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Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology.

The film editor works with raw footage, selecting shots and combining them into sequences which create a finished motion picture. Film editing is described as an art or skill, the only art that is unique to cinema, separating filmmaking from other art forms that preceded it, although there are close parallels to the editing process in other art forms such as poetry and novel writing. Film editing is often referred to as the "invisible art" because when it is well-practiced, the viewer can become so engaged that they are not aware of the editor's work.

On its most fundamental level, film editing is the art, technique and practice of assembling shots into a coherent sequence. The job of an editor is not simply to mechanically put pieces of a film together, cut off film slates or edit dialogue scenes. A film editor must creatively work with the layers of images, story, dialogue, music, pacing, as well as the actors' performances to effectively "re-imagine" and even rewrite the film to craft a cohesive whole. Editors usually play a dynamic role in the making of a film. Sometimes, auteurist film directors edit their own films, for example, Akira Kurosawa, Bahram Beyzai, Steven Soderbergh, and the Coen brothers.

With the advent of digital editing in non-linear editing systems, film editors and their assistants have become responsible for many areas of filmmaking that used to be the responsibility of others. For instance, in past years, picture editors dealt only with just that-picture. Sound, music, and (more recently) visual effects editors dealt with the practicalities of other aspects of the editing process, usually under the direction of the picture editor and director. However, digital systems have increasingly put these responsibilities on the picture editor. It is common, especially on lower budget films, for the editor to sometimes cut in temporary music, mock up visual effects and add temporary sound effects or other sound replacements. These temporary elements are usually replaced with more refined final elements produced by the sound, music and visual effects teams hired to complete the picture.[citation needed ]

Early films were short films that were one long, static, and locked-down shot. Motion in the shot was all that was necessary to amuse an audience, so the first films simply showed activity such as traffic moving along a city street. There was no story and no editing. Each film ran as long as there was film in the camera.

The use of film editing to establish continuity, involving action moving from one sequence into another, is attributed to British film pioneer Robert W. Paul's Come Along, Do!, made in 1898 and one of the first films to feature more than one shot. In the first shot, an elderly couple is outside an art exhibition having lunch and then follow other people inside through the door. The second shot shows what they do inside. Paul's 'Cinematograph Camera No. 1' of 1896 was the first camera to feature reverse-cranking, which allowed the same film footage to be exposed several times and thereby to create super-positions and multiple exposures. One of the first films to use this technique, Georges Méliès's The Four Troublesome Heads from 1898, was produced with Paul's camera.

The further development of action continuity in multi-shot films continued in 1899-1900 at the Brighton School in England, where it was definitively established by George Albert Smith and James Williamson. In that year, Smith made As Seen Through a Telescope, in which the main shot shows street scene with a young man tying the shoelace and then caressing the foot of his girlfriend, while an old man observes this through a telescope. There is then a cut to close shot of the hands on the girl's foot shown inside a black circular mask, and then a cut back to the continuation of the original scene.

Even more remarkable was James Williamson's Attack on a China Mission Station, made around the same time in 1900. The first shot shows the gate to the mission station from the outside being attacked and broken open by Chinese Boxer rebels, then there is a cut to the garden of the mission station where a pitched battle ensues. An armed party of British sailors arrived to defeat the Boxers and rescue the missionary's family. The film used the first " reverse angle" cut in film history.

James Williamson concentrated on making films taking action from one place shown in one shot to the next shown in another shot in films like Stop Thief! and Fire!, made in 1901, and many others. He also experimented with the close-up, and made perhaps the most extreme one of all in The Big Swallow, when his character approaches the camera and appears to swallow it. These two filmmakers of the Brighton School also pioneered the editing of the film; they tinted their work with color and used trick photography to enhance the narrative. By 1900, their films were extended scenes of up to 5 minutes long.

Other filmmakers then took up all these ideas including the American Edwin S. Porter, who started making films for the Edison Company in 1901. Porter worked on a number of minor films before making Life of an American Fireman in 1903. The film was the first American film with a plot, featuring action, and even a closeup of a hand pulling a fire alarm. The film comprised a continuous narrative over seven scenes, rendered in a total of nine shots. He put a dissolve between every shot, just as Georges Méliès was already doing, and he frequently had the same action repeated across the dissolves. His film, The Great Train Robbery (1903), had a running time of twelve minutes, with twenty separate shots and ten different indoor and outdoor locations. He used cross-cutting editing method to show simultaneous action in different places.

