Life as an Editor

Being a film editor consists on many different elements of work. Editors remove the unneeded footage and fits the pieces of footage that is wanted together to make a finished film. They have to work with cinematographers and sound editors to bring together, they are meant to catch the director’s vision of the film.

It requires hours of looking through footage that maybe used or may not, then assembling all the wanted footage together making sure they work quickly enough to meet the director’s/filmmakers deadlines.

Some of the most key points/elements being a film editor:

·       Reading through the script to get a thorough understanding of the film and understanding the director’s vision for the film.

·       While filming the editor should visit the site to help get a sense on the film and atmosphere.

·       Selected footage once filming has ending with dramatic and entertaining value and relates to the story. The editor looks for the ultimate best performance shots and consistency in timing.

·       Cut and edit the sections of footage and assemble them in the best way possible.

·       Work with sound effects with sound editors and musical directors. They insert music, sound effects and increase the volume of the dialogue shot on the day of shooting, this is done using editing equipment.

·       Review the edited film and make the final correction for the first cut/rough cut. The movie producers then view this rough cut. However this process can take up to three months to assemble.

·       Collected requests from the directors and producers and begin the final cut to be released to the film house for production. The final editing can take another month to finish.