Oscar-Nominated Avatar Editor to Deliver Keynote Address at IBC's First-Ever Digital Media Training
Jul 28, 2010
Future Media Concepts, New York, NY

New York, NY – July 2010 - Future Media Concepts (FMC), the premier authorized digital media training organization for post-production, broadcast, and content creators, has announced that Oscar®-nominated Avatar editor, Stephen Rivkin, will be the keynote speaker at their first-ever Digital Media Training Workshops, held from September 11th – 12th amid the world-renown International Broadcasting Convention (IBC). Rivkin’s feature editing career began in 1979 with the low budget romantic comedy The Personals. Soon thereafter, he worked on a variety of TV movies and a mixture of comedy and action films, including Robin Hood: Men in Tightsfor director Mel Brooks, four films for director Norman Jewison, including: The Hurricane starring Denzel Washington; the action-thriller Swordfish with John Travolta, Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry; and Michael Mann’s bio pic Ali, starring Will Smith. Rivkin achieved monumental success editing the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise from 2003-2007, including two Eddie Award nominations and a win. His career culminated in 2009 with BAFTA and Oscar nominations alongside James Cameron and John Refoua for his revolutionary work on Avatar, the highest-grossing motion picture of all time. Rivkin will discuss the 2½-year challenge he faced while editing Avatar, and present various clips that touch on Performance Capture, Virtual Cameras, 3D, and the stages of shot development and finishing that brought this film to life.

“From start to finish, Avatar was the biggest creative challenge I’ve ever faced - but it opened my eyes to the limitless possibilities of filmmaking. Its groundbreaking techniques continue to revolutionize the industry and the FMC Digital Media Training Workshops gives me a fantastic opportunity to share my experiences with industry peers. I look forward to demonstrating the evolution of Avatar with attendees, and am excited to be part of this world-class international event,” says Rivkin.

“As the digital media industry continues to demand attention and expertise, more and more positions require a deeper understanding and knowledge of creative tools. This is where our training workshops come into play; the new Digital Media Training workshops symposium will offer attendees a significant opportunity to master the tools of their trade,” comments Ben Kozuch, co-founder, president and Workshop Chair, FMC. “From assembling and editing multimedia news stories, to dabbling in the latest motion graphics and 3D production techniques, and perfecting DSLR camera shots, FMC’s training provides post and broadcast professionals with expert training to take their careers to the next level.”

Rivkin’s keynote address, titled: “Editing Avatar: The Creative Challenges,” will be delivered on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at the RAI, Amsterdam in the Emerald Room. It is scheduled to begin promptly at 10:30AM and conclude at 11:30AM. For additional speaker information, please visit: http://www.ibc.org/page.cfm/link=299.

IBC Digital Media Training Workshops’ Details

Working closely with IBC organizers, FMC is bringing their world-class training methodology to the industry’s preeminent broadcasting event. Held at the RAI, Amsterdam; the 2-day training event will be lead by FMC’s industry Certified Instructors, power users, authors and thought-leaders, offering advanced technical training for editors, producers and directors on today’s most popular applications from Apple®, Avid® and Adobe®. Its session tracks span a vast range of current industry topics, including the advantages of digital editing, eye-popping motion graphics and 3D production techniques, HDSLR production technology. Invaluable certification opportunities are also available for interested participants.

For more information about FMC’s Digital Media Training Workshops, including a full-schedule and registration details, please visit:http://www.ibc.org/training. To book a private press appointment with FMC at the Digital Media Training Workshops event, please contact Cara Zambri (Cara@ZazilMediaGroup.com) or Kathleen Langlois (Kathleen@ZazilMediaGroup.com).

About Future Media Concepts
In 1994, Jeff Rothberg and Ben Kozuch launched Future Media Concepts as the world's first Avid Authorized Training Center. Over the years, FMC expanded its curriculum to become the nation's premier digital media training organization, representing the leading software manufacturers, including Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Boris FX, Digidesign®, NewTek® and Softimage®. In addition, FMC is a leading producer of educational-rich conferences and expositions for the production and postproduction industries including the NAB Post| Production World Conference in Vegas. 

FMC has established state-of-the-art training centers in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Orlando, Chicago and Dubai, with onsite training worldwide and online courses available to users anywhere. For more information regarding classes and upcoming events please visit www.FMCtraining.com.