These early film directors discovered important aspects of motion picture language: that the screen image does not need to show a complete person from head to toe and that splicing together two shots creates in the viewer's mind a contextual relationship. These were the key discoveries that made all non-live or non live-on-videotape narrative motion pictures and television possible-that shots (in this case, whole scenes since each shot is a complete scene) can be photographed at widely different locations over a period of time (hours, days or even months) and combined into a narrative whole. That is, The Great Train Robbery contains scenes shot on sets of a telegraph station, a railroad car interior, and a dance hall, with outdoor scenes at a railroad water tower, on the train itself, at a point along the track, and in the woods. But when the robbers leave the telegraph station interior (set) and emerge at the water tower, the audience believes they went immediately from one to the other. Or that when they climb on the train in one shot and enter the baggage car (a set) in the next, the audience believes they are on the same train.

Sometime around 1918, Russian director Lev Kuleshov did an experiment that proves this point. (See Kuleshov Experiment) He took an old film clip of a headshot of a noted Russian actor and intercut the shot with a shot of a bowl of soup, then with a child playing with a teddy bear, then with a shot an elderly woman in a casket. When he showed the film to people they praised the actor's acting-the hunger in his face when he saw the soup, the delight in the child, and the grief when looking at the dead woman. Of course, the shot of the actor was years before the other shots and he never "saw" any of the items. The simple act of juxtaposing the shots in a sequence made the relationship.

Film editing technology

Before the widespread use of digital non-linear editing systems, the initial editing of all films was done with a positive copy of the film negative called a film workprint (cutting copy in UK) by physically cutting and splicing together pieces of film. Strips of footage would be hand cut and attached together with tape and then later in time, glue. Editors were very precise; if they made a wrong cut or needed a fresh positive print, it cost the production money and time for the lab to reprint the footage. Additionally, each reprint put the negative at risk of damage. With the invention of a splicer and threading the machine with a viewer such as a Moviola, or "flatbed" machine such as a K.-E.-M. or Steenbeck, the editing process sped up a little bit and cuts came out cleaner and more precise. The Moviola editing practice is non-linear, allowing the editor to make choices faster, a great advantage to editing episodic films for television which have very short timelines to complete the work. All film studios and production companies who produced films for television provided this tool for their editors. Flatbed editing machines were used for playback and refinement of cuts, particularly in feature films and films made for television because they were less noisy and cleaner to work with. They were used extensively for documentary and drama production within the BBC's Film Department. Operated by a team of two, an editor and assistant editor, this tactile process required significant skill but allowed for editors to work extremely efficiently.

Today, most films are edited digitally (on systems such as Media Composer, Final Cut Pro X or Premiere Pro) and bypass the film positive workprint altogether. In the past, the use of a film positive (not the original negative) allowed the editor to do as much experimenting as he or she wished, without the risk of damaging the original. With digital editing, editors can experiment just as much as before except with the footage completely transferred to a computer hard drive.

When the film workprint had been cut to a satisfactory state, it was then used to make an edit decision list (EDL). The negative cutter referred to this list while processing the negative, splitting the shots into rolls, which were then contact printed to produce the final film print or answer print. Today, production companies have the option of bypassing negative cutting altogether. With the advent of digital intermediate ("DI"), the physical negative does not necessarily need to be physically cut and hot spliced together; rather the negative is optically scanned into the computer(s) and a cut list is confirmed by a DI editor.

Women in film editing

In the early years of film, editing was considered a technical job; editors were expected to "cut out the bad bits" and string the film together. Indeed, when the Motion Picture Editors Guild was formed, they chose to be "below the line", that is, not a creative guild, but a technical one. Women were not usually able to break into the "creative" positions; directors, cinematographers, producers, and executives were almost always men. Editing afforded creative women a place to assert their mark on the filmmaking process. The history of film has included many women editors such as Dede Allen, Anne Bauchens, Margaret Booth, Barbara McLean, Anne V. Coates, Adrienne Fazan, Verna Fields, Blanche Sewell and Eda Warren.

Post-production editing may be summarized by three distinct phases commonly referred to as the editor's cut, the director's cut, and the final cut.

