We live in an age where a 6-year-old with a laptop and a copy of iMovie can edit some footage together. Editing software is abundant and as easy to use as it has ever been, and the masses are using these tools to flood the internet with copious amounts of video content. But most of us can agree that simply being able to make edits does not necessarily make a person an editor, at least in the sense of the editing being a creative art form. However, it’s sometimes not clear what exactly an experienced editor can do, and what impact they can have on the final product of a film. Inside the Edit, a brand new online editing course, has put together a short video that demystifies the complexity of an editor’s job.
Here’s the video:
Many people who are just learning to edit should take note of the many points of this video. Editing is far more than simply taking the footage and slapping it together for continuity. Editing is the final revision of the script. It creates structure and form from an otherwise structureless mass of media. It creates a rhythm that an audience can subconsciously see and feel. Editing can create tension and release it. It can cause laughter or take it away in a heartbeat. Editing can be used to inform and audience, or deceive them.
And that, my friends, is what an experienced editor does on a day in and day out basis. That’s why it’s incredibly important for editors to be incredible storytellers above all else. It’s a job that requires a decent amount of technical knowledge, but the editor’s artistic impact on the final product is far too important for it to be considered a singularly technical job.
