Overview of the role
As an edit assistant is primarily a technical role that can cross multiple projects, an assistant editor is a position that is more nuanced, fluid and tailored to the needs of one specific project and its team.
The main role of the assistant editor is to support the editorial team in creating as fluid and effective editing process as possible. This will include liaising with all departments (archive, music, VFX, GFX, editorial, post facility and post production supervisor), troubleshooting, and advanced on-the-fly problem-solving with technical and creative input.
Depending on the size and scope of the project, it is possible to find yourself playing the role of data wrangler, assistant post supervisor, archive researcher, technical support, assembly editor and at times, additional editor.
The assistant editor quite often will be the first person to arrive and last to leave, offering a comprehensive overview of the entire post process.
Core responsibilities
These core responsibilities are provided as a guide and are not exhaustive. The exact responsibilities in a particular job will vary depending on the scale / budget band / genre of the production.
The editing responsibilities for the assistant are broad, from technical and organisational to the use of creative thought and action. Here are examples:
- Ingest of rushes
- Organisation of the project and rushes
- Organising and sourcing archive
- Identifying interviews, making string outs and at times cutting them down for the editor
- Cutting to paper edits
- Syncing rushes with sound and possible multi-cam situations
- Sourcing, ingesting, and organizing music and SFX
- Dropping screener and final VFX into the cut
- Creating and applying luts
- Exports for various members of the production
- Archive replacement
- Conforming the final project for online
- Troubleshooting with final post
- Collaborate with the director to develop the overall narrative and thematic arc
- Suggest creative ways to enhance the story and build emotional impact
- Identify areas that need clarification or additional footage
- Help shape the character arcs and ensure a compelling character journey
- Maintain editorial consistency throughout the project (feature or series)
- Maintaining the flow of information between post and different departments
- Creating a friction-free workflow system from production to presentation
- Liaising with VFX and graphics companies
- Ensuring that final post has all necessary deliverables needed for the final online edit
Skills
Check out role specific skills, transferable skills, and attributes for the role of assistant editor.
- Communication: you will most likely be the first port of call in communication between other departments and the edit. These can include archive, music, VFX, GFX, editorial, post facility and post production supervisor. Therefore understanding and clarifying and prioritising the wants and needs of everyone and conveying this concisely to the edit as well as being able to provide solutions is needed.
- Creative elements: the assistant editor should have an encyclopedic knowledge of all the material. They will often be required to hunt for missing footage or specific shots whilst the editor is crafting the cut. This could involve the sourcing of new archive and if asked, voicing their own ideas and opinion on sections of the film. Researching and importing music and SFX are common tasks, as well as creatively applying the SFX and laying in the music. Depending on the role and relationship with the editor, the assistant can be quite involved in the creative process, even cutting sections of the finished project.
- Organisation and management: the assistant editor will be the main organisational powerhouse behind the edit, managing databases, rushes logs, music, raw footage organisation, project organisation and media management across the project.
- Software: the software of post production is always evolving, be it updates to existing systems or whole new packages. There may be moments when you will be confronted by a whole new system that you will need to learn whilst managing an edit. A solid knowledge of existing routine packages such as the Adobe Suite and Avid Media Composer is a must, along with the relatively new DaVinci Resolve. However, there are often more esoteric and unusual packages that are job specific that may occur. So an open and adaptable mind is needed.
- Hardware: you will be expected to understand how to operate PC / MS-DOS and Apple based computer systems as well as how they interact with each other (formatting drives, character differences etc). You may be needed to troubleshoot basic IT problems. A broad knowledge of camera systems is advantageous, including the difference between cameras, colour spaces, codecs etc. This is so that you are informed on possible problems between cameras during the shoot. The same can be said about sound recording and various hard drive and media storage equipment. You will be the main conveyor of information between the editor and other technical departments, so knowledge of how various systems and equipment work, including correct terminology is very important. This will aid not only in communication from the shoot to the edit, but to later post production departments, such as the grade and dub.
- A good assistant editor is cooperative and works well within a team environment, but is used to operating under their own initiative and for long periods alone
- Organised and able to manufacture transparent organisational systems
- Honest and candid
- Attention to detail
- Effective communication skills
- Effective deduction skills and problem-solving
- Able to take direction and advice
- Understanding of genre, theme, and creative moods
- They remain cool under pressure
- They’re team players and open to compromise
- Client facing confidence when with directors, editors or producers
Discover more checklists
Take a look at additional editor skills checklists