LEARN FROM THE PROS
Video Symphony instructors are amazingly diverse. Many of our TV & Film Editing Program instructors have 20 plus years experience in the industry as film and television editors. Their experience ranges from promos, trailers, news magazine and entertainment shows (60-Minutes, E! Entertainment) and documentaries (National Geographic, History Channel, PBS), to Emmy and Oscar award winning dramatic television shows and feature films. All are experienced curriculum designers and educators, as well as editors. Several are accomplished authors on editing.
Most of our TV & Film Editing Program instructors are Avid, Apple, or Adobe certified, and have been tested through years of editing in the field. Many of our instructors are also affiliated with professional organizations such as the Motion Picture Editor's Guild (MPEG), National Alliance of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET), and American Cinema Editors (ACE).
With all their diversity, there are three things all of our instructors have in common: a passion for editing, students and teaching. Our instructors teach because they are passionate about giving back and helping students realize their dreams of working in TV & Film as an editor. They teach because they want to and because they can!
Instructor Bios
Larry Jordan is an internationally-renowned consultant and Apple-Certified trainer in digital media with over 25 years experience as a television producer, director and editor with national broadcast and corporate credits. His informative and entertaining teaching style provides video editors around the world with unique techniques, methods and resources to increase productivity and enhance their skills. He is a member of both the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America, as well as Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Edit Well, the rich-media newsletter for Final Cut Studio, published by Peachpit Press. He is the author of hundreds of hours of online training, published by Lynda.com and two books on Final Cut Pro, published by Peachpit Press. Jordan is also executive producer and host of three talk radio shows including the weekly industry-leading digital media podcast Creative Planet's Digital Production BuZZ; Video Production Radio, a monthly audio podcast syndicated by wsRadio; and Digital Production BuZZ, a weekly video podcast syndicated by GIMP.tv.
Tamera Martin has been a documentary producer and Avid editor/instructor for over 10 years, editing/co-producing feature-length documentaries for PBS, Turner and Discovery and over 50 shortform/commercial programs for Fortune 100 clients and studios. She dedicates half of her professional hours to instruction and consulting, a commitment that extends to include the entire portfolio of Avid editing courses as well as a small slate of instructional models designed to simulate the daily trials and pitfalls of feature/documentary editing. As a Senior Instructor specializing in Advanced Effects and Avid Symphony finishing,Tamera brings a wealth of real world problem-solving experience, story telling/aesthetics and technical mastery together for the benefit of her students and clients. Tamera recently co-produced and edited a Gates Foundation documentary, The Day My God Died, narrated by Tim Robbins and Winona Ryder with music by David Robbins and Bono. Without Lying Down: The Frances Marion Story, Tamera's 2000 centerpiece documentary for Turner Classic Movies, was nominated by the WGA and DGA.by GIMP.tv.
Pietro Cecchini has been teaching Avid classes at Video Symphony for more than five years, even though, in his "other life", he edits for major studios. Most recently: the epic mini-series, Empire, for Touchstone and ABC. His long list of credits includes China Strike Force, Running Mates, and classics such as Great Expectations and Sense and Sensibility. Cecchini, originally from Milan, Italy, says he teaches because he likes to share his knowledge and develop close connection with students. "I've always been involved in training. Everything I teach is based on real-life experience."
Otto Ferrene is currently a Picture Editor for Nickelodeon Animation Studio acting as off-line/on-line editor for numerous Animation series, ("The Fairly Odd Parents", "Danny Phantom", and "TAK and the Power of Juju"), for the past seven years.
Mark Fletcher has been involved in post production as an assistant editor, online editor, graphic artist, technical advisor, and post production supervisor for over seven years.
Kurt Mason is a certified Avid Instructor and Avid Certified User, Kurt has been an Instructor at Video Symphony, as well as an editor, post production supervisor and assistant editor for companies such as Disney, Kandoo Films, ABC, Mantra, and Ceilings Entertainment, just to mention a few. Kurt has thrived as a Producer/Editor (Preditor) on various projects with a forte for rock-u-mentaries, promos, narratives, and music video.
