Film & Video Editors : Education, Training, Career Outlook

A part and parcel of the film staff, film and movie editors possess a lot of technical skills to perform their task of editing a film, soundtrack or video. As you must be aware that shooting for a motion picture film or a television film is done according to a schedule, which leaves no time to find out whether the film scenes are in a logical sequence. The hectic shooting schedule gives no time to look into the story continuity. You must have also noticed a particular scene being shot twice or more, from various angles. Do all the scenes get included in the film as many times as they are filmed or shot? Obviously, not. The motion picture film or the television film that you enjoy seeing so much reaches its final stage after technical works like scene selection, scene assembling, discarding of scenes, story continuity, insertion of music and dialogue, soundtrack editing etc. Film and video editors are those highly skilled professionals that perform all these technical tasks and make the film look just fantastic.

After the shooting of a film or video gets completed, film and video editor's duty is to select the shot which gives the scene utmost effect. During a shoot, a specific scene may be shot twice or three times or more. Therefore, the task of selecting the most effective shot of a scene remains with video and film editors. Whether it is the photography, consistency or the timing of the film or video, editors use their expertise to strike just the perfect combination of all these elements. The editors need to make sure that all the scenes of a film or video follow a logical sequence and the story runs smoothly. If they find a scene that interrupts the overall plot development, film editors may discard that scene entirely from the film. While editing a film, editors are required to evaluate scenes in terms of entertainment and dramatic value as well.

While editing a motion picture film or a television film, video editors or film editors also work in close contact with sound effect editors and music editors. Sound effect editors complete their work along with the assistance and inputs from directors, film and video editors and other technical people involved with the production and development of the film. A sound editor's responsibility is to analyze the actual sound requirements of a picture and by assembling sound tracks accordingly. When it comes to working on the background music, the music editors do the synchronization of music tracks. Assistant editors are also there to assist the film and video editor with their task.

Education & Training
To kick start your career as apprentice film editors, candidates need to obtain a bachelor's degree including film courses that cover the different facets of filmmaking. Students can easily select from a wide range of vocational training institutions, film schools, colleges and universities where they can enroll in a film course. Courses in videography prove extremely helpful to establish your career in the arena of film and video editing. Candidates can also choose to work under experienced film editors to gain some valuable experience, essential for career advancement. Besides having educational and academic requirement, film and video editors also need to be very innovative, possess good judgment qualities and should be able to communicate their message effectively to other technicians involved in the project.

In this age of cutting edge technologies and computers, editors should keep themselves abreast of the latest development in the computer-based editing systems. With the passage of time, most of the traditional film and video editing techniques have been replaced with modern computerized techniques. Aspiring candidates should also have expert computer skills.

Career Outlook & Salary
Multiple career opportunities await candidates in the field of film and video editing. Candidates can land jobs in advertising agencies, movie studios, television programs, motion picture productions etc. Some of the video and film editors also choose teaching at film schools, colleges and universities. The median annual salary of a film editor is $46,670. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 23,000 film and video editing jobs are expected by the year 2016.