What a Film Editor Does: Setting the Record Straight

"The editor is the final author of the movie" - David Lean

From the earliest days of creating films there has been misunderstanding and confusion about what precisely an editor does in the creation of a film, tv plan or right now, the multitude of other varieties of "dynamic media" that are emerging each scripted and unscripted. This is understandable since along with the cinematographer, the art and craft of the movie editor is comparatively new and 1 which in no way existed prior to the advent of movies. My objective here is to clarify this confusion at a basic level.

With the exception of the director, producer and writer*, the editor is the individual closest to, and most intimately involved in the real creation of the final version of the project which is in the end released to the public.

Today, this is accurate to varying degrees in distinct kinds of dynamic media. A reside occasion for instance, is edited "on-the-fly", or as the action happens by a director who calls the shots (edits) in genuine-time by picking from a assortment of various camera angles or viewpoints that are photographing the occasion. This is also the case with significantly of reside tv, though usually, a show will be taped and "roughed out" by a director as it happens, and then later edited for length, rhythm, timing and other inventive or technical concerns.

Frequently, there is the misconception that the editor is strictly a technician, pushing buttons to accommodate the wishes of the director or producer. Even though sometimes so, in the majority of circumstances, this is not the case. Yes, there are technical and complicated elements of the craft, but I feel it is secure to say that the craft of the cinematographer, for instance, with its angles, lenses, lighting, and so on, demands a a lot higher depth of technical, even scientific information to effectively achieve the operate.

But on a long-format function movie, documentary, single-camera tv plan, net series or something else with a narrative, it is the editor, along with the producers and/or director that perform on the project for the longest period of time, get to know the material shot by the production crew most completely, and make each inventive and technical choices for the finest course to take on both unique shot, scene and in the end complete movie till the project is viewed as completed.**

Subsequent in this series: The Day to Day Job Functions of the Editor.

* There are quite a few form of producers, directors and writers. Some are passionately involved from start out to finish. Other folks take a additional "hands off" strategy.

** The popular director John Ford is quoted as saying that "movies are by no means completed, they are basically abandoned".

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