Paul Petschek is an internationally known editor, specializing in feature films and documentaries and with substantial experience in editing TV series, TV pilots, music videos, trailers, and commercials. He's had the pleasure of working as an editor on films like Waterworld, Flipper, Another Day in Paradise, and A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American Movies. Petschek's editing project Most (The Bridge), was nominated in 2004 by the Motion Picture Academy for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film. As a film editor, Paul enjoys being a key participant in "the final draft of the script", when every nuance and eye-glance counts. Initially trained in Visual Arts at Harvard College, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude, he has also studied acting (Lee Strasberg, Playhouse West, Second City), music (jazz with John Mehegan), and writing (Harvard, John Truby, others). He has had his photographic sequences exhibited at The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Paul is an Avid-Certified Instructor and a member of The Motion Picture Editors Guild and The Directors Guild of America.
Jason Rose is an Apple Certified Final Cut Pro Instructor, as well as, an Avid Certified Instructor with a Bachelor of Science degree in TV-Film from Texas Christian University. He has over 15 years of film and video production experience that ranges from independent film to corporate training videos.
Mike Sale alternates between feature films, TV editing, and training. He has been an assistant film editor and editor of television & documentaries for more than a decade. Sale's list of television credits includes seasons as editor of the popular TV series Judging Amy, History Channel documentaries (Underground Railroad, Hell's Angels, Unknown Marx Brothers), and the Fox TV pilot, Scariest Place on Earth. His feature film editing credits include Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps, Undercover Brother, Naked Gun 33-1/3, Tommy Boy, My Fellow American, and Wild Things plus DVD bonus material for Dick & Jane. Mike is also an Avid Certified Instructor.
Toi Juan Shannon is an Avid Certified Instructor and has been a valued member of Video Symphony's staff for nearly 12 years. His editing experience spans editing several features, commercials and promotional spots, to 11 documentaries for a series entitled "The Saints". Shannon's latest feature edited was the award winning "I Am Somebody". He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business.
Tracy Smith has worked in the entertainment industry for 20 years as a Producer, Director, Director of Photography and Editor. Tracy now works as an online HD editor, effects editor, and colorist working with both film originated material and digital formats. Tracy's current passion and career goals is in the field of 3D Stereoscopic editing, color grading, and finishing. Tracy has been an Avid editor since 1994 and his experience includes network television shows, commercials, music videos and independent films. Tracy Smith is an Avid Certified Instructor and has been an Avid Certified Support Representative. Tracy has trained clients nationwide, such as Warner Bros., Nickelodeon Studios, Fox, Universal Studios and NBC.
Misha Tennebaum is a film and television editor, a certified Advanced Final Cut Pro Instructor, and an Avid Certified User (ACU). His editing includes the comedy film Immigration Tango, Best Picture Winner at the Boston International Film Festival, and the popular Speed Channel TV show, Super Cars Exposed.
In addition to editing, he also trains employees at Technicolor, Comcast, and countless other independent professional editors. Tennebaum graduated Georgia College & State University with a degree in broadcast journalist.
Noah Wise is an Avid Certified Instructor and Avid Certified Support Representative working in both television and film. His credits include prime time shows for ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, MTV and HBO and features for Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount, MTV Pictures and Sony. Currently working with ABC Network News as a technical manager on World News Tonight with Charles Gibson and Good Morning America, Noah is continually evolving his classes to reflect up to date changes in technology and methodology.
The depth of experience that our Graphics Animation & Effects instructors bring to the classroom is what makes Video Symphony the leader in motion graphics training. Our instructors are industry professionals with years of experience working in the film and television industry for companies such as Bravo, Disney, Paramount, Lion's Gate, The History Channel, NBC, and Universal - to name a few. They not only bring their experiences from working at these companies, but contacts and job opportunities for promising graduates as well. In fact, several of our graduates have gotten jobs through connections they made in the classroom. Our students greatly benefit from the aesthetic insights and technical know-how that our instructors share with their classes.
What may take a motion graphics artist years to learn on his or her own working their way up the ladder, making mistakes, and developing their technical skills in After Effects, Cinema 4D, Photoshop, and other essential programs, our instructors impart to our students in class, during lab time, and through one-on-one mentoring.
Our instructors provide invaluable advice, guidance, and inside tips on all essential aspect of film and television motion graphics from aesthetics, to typography design, layout and composition, storyboarding, graphics design, compositing and rotoscoping, media delivery, to how to communicate with clients.We invite you to look over our instructor's biographies and credits and consider how learning from such accomplished professionals could benefit your career.
