Post-Production Players Cut it up at 2009 NAB Show

Emmy-winning editor David Helfand and Michael Tronick, editor of the films “Hairspray” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” will speak during the Post|Production World Conference at the 2009 NAB Show in Las Vegas.

The post-production buzz at NAB will be especially refreshed with the return of Avid to the exhibit hall.

The Post|Production World Conference is now in its sixth year. It spans five days and offers more than 200 sessions of advanced training. Tracks this year include Avid Editing, Final Cut Studio Editing, Digital Video Production, Adobe Production Premium, and New Media 2.0, among others.

New to this year’s conference is a lineup of specialized sessions focusing on editing techniques for news, sports and technologies for worship. Helfand, who has edited a variety of TV shows including Showtime’s “Weeds” and NBC’s “Friends,” and Tronick, whose resume includes editing credits for “The Scorpion King” and “Bedtime Stories” will speak during the conference.

Tronick began his career as a music editor, cutting music for numerous feature films including “Reds,” “48 Hrs.” and “Predator.” Tronick’s film editing debut came later with the release of “Beverly Hills Cop II.” Since then, Tronick has edited an array of Hollywood blockbusters including “Days of Thunder,” “Scent of a Woman” and “Remember the Titans.”

Helfand started his editing career cutting promo reels, commercials, music videos and documentaries for a small production company in Los Angeles. His first editing break came on the acclaimed HBO series “Dream On,” for which he earned a CableAce Award and three nominations during its five year run. His next editing job came with NBC’s “Friends,” which he also produced. In 1998, he received editing and writing Emmys for a news feature chronicling his father’s return to Poland 50 years after leaving Auschwitz. He has also received Emmy nods for “That '70s Show” and “Weeds.”

Joining Helfand, Tronick and the growing lineup of players from the content community are show partners Sony, Thomson, Panasonic, Canon, Dolby, Evertz, Harris, JVC, Ross Video and Vitec Group. Other major exhibitors representing the post-production community include Adobe Systems, Autodesk, Digital Vision AB, Quantel and Vizrt.

Also new this year, the 2009 NAB Show will feature charter bus transportation from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to increase participation from L.A.’s post-production community. Schedule information will be available for interested parties in the coming weeks.

The NAB Show will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center from April 18–23.