POSTWORKS HOSTS EDIT SESSIONS FOR NEW SPRINGSTEEN RELEASE
Issue: Editing - December 2005

POSTWORKS HOSTS EDIT SESSIONS FOR NEW SPRINGSTEEN RELEASE

NEW YORK - Bruce Springsteen’s recently released box set, “Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition,” contains not only the album, which has sold nearly 9 million copies since its first release in 1975, but two limited edition DVDs edited by Thom Zimny through Manhattan post house PostWorks (www.pwny.com). Zimny won an Emmy for his editing on Springsteen’s 2001 Live In New York City, and served a substantial role on both DVD projects. The first is a 130-minute version of Springsteen’s 1975 concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon. For this, Zimny served as producer and editor. The second box-set DVD contains Wings for Wheels, the Making of Born to Run. This was produced, directed and edited by Zimny.

After wrapping up work on his third season of HBO’s The Wire, Zimny was hired by executive producers John Landau and Barbara Carr to edit the historic Hammersmith concert footage.

“We had about 70 hours worth of footage that was captured using four cameras,” he explained. “With all of Bruce's songs, there's a narrative, and they feel like mini-movies. In reviewing the footage, I looked for the key moments that expressed Bruce's energy and commitment to the music and the moment. I essentially just tried to let the viewer go on the journey without getting in the way, and using the footage we had. We were able to present the concert as a seamless experience.”

Zimny pieced the concert together song-by-song. Syncing the sound, conforming the audio and color-correction was all handed at PostWorks over the course of a year. During that time, Zimny also worked on Springsteen’s Devils and Dust music video, his VH1 Storytellers project (which first aired in April), and the 90-minute Storytellers DVD, released in September. Based on his exposure to the Hammersmith footage, he began talking with Springsteen, Landau and Carr about making a documentary on the making of Born to Run.

With approval to proceed, Zimny enlisted director of photography William Rexer. The two began gathering some 100 hours of interview footage at New York’s Asbury Park Convention Hall and Paramount Theatre, featuring Springsteen, Landau and numerous past and present members of the E Street Band. To best serve the project’s documentary style, Rexer shot mostly handheld footage on HD and DVCAM formats and used minimal lighting setups.

Back at PostWorks, the company’s staff artists re-mastered over 50 hours of black-and-white and color archival footage from a range of standards and formats.

“I knew what I didn’t want to do: I didn’t want to use narration and the standard ‘making of’ approach,” says Zimny on editing together the interview and archive materials to create Wings For Wheels. “It took me some time to find the style, but I think it reflects the journey of the album and the people who made it.”

Zimny designed the score of the film using alternate arrangements, takes and isolated tracks from the actual “Born To Run” sessions.

He used Xpress Pro HD on a laptop to edit while he was on tour with Bruce Springsteen. Later, back at PostWorks, he used Avid Symphony for offlining. Finishing was done in Avid|DS Nitris.