Post Editorial

Department Function 

The process of preparing, selecting, and piecing together the best portions of the raw footage shot on set to tell a cohesive and engaging story.

Working in this Department

The Editorial department has 3 main parts: 

1. The first one is led by Assistant Editors. They will sync (if no dailies facility is involved) and organize all dailies for the Editor. Important documents like camera, sound, and continuity reports will be used by the Assistant Editors to achieve that task. They will also use these documents to assure that no files are missing from set. They are in charge of creating temporary sound design and effects to the offline edit, temporary music and score, or any other temporary assets that will be used to tell the story, like rough composited visual effects. After picture is locked, they will create all the necessary exports for the following departments that will continue with the Post Production process: Sound Department, Finishing House, Composer and Visual Effects.
   

2. The second part in this equation is the VFX Editor.  The VFX Editor does temp VFX during the Director / Producer / Network / Studio cut stage. They are in charge of cutting in-progress VFX for review, as well as providing all turnovers to the VFX vendor. They track versions of VFX shots in progress and are a bridge of communication between the Editorial and VFX departments. This position is usually found on Features and VFX heavy TV shows where budget has allowed for a full time position dedicated to VFX editing, otherwise this task will fall to the first assistant editor.

    

3. The third and final role is that of the Picture Editor.  They are the head of the Editorial department. They will use their creative and technical skills to assemble a cohesive, engaging story through the manipulation of images and temporary sound design. This person focuses on finding the best performances and pacing to evoke an emotion from the audience. During this process, this person will creatively collaborate with Director(s), Producer(s), Show-runners, and more, through to picture lock. Picture Editors can also be invited to share feedback and ideas during the sound mix stage.

Knowledge

Every position requires the use of technical and creative skills. The main technical skills are: strong knowledge of Windows and Mac, different ways to send, receive and share files (i.e. Media Shuttle, Vimeo, Dropbox, Frame io, etc ). It’s a must to know Editing software (Avid Media Composer, Premiere Pro, Avid ScriptSync, etc). Assistant Editors will also need a strong understanding of Photoshop, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, REDCINE-X PRO, and any other software that helps with the process/organization of dailies and/or creation of temp assets for the editing process. In this post pandemic era, it is essential to have knowledge of remote workflows, as some of these tasks might be delegated to your home office (in which case, you will be your own IT at times). 

Job Roles

Typically these jobs are freelance based on a project’s schedule:

Post Production Assistant (Post PA) – Entry Level

2nd Assistant Editor: Dailies Night Shift – Entry Level
(with prior knowledge of editing software)

2nd Assistant Editor: Day Shift

1st Assistant Editor

VFX Editor

Picture Editor

Experience

2nd Assistant Editor: Recent Grads from a film school who already have a knowledge of editing software (must have a great recommendation source), or have been working as a Dailies operator (or similar) for at least 6 months would be hired for the 2nd Assistant Editor dailies shift.  A 2nd Assistant Editor on the day shift would have some experience assisting already.

1st Assistant Editor: At least 2 years of experience as a 2nd AE.

VFX Editor: Usually 3-5 years experience minimum as 1st Assistant Editor who demonstrates a skilled understanding of compositing and shot tracking.

Picture Editor: Most commonly, at least 3 or 4 years as 1st AE, but you can also work up to this position independently, in a more non-traditional way (ie: cutting indie projects on the side and gaining experience that way).

Union or Non Union

All of these positions can be UNION (IATSE 891, ACFC West) or NON UNION.