There are several editing stages and the editor's cut is the first. An editor's cut (sometimes referred to as the "Assembly edit" or "Rough cut") is normally the first pass of what the final film will be when it reaches picture lock. The film editor usually starts working while principal photography starts. Sometimes, prior to cutting, the editor and director will have seen and discussed " dailies" (raw footage shot each day) as shooting progresses. As production schedules have shortened over the years, this co-viewing happens less often. Screening dailies give the editor a general idea of the director's intentions. Because it is the first pass, the editor's cut might be longer than the final film. The editor continues to refine the cut while shooting continues, and often the entire editing process goes on for many months and sometimes more than a year, depending on the film.

When shooting is finished, the director can then turn his or her full attention to collaborating with the editor and further refining the cut of the film. This is the time that is set aside where the film editor's first cut is molded to fit the director's vision. In the United States, under the rules of the Directors Guild of America, directors receive a minimum of ten weeks after completion of principal photography to prepare their first cut. While collaborating on what is referred to as the "director's cut", the director and the editor go over the entire movie in great detail; scenes and shots are re-ordered, removed, shortened and otherwise tweaked. Often it is discovered that there are plot holes, missing shots or even missing segments which might require that new scenes be filmed. Because of this time working closely and collaborating - a period that is normally far longer and more intricately detailed than the entire preceding film production - many directors and editors form a unique artistic bond.

Often after the director has had their chance to oversee a cut, the subsequent cuts are supervised by one or more producers, who represent the production company or movie studio. There have been several conflicts in the past between the director and the studio, sometimes leading to the use of the " Alan Smithee" credit signifying when a director no longer wants to be associated with the final release.

In motion picture terminology, a montage (from the French for "putting together" or "assembly") is a film editing technique.

There are at least three senses of the term:

1. In French film practice, "montage" has its literal French meaning (assembly, installation) and simply identifies editing.

2. In Soviet filmmaking of the 1920s, "montage" was a method of juxtaposing shots to derive new meaning that did not exist in either shot alone.

3. In classical Hollywood cinema, a "montage sequence" is a short segment in a film in which narrative information is presented in a condensed fashion.

Although film director D. W. Griffith was not part of the montage school, he was one of the early proponents of the power of editing - mastering cross-cutting to show parallel action in different locations, and codifying film grammar in other ways as well. Griffith's work in the teens was highly regarded by Lev Kuleshov and other Soviet filmmakers and greatly influenced their understanding of editing.

Kuleshov was among the first to theorize about the relatively young medium of the cinema in the 1920s. For him, the unique essence of the cinema - that which could be duplicated in no other medium - is editing. He argues that editing a film is like constructing a building. Brick-by-brick (shot-by-shot) the building (film) is erected. His often-cited Kuleshov Experiment established that montage can lead the viewer to reach certain conclusions about the action in a film. Montage works because viewers infer meaning based on context. Sergei Eisenstein was briefly a student of Kuleshov's, but the two parted ways because they had different ideas of montage. Eisenstein regarded montage as a dialectical means of creating meaning. By contrasting unrelated shots he tried to provoke associations in the viewer, which were induced by shocks. But Eisenstein did not always do his own editing, and some of his most important films were edited by Esfir Tobak.

A montage sequence consists of a series of short shots that are edited into a sequence to condense narrative. It is usually used to advance the story as a whole (often to suggest the passage of time), rather than to create symbolic meaning. In many cases, a song plays in the background to enhance the mood or reinforce the message being conveyed. One famous example of montage was seen in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, depicting the start of man's first development from apes to humans. Another example that is employed in many films is the sports montage. The sports montage shows the star athlete training over a period of time, each shot having more improvement than the last. Classic examples include Rocky and the Karate Kid.

The word's association with Sergei Eisenstein is often condensed-too simply-into the idea of "juxtaposition" or into two words: "collision montage," whereby two adjacent shots that oppose each other on formal parameters or on the content of their images are cut against each other to create a new meaning not contained in the respective shots: Shot a + Shot b = New Meaning c.

