Section 4
Editorial
The editorial department is where the raw footage is transformed into a finished story. The editor is often described as the "invisible storyteller" — their work, when done well, is completely transparent to the audience, who simply experience the story unfolding naturally. But the decisions made in the editing room — which take to use, where to cut, how long to hold a shot, how to pace a scene — are among the most consequential creative decisions in the entire filmmaking process.
The editorial department is where the raw footage is transformed into a finished story. The editor is often described as the "invisible storyteller" — their work, when done well, is completely transparent to the audience, who simply experience the story unfolding naturally. But the decisions made in the editing room — which take to use, where to cut, how long to hold a shot, how to pace a scene — are among the most consequential creative decisions in the entire filmmaking process. The terms in this section cover the key editorial roles, the non-linear editing workflow, the language of cuts and transitions, and the essential concepts that define the craft of picture editing.
Assistant Editor
The Assistant Editor is the technical backbone of the editorial department. They manage the massive volume of digital media generated during productio...
Assembly Cut
The Assembly Cut (also called the "assembly edit" or "rough assembly") is the very first version of the edited film, created by the editor by assembli...
Aspect Ratio
The Aspect Ratio is the proportional relationship between the width and height of an image or screen. It is typically expressed as two numbers separat...
Cut
A Cut is the most fundamental and common editing transition, in which one shot ends and the next shot begins instantaneously, without any transition e...
Crossfade (Dissolve)
A Crossfade (or Dissolve) is a video transition in which one shot gradually fades out while the next shot simultaneously fades in, creating a brief pe...
Cross-Cut
A Cross-Cut (or "parallel editing") is an editing technique in which the action alternates between two or more scenes happening simultaneously in diff...
Final Cut
The Final Cut is the last, approved version of an edited film or video, representing the definitive creative vision of the director (or, in some cases...
Fade
A Fade is a video transition in which the image gradually transitions to or from a solid color (most commonly black or white). A "fade to black" is on...
Linear Editing
Linear Editing is a traditional form of video editing in which edits are made sequentially, from the beginning of the program to the end, by recording...
L-Cut
An L-Cut is the inverse of a J-Cut: the audio from the previous scene continues to play after the picture has cut to the next scene. The viewer sees t...
Letterbox
Letterboxing is the practice of displaying a widescreen image on a screen with a narrower aspect ratio by adding horizontal black bars at the top and ...
Offline Edit
The Offline Edit is the creative editing phase of post-production, typically performed using low-resolution proxy files rather than the original high-...
Online Edit
The Online Edit is the technical finishing phase of post-production, performed after the picture has been locked in the offline edit. During the onlin...
Picture Editor
The Picture Editor (or simply "Editor") is the key creative partner to the director in post-production, responsible for assembling the raw footage int...
Picture Lock
Picture Lock (or "locked picture") is the milestone in the post-production process at which the editing of the film is considered final and no further...
Syncing / Sync (Lingo)
Syncing is the process of aligning the production video (captured by the camera) with the production audio (captured separately by the sound mixer) so...
Stringout / Selects Reel (Lingo)
A Stringout (or "Selects Reel") is a sequence created by the Assistant Editor or Picture Editor that contains all the best takes (or "selects") of a s...