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The Editors and all about Film Editing- The Complete Guide on Film Editing

In this blog, I will tell you about the Editors, The job of editors, and the steps involved in the process of editing. You will also see the transition of editing

In A Movie, as You know,  is basically a sequence of shots. The shots themselves may be beautiful or strange, Kinetic or still, bright or dark. 

When viewed individually they might carry some meaning. But the real power of narrative cinema comes when you put those shots together.

Suddenly they have context. They react to one another by surprising us or putting us at ease. 

Cut together these shots can create a whole new levels of meaning and can evoke emotions in the ways only cinema can. And the person whose job is to make those cuts, to discover that emotional and narrative creation is the EDITOR.

What you will find in this blog :

  1. Job of the Editors
  2. History of Editing
  3. Types of Editing
  4. Steps of Editing
  5. Conclusion
  6. FAQs

JOB OF THE EDITORS

Like cinematographers, Production designers,   costumers, And makeup artists, editors must be part technician, part craftsman, and part creative artist.

 Editors are responsible for understanding the technology of post-production, from editing software to integrating sound design, music, and special effects. Audio is also one of the conventions of film genre. Click here to know more : Film Genres

But they also need to have a deep understanding of film grammar, a gut instinct for character, and a powerful sense of timing.

 Editors are the final Guardians Of The story and the emotional landscape of the film.

 Narrative film is a very fragile thing,  and one misplaced cut can drastically change its meaning and impact. But as crucial as it is the editor’s job is also to hide their work make a call to edit them.If you want to know some films with great editing click here on the list:Beauty and the Beast,Maleficent

GOAL OF THE EDITOR

Editors goal instrument the cuts appear so seamless that the audience doesn’t even notice them at all. Like so many great artists, the best editors make their work look effortless.

Among their duties,  Editors must be able to sort through hours and hours of raw footage to find the story. They must train their visual memories in order to remember tiny differences. and imagine how they might be cut together.

Editors must help the director separate the movie they wanted to make, from the movie  they actually shot.

They are Fresh Eyes, free body challenge of getting a shot for the heartbreak of a performance that didn’t turn out. Editors must also have the taste to recognize when the story isn’t working,  and the skills and experience to offer some solution.

Another way to think of this is that editors of the first audience for a film. An audience with the power to change it and make it even better.

HISTORY OF EDITING

In the beginning, editors worked with the razor blades and tape to physically cut the film into shots and then physically joining those shots together. It was painstaking work. Because one cut could take several minutes contrary to the seconds it takes today using editing software.

HISTORY OF EDITING
HISTORY OF EDITING

It was also more difficult for editors to experiment with various cuts. Because there was  easy way to go back and correct particular edit. it was just more laser blades, tape, and time.

EDITING MACHINE

1920

Moviola an Editing machine was the standard equipment for editors in the 1920s. In addition to  streamlining the process, Moviola  allowed editors to watch the film as they were making the cards

Moviola Editing Machine
Moviola Editing Machine

1970

  1970s, Flatbed editing systems like the Stenbeck and the KEM arrived.

Steenbeck machine -
Steenbeck machine

Now editors could move the film backward and forward to examine their edits and listen to the recorded soundtrack as they went.

1990s 

Flatbeds would remain the industry standard until 1990 when digital editing systems like the Avid Emerged.

TYPES OF EDITING

LINEAR – EDITING

We refer to Physical film editing as linear editing, because the process involves editing your way through the scene or the film in sequence,  shot by shot,  and using cut points. 

Kem Editing Machine- Linear method
Kem Machine- Linear method

It is also called the destructive editing, change the editor is literally cutting the film, irreparably altering it with each transition between shots. 

NON – LINEAR EDITING

  When you edit digitally using computer software, that process is called non-linear editing.

Here you can scroll to any point in the scene or in the film, with the touch of a button, joining and rejoining shots in any order and as many times as you want. it is also called non-destructive editing.

Adobe Premier - Non linear method
Adobe Premier – Non linear Method

 The main nonlinear editing systems include the Avid, Appels  Final Cut Pro, and the adobe premiere.

 Each system has its benefits and drawbacks and each editor must figure out what works best for each project in terms of budget, workflow, and ease of use. 

STEPS OF EDITING

4 steps of editing

ASSEMBLY CUT

 When the footage comes in from the set, the editors first steps to create an Assembly. This is a very rough version of the movie that cuts each scene together in its most basic form. They are often very long and sometimes contain multiple takes of a given shot.

 The goal of the Assembly cut is for the director and editors to see if they have captured the story.

  1. One has to have solutions for the following questions:
  2. Are there any major plot points missing?
  3. Can the desired tone be achieved with the footage that they have?
  4. Are there any technical problems with the footage?
  5. Do the characters make sense?
  6. Where are the plot holes?

Watching an assembly cuts for the first time is often both a joyful and painful experience for the editors and directors

ROUGH CUT

The next step In the process is to make a rough cut or several of them. This is the time for editors for experimentation or re-thinking the structure of the film.

One has to have solutions for the following questions:

  1. What if this scene goes here?
  2. Do we even need this subplot, or this moment or shot in the film?
  3. how can we build the tension, liven a flat scene, or make a joke funnier?

The editor uses rough cuts to focus on the bigger parts of the movie that aren’t working. It’s also where the filmmakers can begin to get a sentence of the ultimate run time of the movie will be.

 After the issues are solved the editor movies on the Fine cut

FINE CUT

At this point, the shoes are smaller but no less significant. It’s time to fine-tune performances and maximize the emotional impact, trim some shots, and extend others.

One has to have solutions for the following questions:

  1. when do we cut from one character or another?
  2.  Is it better to extend this shot by one frame?

Then we come to the final cut.

FINAL CUT

At this point, we are achieving a “Locked cut”, meaning no more changes to the duration or order of any shot in the film.

In this step following things are done:

  1. Colour Correction is happening.
  2. Visual and Sound Effects are coming in .
  3. Music is being composed, Recorded, and Selected
  4. Automated Dialogue Replacement, is being recorded and added to the film.

And it’s all being mixed so that every image and sound in the film exists in proper balance. Fulfilling the vision of the director, who’s now working through the editor and the post-production team.

Each step in this process is specific and important, but not necessarily distinct. However every film is different, so often these stages blend into one another.

The Editor might have a brilliant re-structuring idea in the fine cut stage, and open the film. Or the director might have a sudden desire to extend an emotional beat just as the film is locking picture. To know more about the job of director click here :3 Top Jobs of Film Industry

However it happens, once all these steps are complete, so is the movie.

CONCLUSION

So this blog was whole about the editors and the editing. So we discussed about the steps of editing, Types of editing. We also saw how the Softwares and the methods of editing evolved over a period of time.

FAQs

1.Are editors in demand?

Yes, Nowdays as the world is getting digital . So everyone wants their videos to look great and most of the people don’t know editing nor they have the time to do it. Therefore editors are in a high demand.

2.Are more editors required in film industry?

Yes , In fact as most of the persons come to bombay to become a actor or director in the film industry. There are only limited editors with not much competition. Therefore you can try it with your skills and get a job as a editor in films

3.Is editing an integral part of the film production?

Yes actually most of the films are only based on good editing, There are times when actors cant pull off the scenes then the editor enters into the game and makes the actor job appealing.

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