The association of collision montage with Eisenstein is not surprising. He consistently maintained that the mind functions dialectically, in the Hegelian sense, that the contradiction between opposing ideas (thesis versus antithesis) is resolved by a higher truth, synthesis. He argued that conflict was the basis of all art, and never failed to see montage in other cultures. For example, he saw montage as a guiding principle in the construction of " Japanese hieroglyphics in which two independent ideographic characters ('shots') are juxtaposed and explode into a concept. Thus:

Eye + Water = Crying

Door + Ear = Eavesdropping

Child + Mouth = Screaming

Mouth + Dog = Barking

He also found montage in Japanese haiku, where short sense perceptions are juxtaposed and synthesized into a new meaning, as in this example:

(枯朶に烏のとまりけり秋の暮)

- Matsuo Basho

As Dudley Andrew notes, "The collision of attractions from line to line produces the unified psychological effect which is the hallmark of haiku and montage."

Continuity is a term for the consistency of on-screen elements over the course of a scene or film, such as whether an actor's costume remains the same from one scene to the next, or whether a glass of milk held by a character is full or empty throughout the scene. Because films are typically shot out of sequence, the script supervisor will keep a record of continuity and provide that to the film editor for reference. The editor may try to maintain continuity of elements, or may intentionally create a discontinuous sequence for stylistic or narrative effect.

The technique of continuity editing, part of the classical Hollywood style, was developed by early European and American directors, in particular, D.W. Griffith in his films such as The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance. The classical style embraces temporal and spatial continuity as a way of advancing the narrative, using such techniques as the 180 degree rule, Establishing shot, and Shot reverse shot. Often, continuity editing means finding a balance between literal continuity and perceived continuity. For instance, editors may condense action across cuts in a non-distracting way. A character walking from one place to another may "skip" a section of floor from one side of a cut to the other, but the cut is constructed to appear continuous so as not to distract the viewer.

Early Russian filmmakers such as Lev Kuleshov (already mentioned) further explored and theorized about editing and its ideological nature. Sergei Eisenstein developed a system of editing that was unconcerned with the rules of the continuity system of classical Hollywood that he called Intellectual montage.

Alternatives to traditional editing were also explored by early surrealist and Dada filmmakers such as Luis Buñuel (director of the 1929 Un Chien Andalou) and René Clair (director of 1924's Entr'acte which starred famous Dada artists Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray).

The French New Wave filmmakers such as Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut and their American counterparts such as Andy Warhol and John Cassavetes also pushed the limits of editing technique during the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. French New Wave films and the non-narrative films of the 1960s used a carefree editing style and did not conform to the traditional editing etiquette of Hollywood films. Like its Dada and surrealist predecessors, French New Wave editing often drew attention to itself by its lack of continuity, its demystifying self-reflexive nature (reminding the audience that they were watching a film), and by the overt use of jump cuts or the insertion of material not often related to any narrative. Three of the most influential editors of French New Wave films were the women who (in combination) edited 15 of Godard's films: Francoise Collin, Agnes Guillemot, and Cecile Decugis, and another notable editor is Marie-Josèphe Yoyotte, the first black woman editor in French cinema and editor of The 400 Blows.

Since the late 20th century Post-classical editing has seen faster editing styles with nonlinear, discontinuous action.

Vsevolod Pudovkin noted that the editing process is the one phase of production that is truly unique to motion pictures. Every other aspect of filmmaking originated in a different medium than film (photography, art direction, writing, sound recording), but editing is the one process that is unique to film. Filmmaker Stanley Kubrick was quoted as saying: "I love editing. I think I like it more than any other phase of filmmaking. If I wanted to be frivolous, I might say that everything that precedes editing is merely a way of producing a film to edit."

According to writer-director Preston Sturges:

[T]here is a law of natural cutting and that this replicates what an audience in a legitimate theater does for itself. The more nearly the film cutter approaches this law of natural interest, the more invisible will be his cutting. If the camera moves from one person to another at the exact moment that one in the legitimate theatre would have turned his head, one will not be conscious of a cut. If the camera misses by a quarter of a second, one will get a jolt. There is one other requirement: the two shots must be approximate of the same tone value. If one cuts from black to white, it is jarring. At any given moment, the camera must point at the exact spot the audience wishes to look at. To find that spot is absurdly easy: one has only to remember where one was looking at the time the scene was made.

Assistant editors aid the editor and director in collecting and organizing all the elements needed to edit the film. The Motion Picture Editors Guild defines an assistant editor as "a person who is assigned to assist an Editor. His or her duties shall be such as are assigned and performed under the immediate direction, supervision, and responsibility of the editor." When editing is finished, they oversee the various lists and instructions necessary to put the film into its final form. Editors of large budget features will usually have a team of assistants working for them. The first assistant editor is in charge of this team and may do a small bit of picture editing as well, if necessary. Often assistant editors will perform temporary sound, music, and visual effects work. The other assistants will have set tasks, usually helping each other when necessary to complete the many time-sensitive tasks at hand. In addition, an apprentice editor may be on hand to help the assistants. An apprentice is usually someone who is learning the ropes of assisting.

