Hello, Hollywood

Avid Technology is in the business of helping people tell stories. Recently their high-tech film editing equipment played a leading role in the box-office smash Titanic. The movie won 11 Oscars, including best picture and best director, and thanks to Avid’s ingenuity, it also won best editing, visual effects, sound, and sound effects.

Marrying the magic of storytelling with computer imaging technology has taken Massachusetts-based Avid from start-up to market leader in 11 years. The company estimates its editing and special effects products touch over 80 percent of the major motion pictures made today. For the MIT alumni who work there, it’s interesting, exciting, and even a bit glamorous.

“Avid is the name in the movie editing business,” says Michael Sporer, ‘69, who directs development of future products for Avid. He says the company has revolutionized the once-laborious task of editing a finished feature film out of reels and reels of original footage.

“Our products increased efficiency dramatically–they totally changed the industry,” says Sporer. Avid invented the digital nonlinear editing process, which allows film editors to cut and paste movie frames on the computer in the same way a word processor cuts and pastes words.

Sporer says Avid’s phenomenal success rests on a couple of key technologies–compression of digital information and ever-increasing computer speed and storage capacity–but adds that the company also places a big emphasis on understanding the art of storytelling.

“A movie tells a story in a time-compressed way,” says Sporer. “The editor has to create an even pace throughout the film and generate emotional impact through the cuts between scenes, lighting, and music. It’s definitely an art form, and it takes a great deal of talent to do it well.”

Having professional film editors on staff has been part of Avid’s business strategy from the beginning. “We need to be aware of what the needs of the storytellers are,” says Joe Rice, ‘79, who heads the user interface group for Media Composer,® Avid’s flagship product. “Editors really like our products because they can customize the tools to fit their editing style.”

Enjoying the glamour

The sparkle of Hollywood isn’t lost on Avid’s employees. “We get a vicarious thrill from working with the movie artists - the glamour definitely rubs off on us,” says Sporer. Movie posters decorate Avid’s work spaces, and everyone snacks on free popcorn from a machine in the cafeteria.

And although everyone feels proud when Avid-edited movies like Titanic win awards, it’s even more exciting when the employees win the acclaim themselves. To date, they’ve garnered two Technical Achievement Awards from the Motion Picture Academy as well as two Emmys. “Those were very exciting because they were awards from our users,” says Rice. “It’s like they’re saying ‘Hey, your products have had such a big impact on Hollywood that we think you deserve an award.’”

“I like being at the intersection of the entertainment world and the computer world,” says Ellen Newlands, ‘83, a sales manager for Avid. “The work is interesting, the products are high quality, and the customer base is very exciting. My kids get a big kick out of Avid’s connection with the movies.”

Great storytellers

Recognizing that Hollywood professionals aren’t the only ones interested in telling stories, Avid recently introduced film and video editing software for the average computer user. The product, Avid Cinema,™ is so easy to use, says Sporer, that even elementary school children can create sophisticated video stories based on standard templates that come with the program.

“For a story about a kids’ soccer game, the template starts with the back of the minivan opening and all the gear being unloaded,” explains Sporer. “Then you show the kids practicing followed by highlights of the game. At the end, you show the kids either celebrating or crying. You make the pieces the right length, add music and titles, and you have a great story to send to grandma.”

Avid is convinced that in the future video storytelling will become as common as photo albums. “As humans, we’re very visual–our eyes are one of our major sources of sensory input,” explains Joe DiMare, ‘92, product manager for Avid’s consumer division. “We think communicating by video is going to be a major part of everyday life in the future.”

“It’s not just the professionals who can use video to get a point across,” says Sporer. “Anyone can use video to tell family stories, kids’ stories, or holiday stories. We want everyone to become a world-class storyteller.”

by Eve Downing

On Topic: arts, awards+honors