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Editor's Toolkit, Teddington (2025)

07/01/2022

Hello, to all new visitors. I hope you find the site a doorway to the fun I enjoyed. Let us all know how you get on.

06/02/2021

One of our problems on the Vicar of Dibley was regenerating the graphics and the music. I contacted Howard Goodall who wrote the theme and incidental music, and luckily he had it all as WAV files, but no one had the logo in any sort of quality. I just found a version on the internent and sharpened it up a bit. I suppose it's up to editors to keep this sort of stuff.
Shame I didn't, well not from that long ago. I do now.
What do editors keep in a programme folder for the next series, and advice?

27/01/2021

It was a bit of a graphics creation process, as I had to create the Vicar's webapge. This was done in Paint.net then imported into the Avid.
Anyone remember the days we had to call an Aston person from the edit suite to change a roller?

27/01/2021

The Vicar of Dibley Sermons (director: Babs Wiltshire, producer: Jon Plowman, writers: Richard Curtis, Paul Mayhew Archer) were edited at home on my now quite old version 8 Avid, but it worked fine. The Farm processed the footage and sent the media and bins to me and I sent back bins with sequences included.
We got a system working with Emails and Zoom meetings and we managed to put something together without me seeing any of the team face to face - there's a first. Any other similar lockdown editing experiences?

27/01/2021

I did edit something during lockdown, which was the Vicar of Dibley sermons that went out before Christmas on BBC1.
Anybody see them?

27/01/2021

I have sent some invites out to like this page.

It's early days but if you could like it, I will be encouraged take it further, and you don't even have to buy the book.

25/01/2021

Welcome to any refugees from the editors toolkit website. There is a linked group with this page called 'Timeline' and I would invite you to join that. Chris

23/01/2021

‘The Photograph’ written by Chris Wadsworth
The story is about two brothers who, for whatever reason, have grown apart, but are now forced to be together again on the day of their father’s funeral.

Mark is a successful businessman, whereas his brother Philip, is more downtrodden, having looked after their ailing father for several years. The trouble is, dad has always preferred Mark, despite the fact that he rarely came to see his father. The two brothers talk uncomfortably at first, but both try to make an effort. While reminiscing, some of dad’s old home movies are remembered, and their flickering images bring back even more poignant memories for Mark. One event in particular Mark has long forgotten.

The actors in ‘The Photograph’ are:
Gorden Kaye
Gorden is probably best remambered for playing René in the long-running BBC comedy ‘Allo, ‘Allo! (1982-1992)
Keith Drinkel

Carter Brandon in the BBC comedy from the 1970’s I Didn’t Know you Cared, Philip in Granada Television’s wartime drama series Family at War (1970-2), Maurice Gregory in Coronation Street, in addition to the Major in Gandhi (1982)

I should say straight away that Gorden Kaye, who plays Philip, had very little time to learn the script, and did marvelously to read and learn it as well as he did; my thanks to him for giving it a go. Some bits are sadly unusable, but in a strange way that has done me, (and you), an enormous favour, as even greater editing skills are required to save as much of the performance as you can.

23/01/2021

‘Chocolates and champagne’ written by Nick Gale and Chris Wadsworth

The story centres around a radio show dedication, sent in to the programme by Helen’s husband Joe, to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. Helen misses the live show, but her fussy neighbour Tim, who did hear it, finds a way for Helen to listen to it again on the internet.

Later that day, and quite by chance, Helen listens to a marital infidelity survey, which was featured later on in that same radio programme. As she listens, she slowly realises that her husband Joe’s recent behaviour, fits remarkably well with some of the points highlighted in the survey.

The following day, she discusses the situation with Caroline, her best friend, and fellow teacher at her nursery school, little realising that Caroline is part of the problem. Pennies begin to drop, and a later confrontation has tragic results.

The actors in ‘Chocolates and Champagne’ are:
PAUL TAYLOR as Tim
PIPPA SHEPHERD as Helen
GEMMA SAUNDERS as Caroline
A cameo role by yours truly as ‘adulterer’ Joe
The voice of radio show host Ken Casey
played by my director friend, STUART McDONALD.

23/01/2021

have a look inside the book…

you’ll find 227 pages split into 18 chapters, covering a huge range of topics…

• Chapter 1 What is this all about?
1.1 A Brief Introduction. 1.2 Do You Really Want To Be An Editor? 1.3 Why You Might Just Listen To Me. 1.4 My Background.
1.5 How to Use This Book and its Data.
1.6 Let’s Get Limbered Up – Material for The Exercises.
1.7 How to Join this Happy Band.