Television shows typically have one assistant per editor. This assistant is responsible for every task required to bring the show to the final form. Lower budget features and documentaries will also commonly have only one assistant.

The organizational aspects job could best be compared to database management. When a film is shot, every piece of picture or sound is coded with numbers and timecode. It is the assistant's job to keep track of these numbers in a database, which, in non-linear editing, is linked to the computer program.[citation needed ] The editor and director cut the film using digital copies of the original film and sound, commonly referred to as an "offline" edit. When the cut is finished, it is the assistant's job to bring the film or television show "online". They create lists and instructions that tell the picture and sound finishers how to put the edit back together with the high-quality original elements. Assistant editing can be seen as a career path to eventually becoming an editor. Many assistants, however, do not choose to pursue advancement to the editor, and are very happy at the assistant level, working long and rewarding careers on many films and television shows.

Notes

Bibliography

Dmytryk, Edward (1984). On Film Editing: An Introduction to the Art of Film Construction. Focal Press, Boston. ISBN 0-240-51738-5

Eisenstein, Sergei (2010). Glenny, Michael; Taylor, Richard (eds.). Towards a Theory of Montage. Michael Glenny (translation). London: Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84885-356-0. Translation of Russian language works by Eisenstein, who died in 1948.

Knight, Arthur (1957). The Liveliest Art. Mentor Books. New American Library. ISBN 0-02-564210-3

Further reading

Morales, Morante, Luis Fernando (2017). 'Editing and Montage in International Film and Video: Theory and Technique, Focal Press, Taylor & Francis ISBN 1-138-24408-2

Murch, Walter (2001). In the Blink of an Eye: a Perspective on Film Editing. Silman-James Press. 2d rev. ed.. ISBN 1-879505-62-2

Wikibooks

Wikiversity

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Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film editor works with raw footage, selecting shots and combining them into sequences which create a finished motion picture.

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What computer or technological skills do you need for this?

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What computer or technological skills do you need for this?

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20 Technology Skills Every Educator Should Have

During the last 15 years, we in education have moved at light speed in the area of educational technology. Whether you are involved in higher ed, secondary ed, elementary ed, or special ed, all of us find it difficult to catch up, keep up, and put up with fast-moving computer-based technology. Not since the introduction of the blackboard have we seen a piece of equipment make such a difference in how we teach. Today, not only do we use computers, but we also have laptops, wireless laptops, and tablet PCs. In addition, we have the World Wide Web, scanners, CD burners, USB drives, digital cameras and digital video cameras, PDAs, as well as video and DVD players. And most educators use a variety of tools-including video, e-mail, desktop conferencing, online programs such as WebCT and Blackboard, as well as video conferencing-to teach. Thus, it is no longer acceptable for educators to be technology illiterate.

With that in mind, here is a comprehensive listing of the technology skills that every educator should have. Because as computer and associated technologies continue to change and evolve, educators must continue to strive for excellence in their work. Today that includes continued time and effort to maintain and improve their technology skills (as much as some educators do not want to admit).

Here are 20 basic technology skills that all educators should now have:

1. Word Processing Skills

2. Spreadsheets Skills

3. Database Skills

4. Electronic Presentation Skills

5. Web Navigation Skills

6. Web Site Design Skills

7. E-Mail Management Skills

8. Digital Cameras

9. Computer Network Knowledge Applicable to your School System

10. File Management & Windows Explorer Skills

11. Downloading Software From the Web (Knowledge including eBooks)

12. Installing Computer Software onto a Computer System

13. WebCT or Blackboard Teaching Skills

14. Videoconferencing skills

15. Computer-Related Storage Devices (Knowledge: disks, CDs, USB drives, zip disks, DVDs, etc.)

16. Scanner Knowledge

17. Knowledge of PDAs

18. Deep Web Knowledge

19. Educational Copyright Knowledge

20. Computer Security Knowledge

Educators should be able to use some type of word processing program to complete written tasks in a timely manner. See the following Web sites for helpful information and tutorials.

