Sorry for the title. I just finished a fabulous Double-Double cheeseburger which happens to be my drug of choice. I was noticing how the layers of meat and cheese blend seamlessly into a harmonious and delicious product. That happens to be the same in video Editing. Marking the sections of raw footage and blending them into a story narrative is the basic recipe. But fine-tuning those cuts are what makes an Editor a master at their art.
Producers and directors mark the ins and outs of the footage to develop the storyline. It is only necessary to mark the nearest second. They expect overlap of an extra second to each in and out for safe measure. Don’t waste your time tweaking out on minuscule details. Especially those you will repeat. In fact, some post houses use finishing departments. They will repeat all of the same editing cuts as the main editors. However, with higher quality footage so creating a smooth project will have at least three opportunities to go right or wrong.
Once a video has finished production the footage goes to the post process. The job of an assistant editor is to grab the ins and outs that the producer or director marks. Often times they will only give this measurement to the closest second or sometimes tenth of a second. It’s preferable that the first cut is long so all the necessary footage is still there. Once the narrative has been strung together or placed into the bag of clips; the editor will fine-tune these cuts.
Giving them a rough cut strung together will create the story outline. Next comes the creative aspects of editing. It is up to the editor, director or producer to select if they want a hard cut or a jump cut or a specific transitional effect. The editor will come in and snip those clips to the ideal marking points for a smooth feature. The best advice is to watch the clips over and over again and mark any moments where you notice there is an edit. A dialogue scene strung together to match the face speaking their respective dialogue can feel natural. The finished product should have a smooth feel. A fellow video production worker inexperienced with editing can help greatly as editors themselves notice the craft elements far too much.
Take these moments you marked with clunkiness. Send them back to the editor to go frame by frame and see if there are better moments to splice the clips. This where the tedious over examination will drive the amateur editor crazy. However, this is the comparable aspect of weightlifting for an editor. So those who want to be professionals in the field should take up as much experience in this as possible.
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