• Chapter 2 Shots, Our Building Blocks
2.1 Shot Sizes. 2.2 How the Shot Moves.
2.3 What the Shot Does. 2.4 Special Shots.

• Chapter 3 Joining Shots Together
3.1 The Mechanics. 3.2 Joining Shots Together, the Don’ts.
3.3 Key Points – Joining Shots Together…the Don’ts.
3.4 Joining Shots Together, the Do’s.
3.5 Key Points – Joining Shots Together…the Do’s.

• Chapter 4 Dealing With Dialogue
4.1 Fundamentals of Editing Speech.
4.2 Rhythm of the Spoken Word. 4.3 Editing Dialogue.
4.4 Key Points – Dealing With Dialogue.

• Chapter 5 Creating Sequences
5.1 Pace and Timing. 5.2 Eliminating Unnecessary Pauses.
5.3 Continuity. 5.4 Cutaways. 5.5 Flow. 5.6 Time Jumps.
5.7 Editing Without dialogue. 5.8 Key Points – Creating Sequences.

• Chapter 6 Scene Construction
6.1 Where To Start? 6.2 Scene Assembly Fundamentals.
6.3 Key Points – Scene Construction.

• Chapter 7 Joining Scenes Together
7.1 Scene Transitions – A Look at the Range of Possibilities.
7.2 Repeated Transitions (Cross-Cutting or Parallel Action).
7.3 Key Points – Joining Scenes Together.

• Chapter 8 Different Programme Styles
8.1 Comedy Shows. 8.2 Panel and Game Shows.
8.3 Interviews and Chat Shows. 8.4 Documentaries.
8.5 Trailers and Promotions.

• Chapter 9 Sound Matters
9.1 Get the Room Right First. 9.2 Sound Levels.
9.3 Sound Monitoring. 9.4 Split Tracks. 9.5 Wild Tracks.
9.6 Sound Effects. 9.7 Sound Mixing. 9.8 Sub-Frame Editing.
9.9 Sound Processing. 9.10 More Specialised Sound Processing.
9.11 Additional Dialogue Recording (ADR).
9.12 Foley Sound Effects. 9.13 Key Points – Sound Matters.

• Chapter 10 Music, Music, Music
10.1 An Introduction to Music in the Movies.
10.2 A Brief History of Music in the Movies.
10.3 Back to Practicalities. 10.4 A Spoonful of Music Theory.
10.5 Key Points – Music, Music, Music.

• Chapter 11 Scenes of Style
11.1 Flashbacks. 11.2 Flashbacks – Examples.
11.3 Dreams and Nightmares.
11.4 Dream and Nightmare – Examples.
11.5 Action Sequences. 11.6 Action Sequence – Examples.
11.7 Montage, With and Without Music. 11.8 Montage – Examples. 11.9 Reconstructions. 11.10 Some Exercises for You to Try.

• Chapter 12 Video Manipulation
12.1 Motion Effects. 12.2 Keying.
12.3 Types of Key, Luminance, Chroma and Matte.
12.4 Graphics. 12.5 Multiple Images.
12.6 Multi-layer Video Sticking Plaster. 12.7 Colour Correction.
12.8 Effects, Those You Should Carry With You.
12.9 Key Points – Video Manipulation.

• Chapter 13 Editorial Responsibility
13.1 Editorial Responsibility – An Introduction.
13.2 Taste and Decency. 13.3 The Range of Compliance Categories. 13.4 Other Compliance Issues. 13.5 A Look at Copyright.
13.6 Key Points – Editorial Responsibility.

• Chapter 14 Timescales

• Chapter 15 Projects – Crossing ‘I’s and Dotting ‘T’s
15.1 Bin Management. 15.2 Media Management.
15.3 Timeline Management. 15.4 Your Assistant and You.
15.5 Capturing Multi-Camera Material. 15.6 Label Clips Sensibly. 15.7 Keeping a Copy. 15.8 Clock Information.
15.9 Top and Tails, Titles and Clean Elements. 15.10 Scripts.
15.11 Panning and Scanning. 15.12 Offline and Online.
15.13 Tapeless.
15.14 Key Points – Projects – Crossing ‘I’s and Dotting ‘T’s

• Chapter 16 The Final Days
16.1 Handover. 16.2 Elements that are Worth Keeping.