This article originally appeared in the 06/01/2005 issue of THE Journal.

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20 Technology Skills Every Educator Should Have -- THE Journal

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During the last 15 years, we in education have moved at light speed in the area of educational technology. Whether you are involved in higher ed, secondary ed, elementary ed, or special ed, all of us find it difficult to catch up, keep up, and put up with fast-moving computer-based technology.

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What are the best colleges that will help you prepare for this job?

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What are the best colleges that will help you prepare for this job?

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Students who want to study film editing can usually get training through broader programs in film production. Both undergraduate and graduate degrees are available. Usually, students earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts or Master of Fine Arts degree. Film editing professionals assemble individual sequences and film shots to create an extended piece of work such as a movie or television show. Notable training programs are available at schools that received high national or regional ranks from U.S. News & World Report in 2017.

The film school at Florida State University features the Torchlight Program, a non-degree-granting program designed to instruct students on issues pertaining to the business of the film industry. The Princeton Review ranked Florida State University on the 2017 list of top colleges that pay you back. The U.S. News & World Report ranked the school 92nd on its list of best universities nationwide for 2017. A Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts are available in film production.

The program's core classes include film sound, production management, film aesthetics, technical support, and a variety of film editing coursework. At the graduate level, students complete a comprehensive examination, finish a workshop in a film editing specialization, and produce a final film project. Industry professionals are often available at the completion of this program to help new students to start their film editing careers.

Webster University was ranked #24 on the list of Midwest regional universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2017. The faculty features numerous award-winners in multiple fields of film production who have experience working for television networks such as PBS and the Discovery Channel.

The Bachelor of Arts in Film Production gives students an overview of many aspects of film production and film editing. The completion of several film projects is required. As students learn and complete film projects, they can choose to focus their studies on film editing or other aspects of the filmmaking process. Classes available to students include film production, filmmaking, advanced cinematography, video production, and film editing.

Boston University was ranked #39 on the 2017 list of top national universities from U.S. News & World Report. At the undergraduate level, students can earn a BA in Cinema and Media Studies or a BS in Film and Television. The latter subject is also available as a minor. Both of these programs provide production-related coursework alongside broader liberal arts studies. At the graduate level, students may enroll in a Master of Science in Television, an MFA in Cinema and Media Production, and an MFA in Film and Television. Internship programs in Los Angeles are available to both undergraduate and graduate students.

Other schools that offer exceptional film programs with editing training include the following:

Even though programs are not usually offered specifically in film editing, there are many bachelor's and master's degree options that include relevant training for aspiring editors.

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best film editing schools: list of top schools

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Best Film Editing Schools: List of Top Schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students who want to study film editing can usually get training through broader programs in film production. Both undergraduate and graduate degrees are available. Usually, students earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts or Master of Fine Arts degree. Film editing professionals assemble individual sequences and film shots to create an extended piece of work such as a movie or television show.

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Film and video editors use creative and technical skills to assemble recorded raw material into a finished product, suitable for broadcasting

As a film/video editor, you'll manage material such as camera footage, dialogue, sound effects, graphics and special effects to produce a final film or video product. This is a key role in the post-production process and your skills can determine the quality and delivery of the finished result. You'll usually work closely with the director to achieve the desired end result.

Employment tends to be on a freelance basis, and you'll most likely work on short-term contracts for post-production studios, television companies and corporate employers.

Digital technology, specialist computer software and high-quality digitisation of sound and pictures have effectively replaced the traditional manual method of cutting film. In some instances, you may be given creative freedom, while in others you'll just be required to operate the necessary machines.

Types of film/video editor

You may work on a variety of productions, including:

Responsibilities

As a film or video editor, you'll need to:

work to a brief, and maybe an outline of footage and/or a shot list, script, or screenplay

assemble raw footage, with camera shots, either recorded or transferred onto video tape in preparation for inputting into the computer

input uncut rushes and sound, and synchronise and store them into files on the computer

digitally cut files to put together the sequence of the film and decide what's usable

create a 'rough cut' (or assembly edit) of the programme/film and determine the exact cutting for the next and final stages

reorder and fine-tune the content to ensure the logical sequencing and smooth running of the film/video.

You may also need to:

Salary

Starting salaries for assistant editors employed by a television or post-production studio are in the region of £18,000 to £25,000.

