Make the Cut

A Guide to Becoming a Successful Assistant Editor in Film and TV

Lori Coleman, Diana Friedberg

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781317567769
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Mezzi di comunicazione e arti performative
• Subtopic: Regia e produzione cinematografica

First published in 2010. Being a successful editor is about more than just knowing how to operate a certain piece of software, or when to make a certain transition. On the contrary, there are many unwritten laws and a sense of propriety that are never discussed or taught in film schools or in other books.

Based on their own experiences, first as upcoming assistant editors, then as successful Hollywood editors, the authors guide you through the ins and outs of establishing yourself as a respected film and video editor.

Insight is included on an array of technical issues such as script breakdown, prepping for sound effects, organizing camera and sound reports, comparison timings, assemply footages and more. In addition, they also provide first-hand insight into industry protocol, providing tips on interviewing, etiquette, career planning and more, information you simply won't find in any other book.

The book concludes with a chapter featuring Q+A sessions with various established Hollywood editors about what they expect from their assistant editors.

Part 1

Getting Started

Chapter 1

On Your Way

The moment you cross the threshold of a cutting room, you enter the magical film world of storytelling. It is the last frontier where the original script can be reconceived and reconciled with the film that has been shot. It is the room in which the final rewrite occurs. The editing process provides countless hours of creativity and personal satisfaction to the editor and the editing crew.

To become an editor, you first have to be an assistant. American Cinema Editors (ACE) offers an internship program that is designed to train interns to become consummate assistant editors. The mission statement for the internship is:

On a social level, you will cultivate a relationship with your Editor, and an entire postproduction and production crew. You have to know how to handle stress, high stakes, and mistakes. Trust and honesty are essential. There is the possibility of taking jobs with odd hours, traveling far from home and learning networking protocols. With our guidelines, you will begin to enjoy the challenges of postproduction and develop the skills necessary to succeed. Editorial differs dramatically from production in that we are somewhat of a standalone island. We are entrusted with the keys to the kingdom. Errors in workflow design and execution have implications that are far-reaching and expensive. Taking personal responsibility is paramount for every individual on the editorial team. Technically, you will be responsible for paperwork systems, project settings and organization, digitizing, import/export/file transfer procedures, logging, media storage, backup technologies and procedures. You will need to understand how you handle stock footage, sound effects (SFX), music (MX), visual effects (VFX or VIZFX), automatic dialog replacement (ADR), onlining, protecting network/studio assets and even organizing the office space. On larger VFX shows you may need to demonstrate your database design and concepts for VFX tracking.

To further your career quickly and advance to the level of editor, you have to be the best assistant you can possibly be. There are a variety of venues—from television to features, from trailers to documentaries, from pilots to reality TV—and though there are many similarities, there are also many differences in the daily work flow. When you’ve learned the basics of assisting, you will be able to adapt your skills to any production. If you go above and beyond the basic skills, you will shine and be in high demand.

The length of each project will vary widely. Features may take longer than a year or be as short as 3 months. Television seasons last from 3 to 10 months. Some projects require weekend work and 15-hour days, and some shows demand only 40- to 50-hour weeks. Some shows are shot on location and allow the editorial staff to remain on home turf, and some request the editorial crew to be onsite. All projects are finite, so you will have to look for a job each time a show ends. If you are the best assistant in town, the search for a new gig is hampered only by the need to decide which job to accept. However, there will always be down time in-between movies. We suggest you look for your next job while you are still employed and budget for the weeks of unemployment that occur periodically.

Getting your first job is the hardest step, just like making your first cut in a scene. One of the first tactics on your journey toward employment is to find your way into a cutting room. This way you will be able to observe the work flow and witness how the assistant editor handles the real world of day-to-day chores.

NOTE

We should clarify our references. The terms 35 mm, 16 mm, Super8, 8 mm, videotape, standard def, high def, and the latest advents of P2 and Red Camera are referred to as film. Film or movie includes all venues–features, television, reality shows, documentaries, music videos, trailers, or webi-sodes. Technological advances increase at an exponential rate in the film industry, and they can affect some of the work flow in the editing room. What remains constant is the need for organization, anticipation, and knowledge of the overall requirements to complete a final edited master of a movie at the end of the day.

