of learning both Avid and Final Cut Pro, but emphasized she could only hire someone with Avid experience.

In Los Angeles, editor/producer/director Karl Kimbrough (Alter Ego Films) delivered a high-energy presentation on the five things he wished he had learned in film school: First of all, persevere. Second, pick a path—either take a job in the business to get experience, or focus on long-term goals while working outside the industry. Third, take any job to get in the door, but move laterally to specialize in an area. Fourth, be sure to understand business—taxes, contracts, and estimates—and run yourself as a company. And last, build and maintain relationships with everyone you meet, from filmmakers to lawyers and advertisers. Kimbaugh played a variety of film and commercial clips to illustrate his personal journey.


Digidesign

The Rondo Brothers—the nom de guerre for the musical team of Jim Greer and Brandon Arnovick—have enjoyed a varied career as recording artists, record producers, session musicians, and film/commercial composers. On the Make Your Mark tour, they hosted two interactive workshops demonstrating how they use Pro Tools to compose, record, and remix music.

Facing a group of Pro Tools neophytes in Boston, the Rondo Brothers wowed the crowd with a demo that emphasized the ease of using both traditional and virtual instruments. They created beats on the fly using the Strike virtual drummer and demonstrated Pro Tools’ powerful MIDI functionality with the Hybrid high definition synthesizer—two plug-ins created by Digidesign’s A.I.R. group. A volunteer from the audience improvised a fantastic bass part, and the Rondo Brothers added his performance to the song.

After a short break, Greer and Arnovick demonstrated how to create a killer remix using Pro Tools. Their upbeat, fist-pumping song added to the sense of excitement at the event. Demos in the other cities featured the same combination of music creation and remixing, with new musicians contributing in each city. In Los Angeles, a bassist and guitarist from the audience improvised and recorded a track. In sunny San Francisco, a volunteer laid down a keyboard track. The event closed with giveaways of Digidesign’s Velvet, Strike, and Hybrid plug-ins.


M-Audio

In Boston, Grammy-nominated Carmen Rizzo held the audience captive during his Professional Remixing and Production Techniques demonstration, then happily fielded a steady stream of questions about his tools of choice: Torq DJ software and Pro Tools M-Powered production software. His Redefining the Studio presentation focused on the flexible combination of Pro Tools M-Powered and M-Audio interfaces, and was met with equal enthusiasm.

In New York, musicians packed both of Rizzo’s breakout sessions. After Rizzo talked about the mobility and versatility of M-Audio recording interfaces, a guest picked up the pocket-sized Transit and asked, “So you’re telling me that all I need is this little thing here, and I can use Pro Tools?” “And headphones,” Rizzo replied with a laugh. During his remixing session, Rizzo ReWired Torq into Pro Tools M-Powered and demonstrated how you can take a loop (or vocal part) and instantly tempo-sync it with Pro Tools M-Powered for instant remixes. The attendees left the clinic feeling inspired to check out this dynamic technology combo for themselves.


Softimage

In Boston, Marc Bourbonnais—president of the Modus FX digital production studio—represented the visual effects industry in the first panel event. In the Softimage breakout session, Todd Akita of the PSYOP advertising/animation agency shared his experience working on award-winning spots for some of the world’s biggest brands (Mercedes, Infiniti, MTV, Nike, Coca-Cola, and more), and provided advice on building a successful career using XSI 3D software.

In the New York panel discussion, Chris Johnson from Topix, a Toronto-based post and animation boutique, shared how he leveraged his knowledge of 3D into a career creating visuals for major television advertisements. In the breakout session, Softimage guest presenter Youngwoong Jang related a moving story of how he used SOFTIMAGE|XSI software to illustrate his journey to America from Korea. Instead of letting his loneliness consume him, he channeled his emotions into creative expression through XSI 3D software—and went on to win the 2007 Student Academy Award for best short animation.

In San Francisco, Softimage guest presenter Jonathan Harb (CEO and Creative Director, WHISKYTREE creative services agency) told the panel how he networked in the industry to land a job at Industrial Light & Magic, then eventually went on to start his own business. In the breakout session, Harb provided inspiration and practical advice to the group of aspiring filmmakers and students. Many attendees had never considered how 3D could elevate their filmmaking, but left understanding how Softimage XSI 3D software is a great way to bring their creative visions to life.

The L.A. event drew a savvy audience of students from the Los Angeles Film School. In the panel discussion, John Norris of Artists and Directors Cooperative provided advice on breaking into the industry. Guest presenters Raffael Dickreuter (XSIbase.com XSI community site) and 3D application engineer Peter De Lappe discussed how to use XSI software to pre-visualize locations, or even replace shooting in distant or fantasy locales. Many of today’s films are pre-visualized in 3D so convincingly that the pre-viz data is used to track camera positions and show the actors where to stand. By examining films like 300, attendees learned that they could shoot their actors on green screen and add realistic environments to forego expensive on-location costs.