With experience as a film or video editor, you could earn £21,000 to £35,000.

At a senior level, your earnings could potentially reach £37,000 to £70,000, but the higher end of this scale is only available to senior editors working on big-budget projects.

A film/video editor is not an entry-level job and it's normally necessary to start at a lower-paid level, possibly as a runner, where salaries could be around the national minimum wage. You may then progress to assistant editor where you could expect to earn more, before reaching the full editor position.

Most editors work as freelancers and are paid on a contract basis. Rates vary, so it's best to check for current freelance rates with individual companies or the Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU). If you get work through an agency, they will negotiate rates and then take either a percentage or flat fee.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Hours of work vary depending on the production. You may be able to do standard office hours for some employers, but a 50-hour working week is likely if you're working on television or feature film projects.

Shift work may be required if editing studios are booked at night. When there are deadlines to meet, you should expect to work long hours and overtime.

What to expect

Qualifications

You don't need a foundation degree, HND or degree to be a film or video editor, but it's important that you show commitment and determination to get into the industry.

You need to be able to demonstrate that you have the necessary skills, and so a degree or HND that offers film or media production experience may be helpful. The following subjects are relevant:

You'll need to be proficient in using specific editing software packages, such as Avid or Final Cut Pro. Courses that cover these applications are available at varying levels, but they can be expensive, so make sure you research them fully to find a course that matches your career and training aims.

It's vital you have a good level of computer literacy and an aptitude for working with digital equipment. Having experience of the very latest technology may help you stand out from the competition.

A postgraduate qualification isn't essential but there are relevant courses available that will provide you with extra skills and may give you an advantage over other applicants. Search for postgraduate courses in media production.

Skills

You'll need to show:

a keen eye for detail and a critical mind

creativity and a passionate interest in film and video editing

patience and concentration

the ability to listen to others and to work well as part of a team

a high level of self-motivation, commitment and dedication

organisational and time management skills

the ability to work under pressure and to deadlines

communication skills, both written and oral.

Work experience

You need to be extremely determined to succeed in editing and should be willing to get involved and be prepared to do the most basic of tasks. Carrying out work experience in other areas of media production will give you the chance to demonstrate this and help you to decide if you feel suited to the work.

You'll be expected to have pre-entry experience and will need to show evidence of having worked on film or video production or post-production, preferably via an up-to-date and well-prepared showreel.

If you're at university, you can join the film-making society and learn editing techniques there. Any films you work on can be used as a portfolio to evidence your skills when you're starting out.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

Film and video editors are employed by:

animation companies

broadcast companies

film companies

independent production companies

post-production companies/facilities

video/computer games companies.

Some post-production companies and larger independent companies offer long-term contracts and employ a few editors in-house. Broadcast and film companies employ their own editors, but they all use freelancers on a regular basis, with some companies only using freelance editors.

The television industry is increasingly project-based, and as a result, there has been a rise in the number of freelance staff employed at all levels. You may apply for freelance opportunities to build a portfolio of work and accompanying reputation.

Look for job vacancies at:

Vacancies for film and video editors are rarely advertised and competition is fierce, even for entry-level jobs such as a runner. Send speculative applications, which detail your specific skills, to as many production companies and post-production houses as possible. To help identify relevant contacts use key industry resources such as:

Getting to know people in the industry and building good working relationships is very helpful for finding work. Once you have experience of working on a freelance basis you can also advertise your services through dedicated websites.

Professional development

Learning while you're working in the industry is the most effective way of developing relevant skills. A combination of observing experienced professionals and experimenting with your own work is the best way to develop the necessary technical and creative skills.

Short courses are available, covering relevant topics such as:

the use of software editing packages

post-production audio

visual effects

finance for freelancers.

ScreenSkills provides a list of approved training providers.

It's also important to keep up to date with technology and new equipment. You may choose to extend your skills into camera or sound work in order to open up more employment opportunities and to maintain a network of contacts. A range of courses are available through BECTU.

Career prospects

You'll typically start as a runner or trainee before working your way up to a position as an assistant editor. You can expect to work as an assistant editor for around three to four years before moving on to become a qualified editor.

A proactive approach and willingness to start at the bottom are essential for forging a career in this fast-changing industry. If you're able to relocate for a job this may also be helpful, particularly in the early stages of your career.