BEN BARDENS has been teaching digital art and animation in the LA area since 1999, and has been working in the digital arts since 1996. He specializes in designing graphics and animation using Adobe After Effects, Photoshop and Illustrator software. Ben has worked in animation as a compositor, editor, animator, ink and paint artist, and technical director. Currently, he runs his own freelance graphics and animation studio, Bark Animation, providing custom graphics for live events such as sports and trade shows, designing graphics for advertising, television and corporate video, and doing development work such as story reels and pitch pieces. Ben is also a contributing writer for the Motion Picture Editor's Guild magazine, writing articles and tutorials focusing on compositing and motion graphics software.
DANIELLE HEITMULLER is a multi-talented artist that brings an array of polished skills in motion graphics, animation, storyboarding and compositing to Video Symphony. Her resume includes work for the post-production company Bungalow 3, and for the Fine Living Network. "Sharing the knowledge I have acquired in my career is important to me," Heitmuller says, "because It promotes growth of the art and fosters new talent. My goal is to teach proven design principles along with techniques for using today's powerful programs to create effective digital effects."
JAMES RANKIN is the founder and artistic director of Light Space and Time Digital, a design studio providing a broad range of creative and technical services. These include motion graphics and 3D animation for corporate promotions and television commercials as well as Web-based solutions that include site design, interactive streaming media and database development for bi-coastal clients. James has been teaching at Video Symphony for five years as a Certified Adobe After Effects expert and recently, as a Boris Authorized Trainer for Boris RED 2.5. One of the strengths of his teaching techniques is sharing his 'real life' experience and humor as well as his creative talent and technical skills with his students. Entertainment companies such as Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers, Nickelodeon, Fox News, CNN and many others have written rave reviews of his classes over the years and continue to send a stream of new students.
MARK TEAGUE features experience for Walt Disney Television Animation, Paramount, Bravo Channel, and Lions Gate. At Disney, Teague was involved in animatics, character & prop design, character layout, compositing, graphic design and title design. For Bravo he did motion graphics and title design for Superheroes and Villains & Vixens. Earlier, Teague did motion graphics and animation for Lions Gate Studio, Creative Light Entertainment, Marvel Films and Universal Cartoon Studios. Teague was writer, director and producer of the independent film, Super Guy."
EVAN UNRUH has rich motion graphics experience in title graphics, visual effects, green screen supervisor, 3D animation, DVD titles, and web design. Has worked on motion graphics, visual effects and 3D projects for Lion's Gate, The History Channel, Bravo, Tri Coast Studio, Creative Light Entertainment and 1726 Entertainment in Burbank. Among his credits are Jekyell, Tamara, Superheroes, Villains & Vixens, and Drive-Thru. He brings a broad set of skills to the classroom.
Our instructors represent an entire generation of music industry experience accumulated throughout the golden era of analog, to the birth of digital and now BluRay. As industry veterans with hundreds of major film, TV, and music credits for audio production spanning over 3 decades, they have been also recognized for outstanding creative and sales achievements with gold reel, Emmy, and gold, platinum and diamond awards.
In addition all levels of Avid certification, these highly acclaimed professionals provide their own industry crafted expertise covering every aspect of sound production and audio engineering that truly defines contemporary audio production - including: recording, editing, mixing, mastering, Foley, dialog, sound design, sound effects, voice-over production, video game audio and much more.
After acquainting yourself with the credentials and experience of this extraordinary assembly of instructors, among whom is also no less a figure than Joel Krantz, who literally "wrote the books" for Avid Authorized Courses - we believe you will be impressed by both the depth and the breadth of the expertise to which our students enjoy access, and we are confident this will mean no small impact on the way in which you evaluate the quality of the audio engineering program at Video Symphony.
Kevin Church has worked in the pro audio industry in both live shows and recording studios for over 15 years. With over 25 major label albums to his credit as a 1st or 2nd engineer, he has worked on everything from The Debut Porno for Pyros album to the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Live concert experience has included Joe Walsh, and Edgar Winter tours as F.O.H. engineer, to House gigs at the Roxy, and 3rd Encore, with acts like Black Sabbath and Elton John.
Rickely Dumm teaches two of Video Symphony's exclusive sound-for-cinema courses: PT 224 Editing Sound Effects, and PT235 Editing Backgrounds. Dumm brings a wealth of industry experience to his Pro Tools classroom.He has been a sound effects editor or sound editor for more than 80 feature films since 1987. Some of his notable credits: Ladder 49 (Touchstone), The Final Cut (Lions Gate), Road to Perdition (20th Century Fox-Dreamworks), Rush Hour 2 (Spyglass-NewLine), Absence of The Good (Columbia-TriStar), Independence Day (20th Century Fox), Love Don't Cost a Thing (Alcon-Warner Bros), The Mask of Zorro (Amblin-TriStar), Rollerball (MGM), and Fatal Instinct (MGM).