• Chapter 17 My Last Bits of Advice
17.1 The Day-to-Day Use of the Edit Suite. 17.2 Is that All Right? 17.3 You’re the Host. 17.4 Attitude. 17.5 CVs.

• Chapter 18 In Conclusion

With luck, the combination of text explanations and practical editing exercises, will take all of you, whether you’re an absolute beginner, keen amateur or just starting your career in the business, through to a level of professionalism that will impress any future client or employer.

23/01/2021

The exercises make the book unique

Starting with examples as simple as joining pairs of shots together, through to assembling chunks of real scenes, the exercises are carefully graded in complexity. Here is a complete list of all 52.

Ex 1 Inserting A Shot
Ex 2 Shot Names
Ex 3 Reaction Shot
Ex 4 Cutaways Ex 5 Cutaways 2
Ex 6 Locked-Off Shots
Ex 7 Crossing The Line Examples 1-4 Ex 8 Crossing The Line
Ex 9 Screen Direction Examples
Ex 10 Repeated Action
Ex 11 Movement 1 Ex 12 Movement 2
Ex 13 Eye Contact 1 Ex 14 Eye Contact 2
Ex 15 Split Edits 1 Ex 16 Split Edits 2 Ex 17 Split Edits 3
Ex 18 Expressions 1 Ex 19 Expressions 2
Ex 20 Editing Dialogue Sounds
Ex 21 Breaths
Ex 22 Dialogue Rhythm
Ex 23 Dialogue Repair
Ex 24 Keep It Moving
Ex 25 Pauses
Ex 26 Continuity
Ex 27 Healing Sound
Ex 28 Dialogue Removal
Ex 29 Damage Limitation 1 Ex 30 Damage Limitation 2
Ex 31 Noddies
Ex 32 Shorten Time
Ex 33 Tighten Action
Ex 34 Out Wide 1 Ex 35 Out Wide Ex 36 Out Wide 3
Ex 37 Underlaying Dialogue
Ex 38 Cutting-In 1 Ex 39 Cutting-In 2
Ex 40 Vary Shot Sizes
Ex 41 Scene Join 1 Ex 42 Scene Join Ex 43 Scene Join 3
Ex 44 Action Seq
Ex 45 Stretching Time
Ex 46 Mixing Sound Fx
Ex 47 Editing Music 1 Ex 48 Editing Music 2
Ex 49 Dream Seqs
Ex 50 Montage 1 Ex 51 Montage 2
Ex 52 Chroma Key

23/01/2021

REVIEWS:
SIMON ASHCROFT (editor, studio director, and cameraman for BBC news & current affairs)

What a great thing it is to be an editor. It’s taking a seat in a comfy air-conditioned room, from which you go looking down a telescope at the whole gamut of production processes that have brought a film or programme to you.
From the original spark of an idea, to the delivery of words and pictures on camera, it is you, often working alone, that must weave a well told story from the numerous strands of audible and visual media in your care. Everybody involved in a production, both in front of and behind the camera, will be depending on you to show off their work at its best, often making their work appear better than it ever was, and if you do it well, nobody will even know you were there, except your closest colleagues, for the best edits are often completely invisible.
Chris’s brilliantly designed, and well-constructed book, along with a superb range of online practical exercises, will teach you to walk, even run with this craft, but to truly dance with it you will always need time, and intrinsic talent. But what is that talent?
Well, I have always maintained that you can spot the potential for a great editor in the character of a person, regardless of their training…a good sense of timing, a musicality, a gift for storytelling, a creative spark, a communicative and emotional soul. To these intrinsic gifts, which are far from unique, anybody can now add the knowledge of this book, and garnished with a little experience, you will be ready to roll. Ready to make the magic that is film and television, taking real life or fiction, and then compressing it, reshaping it into something that is as interesting and engaging as the subject can possibly allow, and yet still feel totally believable, uncorrupted, natural, and ‘just right’.
In the chapters to follow Chris, who is without doubt one of the finest editors that the BBC ever produced, will bathe you in the knowledge of all his years of experience. He will share with you all there is to know about the instruments of editing, the protocols, the elephant traps, the tricks of the trade, the pleasures and the frustrations. But only through doing it will you learn the depth of the craft, for editing is an art, just like playing the violin.
When Chris and I learnt to cut, we were lucky enough to be immersed in the talents of an exclusive club of experts at the BBC’s Television Centre in West London. Now, at last, my dear old friend and colleague Chris, the Yehudi Menuhin of his profession, has found a way to offer everybody, not just the lucky few, a set of master-classes in this beautiful and engaging craft.

