Example Career: Film and Video Editors

Career Description

Edit moving images on film, video, or other media. May work with a producer or director to organize images for final production. May edit or synchronize soundtracks with images.

What Job Titles Film and Video Editors Might Have

• Editor
• Film Editor
• News Editor
• Video Editor

What Film and Video Editors Do

• Organize and string together raw footage into a continuous whole according to scripts or the instructions of directors and producers.
• Edit films and videotapes to insert music, dialogue, and sound effects, to arrange films into sequences, and to correct errors, using editing equipment.
• Select and combine the most effective shots of each scene to form a logical and smoothly running story.
• Review footage sequence by sequence to become familiar with it before assembling it into a final product.
• Set up and operate computer editing systems, electronic titling systems, video switching equipment, and digital video effects units to produce a final product.
• Trim film segments to specified lengths and reassemble segments in sequences that present stories with maximum effect.
• Cut shot sequences to different angles at specific points in scenes, making each individual cut as fluid and seamless as possible.
• Review assembled films or edited videotapes on screens or monitors to determine if corrections are necessary.
• Verify key numbers and time codes on materials.
• Manipulate plot, score, sound, and graphics to make the parts into a continuous whole, working closely with people in audio, visual, music, optical, or special effects departments.
• Program computerized graphic effects.
• Study scripts to become familiar with production concepts and requirements.
• Supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in film editing, assembling, and recording activities.
• Determine the specific audio and visual effects and music necessary to complete films.
• Mark frames where a particular shot or piece of sound is to begin or end.
• Record needed sounds or obtain them from sound effects libraries.
• Conduct film screenings for directors and members of production staffs.
• Discuss the sound requirements of pictures with sound effects editors.
• Piece sounds together to develop film soundtracks.
• Confer with producers and directors concerning layout or editing approaches needed to increase dramatic or entertainment value of productions.
• Develop post-production models for films.
• Collaborate with music editors to select appropriate passages of music and develop production scores.

What Film and Video Editors Should Be Good At

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

What Film and Video Editors Need to Learn

• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.