How To Become an Edit Assistant

What is an Edit Assistant?
An Edit Assistant is an individual that supports the Editor(s) in all aspects of putting together a production/film.

What is the job?
An Edit Assistant will be responsible for keeping a log of all materials coming into the editorial department. As well as video, this may include storyboard panels, animated scenes, dialogue, sound effects, and soundtracks. They will take care of digitisation, conversion, and storage of all the necessary footage and other assets.

In addition to this, Edit Assistants may also have administrative duties, which could include booking appointments with clients and in-house staff, making sure that equipment is correctly working, and placing orders with suppliers. The role will also involve an element of keeping up to date with changes in software and technology.

How To Become an Ingest Operator

What is an Ingest Operator?
An Ingest Operator is an individual who is responsible for managing, accessing and importing data ready for use by Editors.

What is the job?
The role of Ingest Operator involves ingesting a high volume of video rushes in a wide range of different formats from memory cards, cameras, hard drives and various online storage systems. Data ingestion is the process of accessing and importing media ready for immediate use, or for storage in a database for future use. It is their responsibility to transcode media into editable formats and the correct frame rates for the production. Overall, their role is to organise projects for Editors, which can involve setting up project files and syncing camera footage and audio. Their primary duty is to facilitate the timely ingest of media in preparation for edit.

The role requires a solid technical understanding and strong organisational skills. As well as the above duties, you may also be required to compile post-production paperwork and may be asked to assist the edit on certain projects. On top of this, you may be required to undertake other tasks such as general administrative duties.

How To Become a Post Production Runner

What is a Post Production Runner?
A Post Production Runner is an individual who is on hand to help out in the edit suites and around the building at a post production facility. They help out with all aspects of post production.

What is the Job?
Post production facilities are the places where film and TV dramas are edited. They can be independent companies or part of a large studio. Post-production companies often employ Runners to take care of the most basic daily tasks in their facilities, to ensure that operations run smoothly. In exchange, Runners have the opportunity to get the industry experience that they need to progress to more advanced roles.

Post Production Runners, as mentioned, will do a lot of basic tasks, from cleaning, to making tea and arranging meals. They also sometimes work on reception, answering the phone and ensuring that guests and clients feel welcome.

In addition to this, Post Production Runners will often have administrative duties, which can vary from labelling files, filing notes, printing, photocopying and distributing material. They are also often in charge of delivering and collecting packages.

How To Become an Edit Producer

What is an Edit Producer?
The Edit Producer helps to co-ordinate the edit through working with the editor(s), and relaying information from other producers working on the production. They can also be involved in writing the script.

What is the Job?
As an Edit Producer, you will not work on location. The role starts at a later date, as they supervise the edit process. Sometimes, the Edit Producer is brought in to work from the edit suites, if the show is being shot and cut at the same time.

As the Edit Producer is not normally on location, they act as a fresh pair of eyes when it comes to editing. This is helpful with ensuring the scene is portrayed in the way it was meant to be. As an Edit Producer, you must constantly ask the question “how does this scene move the overall story I am telling, forward?’. If it doesn’t move the story forward, it is your responsible to recognise this, and remove or re-cut it.

How To Become a Videographer

A Videographer is the person behind the camera, shooting all types of productions and events. In this article, we will be discussing the key skills of a Videographer and how you can become one.

How To Become an Editor

Become an Editor

What is an Editor?
Editors work in the Post Production team. They are responsible for meshing together the various recorded film, sound, and special effects to create the final production. Editors can work across a wide variety of productions to include, film, TV, commercials, music videos and more. In this article, we will be discussing the key responsibilities of the Editor and the skills and experience you will need to become one.

How To Become an Assistant Editor

How to become an assistant editor

What is an Assistant Editor?
As an Assistant Editor you will support the Editor in preparing all of the media of a project during the post-production stage.

Administration
To be an Assistant Editor, organisational skills are key in what is a very administrative job role. As an Assistant Editor you will manage the media, logging it, monitoring its movement in preparation for editing and ensuring that there is always sufficient storage space. Media will include special effects, sound effects, dialogue and camera footage.

A Basic Guide To Editing Software

Software for professional editing: the pros, the cons and where to start from.
There are many alternatives on the market, but just a few are used by professionals and learning all the tricks of the trade takes time and experience. So what are your options?

Avid Media Composer
The undisputed industry standard for feature films and big productions, which is equipped with the most stable platform for the most complex workflows. Plus, with a complete set of tools to make the most of shared storage and multiple operators working on the same project, it is the go-to choice for post-production companies and editing studios dealing with large teams and complicated setups.

How To Kick-Start Your Career In Post Production

It takes a lot of time and work to shoot a feature film. But even when all the filming is done, the movie is only half-way through its path to be a finished product. The other half usually happens inside a post production house, where different departments work in synergy to put video and sound together into a blockbuster.

If you think post-production is the right path for you, here are the first steps to make your way into this world.

Figure out which department you want to work in
Most post-production companies structure their organisations (hence, human resources) along three main departments: Production, Editing and Sound. The first step, which you’ve probably already taken, is deciding which one of these is the right fit for you, depending on what you want your daily job to be like. Here’s an idea:

The Lot of the Stay-at-Home Editor

More and more editors are working from home, but is this a good thing for the Editor, the Producer, the Director or the film? Freelance Editor and ProductionBase member, Guy Ducker, takes a look.

As I write, I’ve just had my first day’s work outside my flat in about four months (thank you to the good people of I-Motus). It’s not that I’ve been idle during these months: I’ve just had an unusually long run of jobs where I’ve been cutting from home on my trusty iMac. I’d joined the ranks of the stay-at-home editors (emendator domesticus). This phenomenon is comparatively recent. It’s been theoretically possible for some time: we’ve been able to run Final Cut Pro from a consumer Mac for many years and Avid Media Composer (my preferred weapon) released an affordable ‘software only’ version in 2006. But what has made the real difference is the sudden dominance over the last two or three years of cameras that record straight to hard drive. No longer do editors need hefty tape decks and expensive interfaces to get the pictures in and out of their editing machines. If you have a system set up at home, you hardly need to lift yourself from your chair. The material comes to you on a drive, and the finished cut can be returned on the same drive or via an FTP site. If you like, you can even avoid meeting the producer and director – uploading cuts direct to Vimeo or similar sites, so they can watch them without leaving their homes. Filmmakers might never need to leave the house again.

But is this a good thing?

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Tag: Editing