A film editor’s job is to complete a director’s vision for a film. Once production begins, editors are given raw footage that had been shot earlier that day (or the prior, depending on production schedules). This footage is called dailies. After reviewing the dailies, the editor then pieces them together to create scenes, build a narrative and evoke emotion and tone in a scene.

Scenes are then strung together, creating a larger piece of the movie. Eventually, after the entire film is shot and spliced in the proper order, the editor’s first pass is finished. This first pass is often called an Assembly Edit and typically contains everything (or nearly everything) that was shot for the movie. This is why Assembly Edits tend to run far longer than the final, finished version of the film.

Sometimes, movies are reconceived, restructured and “rescued” in the editing room. This happens after a film’s been assembled and it isn’t quite hitting the standards the director and/or the producers were hoping for.

This can be due to a number of issues, and whether they’re related to narrative, character, performance, emotion or clarity, editing can typically aid in fixing (to varying degrees) these.A number of seminal, genre-defining films, from STAR WARS to ANNIE HALL to JAWS were all aided tremendously in the editing room.

In the earliest days of cinema (think the 1890s), movies were less a string of scenes than they were primarily short (five to six minutes) sequences of spliced film. In the 1900s, movies began to take on a more defined shape as editing was used to create a palpable sense of time and space in films. By attaching two separate (but related shots) next to one another, it became possible to create an imagined on-screen narrative and bring a story to life on celluloid.

As times evolved, filmmakers began experimenting with different ways and techniques to edit and by 1910 the Soviet Montage was created. Film remained a cut and paste process (literally using a razor blade and glue to separate pieces of celluloid and then reconnect them to others). This is known as splicing. Machines known as “flatbeds” were soon invented to make the entire cut and paste process of film editing move along much more efficiently.

In the late 1980s, digital film technology revolutionized the post production industry by creating an even easier, more methodical means to edit films. Digital systems process film strips into individual films that editors can digitally manipulate on their computers. This is also known as non-linear editing.

From an overview standpoint, film editing plays out in four stages of the post-production process. Let’s take a look at them.

Also known as the first assembly, the assembly edit is in essence just that – an assembly of the film’s usable footage placed in narrative (although not necessarily chronological, as the screenplay may dictate) sequence.

This is the stage when the assembly edit gets whittled down and fine-tuned into a coherent story. It’s here that the film begins to take shape and character arcs become apparent. As the material is recut and reviewed, it gets finessed even more, focusing not just on story and character, but on emotion, style and tone as well. Overall length is also a heavy consideration as runtime plays a direct role in the momentum of a film.

Once the picture edit is done (also known as having a “locked picture”), films get color corrected. Movies are shot over extensive periods of time, often in several different locations. In other words, not everything looks the same everywhere. The color correction process rectifies colors back to their natural look.

Grading, which is the second part of this post-production process unifies the look of the movie, ensuring all the colors are in sync not just with one another but with the overall visual style the movie had been aiming to achieve.

These processes are often (understandably) confused but the difference between them is quite simple.

Sound Editing is the process of editing pre-recorded sounds and audio while Sound Design involves creating new sounds from scratch. New sounds are created in a variety of ways, whether that be through instruments, computers or any other non-conventional methods.

Once the narrative, characters and tone are set in a movie, an editor has a chance to experiment with a few different techniques that not only aid in telling a story, but add some interesting flair to things as well. Here are a few of these techniques…

A match cut is an edit between two shots that either directly compliments or directly contrasts the visuals between them. Match cuts also typically carry a thematic element (or elements) between the edits and are integral to the film. Some examples of match cutting can be found in this video.

Parallel editing involves cutting back and forth between two or more scenes that are executed simultaneously but in different locales within the universe of the movie. As with parallel editing, there will usually be some type of connection (whether it be contextual, subtextual or symbolic) between the alternating scenes.

One of the best examples of parallel editing can be found at the climax of THE GODFATHER, during the baptism sequence.

A jump cut is an edit to a single shot that moves the entire narrative of the film a great distance in time. Jump cuts are often seen as jarring and abrupt (hence, “jump”) and are used to tell a story without unneeded dialogue. For more on the jump cut (more than you thought you could know, actually), take a look at this video.

Like it is with getting work in any position in the Industry, the editing field is no exception as to obstacles and challenges. But there are a few steps you can take to set yourself on the right track…

Watch movies. A lot of them. As many as you can. And then watch some more. Make sure you’re varying your intake – from big Hollywood tentpoles to small indie films.

The more you watch, the more what works (and what doesn’t) will become clear. It’ll be super-helpful to use what you learn from others when you’re given the opportunity.

As stated earlier, although not entirely necessary to get work in the Industry, film school can be a terrific leg-up when it comes to establishing a career in the world of filmmaking. It will also make learning different types of editing software technologies much easier than having to figure it out on your own.

Like so many other careers in the Industry, it all starts with networking. Meeting and connecting with the right people is a surefire way to bring you into the right professional circles. Ultimately, the people hiring are the ones you’ll be working side-by-side with. And people want to work with those they know and feel comfortable around.

In other words, get to work. Get some software (more on this in a moment) and start editing footage together. After you’ve developed a feel for the craft, start looking for independent or student films that could use editors. They most likely won’t pay, or if they do, it’ll be very little, but the important thing to remember is the experience you’ll accrue and the work samples you can show off.

Since the revolution of digital editing, the Industry made a gigantic shift towards it. The ease and efficiency of film editing software makes its use a no-brainer in the Industry. In fact, there are so many different types of programs to use, choosing which is right for you can seem like an overwhelming task.  Take a look at this list and decide which is the best software for you.

Editing is the final step of labor when producing and finishing a movie. It’s here that performances, character and story can be tailored specifically and many classic films have been saved during the process.