JOHN BARTLETT (producer, Goodnight Sweetheart, My Family)
Genuinely top class editing has ability to transform, what could be just a professionally produced programme, into so much more.
Chris Wadsworth is simply the master of his craft; you could have no better mentor.

BRIAN LEVESON & PAUL MINETT (writers My Family, Booze Cruise and many more)
Every television production stands or falls by the quality of its editing.
In sitcom particularly, it’s vital that a comedic rhythm is maintained. It should be like a piece of music. It also helps to know about human nature. For instance, quite often the laugh is not going to be on the person cracking the gag, but on those reacting to the line.
Great editors like Chris know this. Thanks for saving our scripts

23/01/2021

Symnopsis of this training course

I have tried to make my book both friendly and down to earth, but at the same time, packed with practical information.

With drawings by my BBC editing colleague Dave Rixon and incisive introductory comments from senior personnel in the TV industry including actor Sir David Jason, writers Andrew Marshall, Paul Minett and Brian Leveson, producers Jon Plowman, John Bartlett, and Gareth Gwenlan, and directors Dewi Humphreys, Ed Bye and Sydney Lotterby – how can you go wrong.
• 52 editing exercises, all with my cut versions of those same exercises

In the book, alongside text explanations of technique, there are 52 editing exercises, using professionally shot media. Four of these exercises are downloadable from this site completely free, you only have to register.

The key point is, with every exercise you’ll be able to see how I dealt with each of the editing problems. Even though you might have tackled the exercise differently, at least you’ll have my version to act as a comparison…to consider and learn from.
• examples of editing techniques from the movies and TV

Without being too ‘arty’, I examine examples of editing techniques from the movies and TV, and look at the work of movie greats like Hitchcock, Lean, Kubrick, Wells, Visconti, Fellini, Lumet, Powell, Pressburger, Coppola, Stone and Scorsese.

I look at films like North by Northwest, Citizen Kane, The English Patient, The Lavender Hill Mob, Lawrence of Arabia, Apocalypse Now, A Clockwork Orange, Dead of Night, 8 1/2, The Cruel Sea, 2001, A Space Odyssey and The Godfather. I also look at classic TV like Pennies from Heaven, The Prisoner, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and even Thunderbirds!

I am bound to have missed out your favourite film, but I hope the next time you watch it, you’ll do so with more informed eyes after reading the book.

23/01/2021

We shot two dramas for you:
• The Photograph
Two brothers, Mark and Philip, review their circumstances and look back at their childhood, when they are forced to spend some time together on the day of their father’s funeral.

• Chocolates and Champagne
Joe and Helen are just about to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. Joe sends in a dedication to a radio show, that wins them the show’s ‘chocolates and champagne’. Sadly, this dedication has unexpected and tragic results.
the filming crew

Both films were shot in only 4 days, and were directed by my friend and colleague, John B. Hobbs, who, in addition to directing numerous theatrical productions and the Chris Rea feature film, La Passione (1996), has directed and produced many BBC situation comedies, such as ‘Allo, ‘Allo, Bread, Mulberry, Down to Earth, Leaving, and Brush Strokes, some of which I edited for him.

The director of photography (DOP) was Nigel Bradley, the sound recordist was Steve Hubbard, and production manager, Nick Gale. My sincere thanks go to all of them. It was quite a week I seem to remember!

23/01/2021

editors comment about editing

• Neil Pittaway (Editor & Former Head of BBC Post-Production)

An editor is an arbiter, a new pair of eyes and ears, a solver of the impossible, a smoother of the ragged, a time and finance dependent project manager, an expert on the total production process and quite often, a creator of a finished product way beyond the wildest dreams of the producer, or their budget.

• Chris Booth (Editor)

The editor is your first viewer, they carry with them an objectivity that you, the programme maker, doesn’t have. They may well suggest things you abhor, simply because you have not seen that particular solution yourself. They bring a freshness of view that can contribute much to your programme, and they have the benefit of the experience of all the other programmes they have worked on.

Nowadays, editors are specialising in drama, in documentary, in light entertainment. Some say this is a good thing, but you lose the cross fertilisation of ideas that can occur when, say, a light entertainment editor works on sport – the end result can win awards.

• Dave Rixon (Editor & Creator of ‘Video Mickey’)

If an editor was not involved in the shoot, he or she is perhaps the best person to give the production team those valuable “first impression” comments, for the viewer often sees the finished piece just once!

