Defining The Term, “Editor”

Posted on: May 28, 2008
1 comment so far

My good friend, film editor Steve Cohen has an interesting post on semantics as it relates to digital filmmaking and the modern definition of the term “editor”.

I agree with him whole heartedly, and feel that many software and hardware vendors have contributed to the problem by calling their products “editors”. As if human editors don’t have enough of a problem garnering respect, they now have to contend with advertising and marketing copy professing that it’s the software or hardware which does the editing, not an actual person. This is one of the drawbacks of the digital filmmaking revolution. The perception that technology obviates the need for the person, or that any person will do once you acquire a certain piece of technology.

Editing is and always has been a highly technical craft, but it is also an art form. To quote wikipedia, it is “the only art that is unique to cinema and which separates filmmaking from all other art forms that preceded it.” As editors, I think we need to start asserting ourselves more as artists. Yes, our work requires mastering a complex skill set. But this is only part of what it is to be an editor. The reality is, it’s not until we have some mastery of the technical aspects of our craft, not until they have become second nature to us, that we can become truly immersed in our work. This is the point where we have the ability to get in “the zone” and enable ourselves to let our imaginations and instincts run free.

One Response to “Defining The Term, “Editor””

  1. Loren Says:
    May 29th, 2008 at 4:55 pm

    First, congratulations , Larry, on a great looking site which I suspect will belong in every editor’s bookmark bag. And folks should realize you are NOT the other Larry Jordan, trainer and producer.

    Editing of any kind is among the highest of intellectual pursuits. At base it is about selection, arrangement, and pacing. In film, it’s both an art and craft, and practitioners get rich enjoyment from both aspects.

    The art is usually hidden, the craft usually evident. Without the craft, the editor is a blue sky theorist. Without the art, the editor is a button pusher.

    Some clients want one or the other, and some want both. And some don’t know what they want until they see the editor at work.

    More important to me is the half-beguiling, half-entrapping exigency to perform so many of the tasks surrounding editing– at least non-union freelance work– from soundtrack design to motion effects. Simply because those tools are packaged with many NLE’s, some producers and directors come to expect a multiple skillset when many of us have our hands full just helping tell a story.

    So now we do track audio repair, we do green screen keying, we do DVD authoring.

    You know, there’s a reason why I wear a 12on-12off t-shirt!! (www.12on12off.com)

    Best, as always,
    Loren S. Miller
    http://www.neotrondesign.com
    Home of KeyGuide Central

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