Dale "D-Wiz" Everingham is a 30-year award-winning veteran of the Entertainment Industry with over 25 RIAA awards. As an engineer, mixer, producer, mixer, mastering engineer, studio owner and musician, Dale played a big part in many successful platinum artists, studios, labels and culture. Hes created works with Destiny's Child, Mazzy Star, E-40, En Vogue, Too Short, Tony! Toni! Toné!, Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Sponge Bob, Toyota, Apple, Ubisoft, CapCom, & EA to name a few.
Arthur Farkas has been a sound editor, recordist and mixer on over 200 projects during the last 20 years. His extensive credits have created a unique perspective on film and television sound that extends from garage studios to million dollar stages.
Joel Krantz is a freelance audio instructor, editor, mixer, consultant, and course writer living in the Los Angeles area. He collaborated with Avid to write and design the 101, 201, 210M, 210P, and 310P Pro Tools classes now being used at Avid Authorized Training Centers worldwide. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, he worked in New York City for six years as a product specialist and training instructor for Avid. He holds both bachelors and masters degrees in music.
Victoria Rose Sampson has been a Feature Film Sound Editor since 1973, and has written, directed and edited two award-winning short films CLICK THREE TIMES and LAST CHANCE SALOON. With over 131 film credits to her name, her recent credits include Sex and the City: The Movie, Wild Hogs, Evan Almighty, Transylmania, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Fun with Dick and Jane to name a few. She has won Golden Reel awards from the Motion Picture Sound Editors for her sound editing work on Pirates of the Caribbean, Under Siege, The River, and Romancing the Stone. Sampson is also on the board of the Alliance of Women Directors and a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild, Local 700 of the IATSE and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (where she serves on the Sound Branch Executive Committee).
Solange Schwalbe is an award-winning sound editor and Foley supervisor with 25 years of experience and more than a 115 film credits. She has worked on major productions for Warner Bros., Disney, Universal, New Line, HBO, 20th Century Fox, Sony, and many other studios. Schwalbe has been honored with 22 Golden Reel nominations and the prestigious top award in 2002 for Foley editing on Black Hawk Down. She has edited sound for four Oscar-nominated features. Schwalbe is a member of the Motion Picture Academy and the Editors Guild, as well as a recent board member of the Motion Pictures Sound Editors group. She is widely known in the industry as "Solange of Hollywood."
David Sonnenschein is a sound designer and author with both academic and practical sound design experience. In pursuit of his abiding interest in cinema sound, he has studied neurobiology, physiology, and the principles of psychoacoustics. Well-traveled as a filmmaker, Sonnenschein has been awarded the Verna Fields Trophy for Best Sound by the Motion Picture Sound Editors. Sonnenschein's book, "Sound Design - The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema", has been enthusiastically reviewed on Amazon.com. One sound-professional wrote: "It covers everything that can be heard on a soundtrack. An absolute MUST for anyone interested in sound design."
Michael Verdick is a 30-year veteran of the Entertainment Industry, with Gold, Platinum and Ampex Gold Reel awards and contributions to the sales of over 26 million records. His skills include recording engineer and mixer, mastering engineer, producer, A & R, sound director (video game), programmer, graphic design, sound design, studio owner and audio consultant. He has collaborated with artists such as worked with include John Lennon, The Eagles, Madonna, Sly Stone, Gladys Knight, Ambrosia, Ted Nugent, Joe Walsh, Bryan Adams, Quincy Jones, Larry Carlton, Juice Newton, Roger Mc Guinn, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Bryan Ferry, Al Jarreau, Poco, Bob Welch, Breakfast Club, The Jets, Bob Seger, Mister Mister, Michael McDonald, Cheech and Chong, Enrique Iglesias, Stephen Stills,
William Shatner and George Burns. His movie credits include Born On The Fourth Of July, Ali, Beverly Hills Cop II, Play It To The Bone, Spirit, The Virgin Tour, and Whos That Girl and Terminator. His television credits include Midnight Special, Rock Concert, Rock Palace, and Miami Vice.
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