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Description

This is an ideal career for creative thinkers. Film and Television Editors edit, as in cut and assemble, raw footage which is known as rushes from film and video on a timeline into a working sequence. They may work from storyboards in order to maintain the story line, but often have artistic licence to make changes where necessary. 

Career Advice - Film & Television Editor Career

What you do every day 

As Editor you will work with the Director and in some cases the Producer in the edit suite to gather a sense of mood, pace and style for the production. You evaluate the scenes and inform the Director about what needs to be re-shot or re-recorded for vision or sound purposes. 

For video and digital mediums, you will capture the footage onto the computer, which takes ‘real time’, then trim the captured footage or film to specific lengths; make sure that each cut flows seamlessly onto the next one to create a sequence. Film will be imported onto a computer also to enable maximum efficiency. 

You also balance and edit dialogue, music and effects with the help of the sound designer. Sometimes you are responsible for adding titles and credits and selecting and editing stock footage. 

Personality that best fit this career 

To be a successful Editor you must be highly organised, dedicated, have extraordinary attention to detail, and possess creativity and flair. You must be able to remain calm under pressure and to work to deadlines. You also need to be willing to work long and irregular hours. 

Best thing about this career 

The most rewarding aspects about being an Editor are being able to work within a creative team and having the ability to practice and enhance your skills on a daily basis. It is so gratifying to be satisfied with the final outcome of a project. 

Worst thing about this career 

Being an Editor can be very time consuming and tiring, as the hours are very long. Projects can become tedious and working in a confined space does not suit everyone.