1.1 Find an Assistant

Assistant editors can be your best allies. They are doing the job you want to do. They are assisting the editor you would dearly love to have as your mentor, so they must be doing something right. They have been in your position as a newly arrived assistant editor and know the pitfalls and lessons of the editing rooms. They are often offered jobs for which they are not available and will recommend someone for it. If all goes well, and you prove yourself to them, perhaps you will be the one they recommend.

NOTE

We use male references with the universal understanding that it includes females. We refer to all people as he instead of he/she.

When you get an invitation to visit an editing room, know that this opportunity is rare and should be cherished. It is exactly what you are looking for—an editing venue where you are allowed to learn, help, contribute, and observe the assistant at work. Here is our suggested short list of what to observe when you are there:

• Look at his paperwork.

• How does he organize the lined script?

• What does he digitize first?

• How does he arrange the Scene bins for his editor?

• Does he use group clips?

• How has the project been set up?

• Does he color code his time line?

• What does his continuity look like?

• How has he prepared the notebooks for incoming paperwork (sound reports, camera reports, telecine logs)?

• How does he prepare for an output?

• What sort of title card does he use, and what information does he have on it?

• Does he put black between acts, and if so, how much?

• How does he prepare for a sound effects and music spotting session?

• What paperwork needs to be distributed at his spotting sessions?

• Does he have ADR lists with master timecodes?

• Does he have photocopies of the scripts prepared?

• Have the audio lists gone to the online session?

• How has he prepared the tracks for online?

• Has he separated out the dialog, SFX, and MX to the specified channels?

• Has he put the stereo pairs in for the music editor?

• Has he prepared the chase cassette for the online?

• Has he prepared a list of the needle drops used in the show with their durations, artists’ names, and song titles?

These are a few of the points of interest to touch on when given the opportunity to visit a cutting room. See if the assistant has templates for all of his paperwork, and check to see how they differ from the ones provided in this book. Ask if he will share and allow you to copy them. See if he has a checklist for preparing dailies, outputting, and onlining. These are valuable lists that have been prepared through the years and have suffered the consequences of past errors and are now nearly perfect. Every editing room varies, and there is always some new technique or method that organizes the room better. Steal all these good ideas.

When visiting friends or family, it is always appreciated when you arrive with a plate of sweets or flowers to grace their house. To show your appreciation to the assistant editor for the privilege of entering his cutting room, we suggest you bring donuts (or something equally sweet and kind) as an offering.

After you have visited the editing room, remember to write a thank-you note. Emails are acceptable, but there is something wonderful about a written note.

Keep all names, phone numbers, email addresses, and cutting room contact numbers on a list for future reference. Buy yourself a special notebook into which you will write these contacts and note all personal information as well—names of spouses and children and birthdays.

If you have done well during your visit and are pleasant to have in the cutting room, you might be rewarded with an invitation to return or maybe a recommendation for a job. Stay in touch with all the folks you can, letting them know when you have landed a job and that you are deeply appreciative of their help.

When you are allowed entree into an editing room, the temptation will be to watch the editor work. It is fun and will give you lasting editing insights. However, the relationship you need to pursue is with the assistant editor. It is he who will turn you on to assisting jobs if he likes you, and will be in your network of colleagues who can talk you through problems that will arise on your first gig. It is he who will share with you his paperwork templates and knowledge of shortcuts and systems about which you need to learn, and will determine whether you will be welcomed back in the cutting room.

The relationship between the editor and the assistant is a finely tuned balance of boss–employee, mentor–student, and mutual protector. When you visit their editing suite, you might be tipping this balance as you sit with the editor. It is a highly coveted privilege to watch an editor cut, one that the assistant longs for but the workload prevents. Be sensitive to whatever toes you might tread upon when you enter their space.

A good job is not good enough in this business. You have to be great in so many different areas. You have to excel technically; have people skills; know how to take care of your editor, producer, and director; and interface with the rest of the crew. The editor wants everyone that comes in contact with the cutting room to go away thinking, “What a great bunch of people.” That means the assistant has to help create that impression. What you have to be is some...