SFFS Film Arts Forum: The Sound of Cinema September 27, 2011

In film, sound carries meaning. It adds drama, creates illusion and, when artfully employed, can evoke the full gamut of human emotion. Sound design and editing are indispensable contributors to the artistry of film. This special panel and networking event features Academy Award–winning sound designers working at the highest echelons of their craft, offering insight and expertise on creating powerful aural landscapes for cinema.

PANELISTS
Prior to founding Zoetrope Aubry Productions (ZAP) in 2004, Kim Aubry spent 18 years at Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope where he supervised postproduction and developed new workflows on many of Zoetrope’s acclaimed films. He produced the 2001 expanded Apocalypse Now Redux and new theatrical versions of One from the Heart and The Outsiders as well as numerous award-winning documentary shorts on notable films and filmmakers. His experience predates digital workflows and includes pioneering work on The Godfather: Part III, the first major studio film to use an entirely electronic postproduction scheme.

Sound designer/mixer Richard Beggs has worked on over 50 features with Francis Ford Coppola, Barry Levinson, Sofia Coppola, Alfonso Cuarón and other directors. In 1980 Beggs received the Academy Award for his work on Apocalypse Now and has been nominated for the Golden Reel Award by the Motion Picture Sound Editors numerous times. Recent film credits include The Darjeeling Limited, Children of Men, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere.

Michael Semanick is a two-time Academy Award winner and has been nominated six other times for Achievement in Sound Mixing. He was nominated for all three Lord of the Rings films and won for Return of the King in 2004. He received his second Oscar for Peter Jackson's King Kong. Semanick has been nominated twice for his work with Pixar on Ratatouille and WALL-E, and for his efforts on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008. His nominations for both WALL-E and Benjamin Button were given in the same year. He was also nominated for The Social Network in 2011.

MODERATOR
Brooke Wentz is a seasoned intellectual property rights executive who founded the Rights Workshop, a consulting and mediation business. Author of Hey, That’s My Music! Music Supervision, Licensing and Content Acquisition, Wentz has 25 years of experience in music licensing and publishing, record production and performing rights organization administration. Her credits as a music supervisor include The Devil and Daniel Johnston, American Hardcore, Ballets Russes,and the Academy Award–nominated documentary The Weather Underground.

LAPTOP SHOP
Following the discussion, filmmakers in the audience are invited to participate in the Laptop Shop, a professional show-and-tell during which attendees screen clips from their current or recent projects on their laptops and solicit feedback from peers. It’s a lively exchange and a unique opportunity to see what’s brewing in the Bay Area film world. Filmmakers wishing to screen their work should bring a short clip, headphones and a well-charged laptop.

SFFS Film Arts Forum is the Film Society’s bimonthly information-sharing, discussion, networking, professional development jamboree. It’s an opportunity for local filmmakers and cineastes to meet one another and talk about their craft. SFFS gets the conversation started with dynamic presentations, topical panels, works-in-progress screenings and trade secrets. It’s an entire conference in the span of a few hours.

Official Website: http://www.sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=8,70&pageid=2363