In the post-production phase of filmmaking, a film editor is crucial. Editors are skilled storytellers tasked with assembling hours upon hours of footage into a cohesive narrative. To work as a film editor, you’ll need a lot of experience with editing software, as well as a strong sense of story and the ability to collaborate with the director to create a finished product.
Editing, perhaps more than any other aspect of filmmaking, has benefited greatly from the development of computer technology. Editors used to do their work cutting and pasting individual film frames together to create a finished product in the early days of film. The film had to be taken apart, reorganized, and reassembled if anything needed to be changed. A film editor can now create vastly different versions of scenes in minutes, thanks to digital technology, which automates the tedious task of splicing the images together.
When a film’s shooting is finished, an editor creates an editor’s cut, also known as a rough cut or first cut. The editor creates a working model combining all of the footage in a coherent, cohesive manner, which can be altered working with the director and producers to create a final version, or final cut. The rough cut is an essential part of post-production because it can reveal plot holes and highlight missing scenes that can be re-shot to create a more complete story. The rough cut is almost always the first time that the completed footage is seen as a chronological story with a beginning, middle, and end, because films are typically shot out of order.
A formal education at a film school or extensive practical experience are both common ways for editors to prepare for a career. There are dozens of books about the theories and practices of film editing because it has been around since the beginning of cinema. Some apprentices looking for hands-on experience can work as an editor’s assistant, where they can learn the technical basics of the job while picking up tips from a professional film editor.
Some film editors have a natural aptitude for computer technology, and many of them cross-train in related fields to improve their own abilities. Experience with computer graphics programs, sound editing, directing, and screenwriting is not uncommon among editors. Understanding a story, selecting the best shots and takes to express an emotion or explain a situation, and comprehending the importance of visual effects and music are all important aspects of being a film editor.