Motion picture and television films are shot following a schedule without regard for story continuity. Scenes are often filmed several times and from different angles. FILM AND VIDEO EDITORS select the most effective shot of each scene and combine them in sequence to form a logical and smoothly running story. They may discard scenes that do not help plot development. When selecting and assembling scenes, Editors try to achieve the best combination of photography, performance, consistency, and timing. Comedies, for example, require a specific type of timing. Editors must estimate how long audiences will laugh at each gag line or situation in order to space scenes so that one funny incident is not lost in the laughter of the previous one.

Film and Video Editors perform the following tasks to complete a film:

• Evaluate and select scenes in terms of dramatic and entertainment value and story continuity.
• Trim film segments to specified lengths and reassemble segments in sequence that presents story with maximum effect.
• Use editing equipment to insert music, dialogue, and sound effects.
• Review assembled film or edited videotape on screen or monitor and make corrections.
• Work with Sound Effects Editors and Music Editors.

Sound Effects Editors perform the following tasks to provide sounds that match the action on screen:

• Work with Film and Video Editors, directors, and other technicians to analyze the sound requirements of the picture.
• Record needed sounds or obtain them from sound effects libraries.
• Assemble sound tracks recorded after action is filmed.

Music Editors perform the following tasks to enhance the film with background music:

• Discuss the music requirements of the film with directors and composers before they select music for a film.
• Describe each scene and note the required length of time for composers.
• Use music libraries to find the proper music for productions that do not use original scores.
• Synchronize music tracks with the picture after the music is composed and recorded.

Assistant Editors perform the following tasks:

• Prepare the work for Editors.
• Provide general support services for Film Editors.
• Maintain schedules and arrange screenings for directors and producers.
• Supervise apprentices.

Increasingly, films and television productions are edited on computer editing equipment, although feature films are still edited in the traditional way on flatbed editing machines called Moviolas. In the traditional method of editing, Editors run strips of film through these machines at various speeds. They mark frames where a particular shot or piece of sound is to begin or end. After the scenes are edited, Assistant Editors join separate strips of film on a splicer. The sequences are then ready for viewing. Computer editing uses personal computers and special software to rearrange film sequences.

In the television industry, almost all work is done on videotape rather than film. Videotape editing requires some additional special training on the various electronic equipment used in the editing process.

Film and Video Editors frequently use the following skills, knowledge, and abilities:

• Synthesis/Reorganization - Reorganizing information to get a better approach to problems or tasks.
• Monitoring - Assessing how well one is doing when learning or doing something.
• Information Organization - Finding ways to structure or classify multiple pieces of information.
• Product Inspection - Inspecting and evaluating the quality of products.
• Communication and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods including alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Film and Video Editors work in cutting rooms, projection rooms, and on shooting stages. The newer cutting rooms usually have space for three or four editing benches, viewing machines, and film bins. These rooms are adequately ventilated and lighted. Deadlines and high production costs can create considerable pressure for Film Editors.

Most jobs are in Los Angeles, with a smaller number in the San Francisco area and in larger metropolitan areas.

Most Film and Video Editors belong to the Motion Picture and Videotape Editors Guild of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), while others in the television industry are affiliated with the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), or are covered by an industrial union agreement.

The projected growth rate of 27.3 percent indicates that Film and Video Editor occupations are growing faster than average compared with all occupations. The estimated number of job opportunities from 1998 through 2008 is expected to total 1,400.

Film editing has changed very little since the 1940s; its complex process of shooting and editing is something that many Film and Video Editors find alien and completely mystifying.

Film and video editing has changed radically over the last few years and should change even more radically in the years to come. Already, DVD, streaming media, interactive television, and the constantly changing film and video editing software involved have transformed the occupation.