In post-production or broadcasting companies, progression may be from runner, digitiser, or assistant editor to senior editor. Larger employers provide well-structured career paths. Experienced in-house editors may ultimately move to management roles.

For freelancers, career development takes the form of progressing from small productions to larger or more prestigious projects. It's vital to establish a good reputation and develop your networking skills to succeed. Building strong working relationships with freelance directors, production managers and producers is valuable, as they're often able to take preferred editors with them onto new projects.

While relevant qualifications may be beneficial, career development is based more on experience and practical involvement within the industry and on developing a strong network of contacts.

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Discover what it takes to be a Film/video editor. Find out expected salary, working hours, qualifications and more.

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 Where is the best place to live to do this job?

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 Where is the best place to live to do this job?

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Working in film and television is not the easiest career choice but you can make things a little easier by living in one of the more film friendly cities around the world. This isn't to say that if you don't live in these places then you won't be able to work in film or television but the likelihood of booking jobs will increase tremendously if you live in one of the following cities.

10 Places to Live and Work in Film or Television

Toronto, Canada - If you live in Ontario then Toronto is where you are going to want to live to work in this industry. Toronto is a pretty exciting place for both film and television. There are multiple TV series that shoot here all year round and movies come into town quite often. If you are not going to work union there is also a lot of independent film and lifestyle television shooting in town. If you are looking for less of a long term commitment, there is plenty of work in the world of music videos and commercials too.

Los Angeles, USA - It is always warm and it is always busy in Los Angeles so if you like those 2 things it might be the place for you. There is no shortage of work in LA, but there are a lot of people all looking to do the same thing. You will very likely work if you live in LA, but it may not be the glamorous kind that you see in films and TV.

Montreal, Canada - A large number of feature films have shot in Montreal an d if you can speak both English and French you will almost certainly get work there. If TV is more up your alley Montreal may not be the best place to live, but if you are bilingual you will have a good chance of beating out the competition for the jobs.

Vancouver, Canada - British Columbia is a pretty popular place for feature films and network television series to shoot, a lot of American films and TV shows have been known to head north when the Canadian dollar is good (for them). There is also a rise in lifestyle and factual television being shot there. You can almost definitely find work in Vancouver and the weather is better than Toronto!

New York City, USA - This one is a given, it is hard not to turn on the TV or watch a movie without seeing New York City, there are shows where New York City is a central character. There is always something filming in New York and there is a wide variety of options. It is very expensive to live there, but if you can lock down a good paying job then it is totally worth it.

Austin, USA - Texas is far away from home for me, but if you live in Austin or are thinking of relocating there for work, the film and television community is quite busy there. There is a lot of work available and the weather is usually pretty nice too. If you are looking for union work or independent work you should be able to find both in Austin, Texas.

Rome, Italy - A surprisingly high number of films shoot in Rome and productions from all over the world come to Italy to use its beautiful landscapes and picture perfect scenery in their films. This is another case of where knowing more than one language will really give you the upper hand.

Paris, France - The French film community is growing and French films are becoming more popular in North America, therefore if you live in France and want to work in film Paris is probably your best bet. Once again being bilingual will be hugely beneficial and help you get more work.

San Francisco, USA - If you are on the west coast and you want to live in the US, but not in the craziness that is LA then San Francisco might be the place for you. There is a fairly busy film community in San Francisco and a real desire to make great art.

London, England - There are a lot of opportunities to work in film and television across England and because of its size you don't have to live in London to work in it. London is one of the film centers of the world though and it can be a great place to live.

When I finished college I made the tough decision to move to one of these cities to help me in my career and I can honestly say that I haven't looked back. If I had stayed where I was, I would not be working in television the way I am now. I might have the occasional job here and there that I would have to commute to and take time off of my "real" job for, but I would not have a full time job and I don't think I would be very happy either.

It is a tough decision to make but the work is a lot easier to find in these cities and if you are serious about working in film and television then this is a decision you will have to think long and hard about because it will change your life.
Featured image courtesy of Luca5 Post images courtesy of Small

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10 Places to Live and Work in Film - howtofilmschool.com

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Working in film and television is not the easiest career choice but you can make things a little easier by living in one of the more film friendly cities around the world. This isn't to say that if you don't live in these places then you won't be able to work in film or television ...

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Want to be a Film and Video Editor? Find out more: What do they do, how do you become one, what is the job like?

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Film and video editors