Walking the “red carpet” at the 80th Academy Awards are [from left] Larry Fitzgerald, ’87, supervising editor; Leslie Vincent, post production supervisor; and Scott Draper, editor.

Showcasing film’s best and brightest is all in a day’s work for Larry Fitzgerald, ’87, a freelance editor who has worked on the Academy Awards for the last two years. In 2008, Fitzgerald served for the first time as the supervising editor for DMS Films, the production company that created most of the nomination sequences for the 80th Academy Awards, which aired on Feb. 24.

The talented editor oversaw the production and technical aspects for most of the nomination sequences, in addition to editing the film clips for numerous categories, including original screenplay, adapted screenplay, and cinematography. He also edited elements for the official Oscar Red Carpet pre-show with Regis Philbin.

Previously, Fitzgerald was a member of the editing team for the 79th Academy Awards, which received an Emmy nomination for its work. Although the team didn’t take home the Emmy, they did enjoy the thrill of walking the “red carpet” and attending the event.

At Southern, Fitzgerald graduated from the Communication Department, earning departmental honors and completing his honors project under the instruction of Dr. Joseph “Jos” Ullian. Fitzgerald worked at Southern as an adjunct faculty member and manager of the department’s video facilities. In 1999, after holding numerous industry positions on the East Coast — including serving as the producer for Astrovision, NBC’s giant video screen located in Times Square in New York City — Fitzgerald moved to Los Angeles. He worked several years as senior editor for E! Entertainment Television, before launching a career as a freelance editor. In addition to The Creative Arts Emmy Awards, his clients have included The Miss USA Pageant and The CW Television Network.