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Film and Video Editors
Edit moving images on film, video, or other media. May work with a producer or director to organize images for final production. May edit or synchronize soundtracks with images.
Also Known As:
Editor
Film Editor
News Editor
News Video Editor
News Videotape Editor
Non-Linear Editor
Online Editor
Tape Editor
Television News Video Editor
Video Editor
Wages
Annual wages for Film and Video Editors in United States
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
45,200
4% Change From 2024
Explore Film and Video Editors video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Collaborate with music editors to select appropriate passages of music and develop production scores.
- Review assembled films or edited videotapes on screens or monitors to determine if corrections are necessary.
- Set up and operate computer editing systems, electronic titling systems, video switching equipment, and digital video effects units to produce a final product.
- Set up and operate computer editing systems, electronic titling systems, video switching equipment, and digital video effects units to produce a final product.
- Manipulate plot, score, sound, and graphics to make the parts into a continuous whole, working closely with people in audio, visual, music, optical, or special effects departments.
- Determine the specific audio and visual effects and music necessary to complete films.
- Discuss the sound requirements of pictures with sound effects editors.
- Piece sounds together to develop film soundtracks.
- Confer with producers and directors concerning layout or editing approaches needed to increase dramatic or entertainment value of productions.
- Review footage sequence by sequence to become familiar with it before assembling it into a final product.
- Mark frames where a particular shot or piece of sound is to begin or end.
- Record needed sounds or obtain them from sound effects libraries.
- Select and combine the most effective shots of each scene to form a logical and smoothly running story.
- Verify key numbers and time codes on materials.
- Edit films and videotapes to insert music, dialogue, and sound effects, to arrange films into sequences, and to correct errors, using editing equipment.
- Cut shot sequences to different angles at specific points in scenes, making each individual cut as fluid and seamless as possible.
- Organize and string together raw footage into a continuous whole according to scripts or the instructions of directors and producers.
- Select and combine the most effective shots of each scene to form a logical and smoothly running story.
- Develop post-production models for films.
- Program computerized graphic effects.
- Study scripts to become familiar with production concepts and requirements.
- Supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in film editing, assembling, and recording activities.
- Conduct film screenings for directors and members of production staffs.
- Trim film segments to specified lengths and reassemble segments in sequences that present stories with maximum effect.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")