• Jon Bignold (Editor)

Editing works best when it is collaborative. A good editor can cast a fresh eye on a scene or an idea and see where its relevance or value lies, without the baggage of the effort which was required to bring it to fruition.
This is not just the negative business of throwing out stuff which no longer works; it can just as easily involve nurturing a fragile idea which the director may have dismissed as not working.

Editors are almost always heroic. Directors arrive with high hopes but have often had a difficult journey to get to the editing stage of the process. A good editor can help them to see how everything can work out in the end.

Editing can involve spending long hours in a dark room with the same person – perhaps for weeks or months on end. Not all personalities work well together under those circumstances. A good editor will find something other than film and TV to talk about.

Working with an editor requires a certain amount of confidence and self-control. It involves giving them the space to be creative, whilst maintaining the sense that you care about it as much as they do.

Editors somehow combine a fanatical approach to detail with a desire to go home on time.

• Martin Baker (Editor)

The editor’s role is valuable because they act as a bridge between the production team and the viewer. The editor is unlikely to be on the shoot and hopefully is not involved with any production politics, so they come to the footage with fresh eyes and bring a valuable independent perspective.

• Rob Gordon (Editor)

Any good director knows that allowing an editor the creative freedom to cut their pictures, means they can get the best end result. A good editor will be sympathetic to a director’s requirements, but present them in a way that maybe a director had not thought of. An experienced editor’s visual cutting expertise can enhance the way a show is presented to the audience.

• Nick Pitt (Editor).

My job as an editor is to give back more than I got, I aim to surprise the director (in a good way of course). My best work is done on my own, working at the rushes to give the best interpretation of the director’s, producer’s and cast’s intentions. This applies just as well in unscripted work, where the job is still to tell the story. Hopefully, when we get to the first viewing, the bulk of the work is already done.

• Robyn Rogers (Editor)

Editors are key in shaping the all-important storyline in detail, whether it be documentary or drama, that’s why they often make good producers or directors (Spielberg and Scorsese, for example, started in the cutting room).

• Penny Heighes (Editor)

We are there to be harsh with every frame, which has been lovingly shot and nurtured, but at the same time we are there to ease the pain of casting it aside.

• Barry Stevens (Editor)

A video editor is a tailor, a chef, a carpenter, a shepherd, a nurse, a chemist, a memory bank, and many other things.

• Simon Hughes (Editor)

A good editor is like a good jazz drummer, he keeps time, determines the groove and very occasionally there’ll be a subtle solo. Most of the time, you won’t know they’re there.

23/01/2021

directors and producers comment about editing

• Dewi Humphreys (Director)

Filming is like shopping for ingredients, while editing is cooking them into a palatable dish.

• Jon Plowman (Producer & Former Head of BBC Comedy)

A good editor is your production’s best friend. He or she can make a good show look great and a great show look fantastic, but an editor’s greatest trick is to make a bad show look passable, or even quite good.

• Richard Boden (Producer, Director & Director of Programmes at Delightful Industries)

Editing can be a strange way to spend the day…or several days…..or several days and several evenings. You finish making a show and then find yourself in a small darkened room, usually with air conditioning that either freezes you, or leaves you falling into a heat induced coma. So…you want to be sure you’re working with an editor who is not only skilled at the technical side of the job [sort of a given…you hope!] but also someone who is creative, sensitive to the needs of the director as well as the writer – often the same person. As well, you rely on an editor to be able to be objective – be the viewers’ eyes if you will. Having sweated over the show, you hope you’ve squeezed every drop there is to be squeezed to get the performance……but you’re too close to the programme sometimes, and an editor who is brave enough to say that a moment isn’t really working the way you’ve shot it, and then adds, “but how about this”, is so valuable.

Of course the editor who just tells you it isn’t working but doesn’t add the “how about this” solution is pretty useless!

• John B Hobbs (Producer & Director)

I had just finished filming a night shoot for ‘Allo, ‘Allo!, and was walking back to the unit base when Jeremy Lloyd, one of the series’ writers, asked me whether I realised that that was the first time we’ve ‘killed’ any Germans on the show. I remember, after a little feeling of unease, replying to the effect that he (Jeremy) had written the script, and indeed was alongside me when I filmed it. Despite this, I realised I had made a big mistake, ‘Allo ‘Allo! was, after all, a comedy. I assured Jeremy the next day, totally without any justification, that I could sort it out in the edit. That’s what a good editor does – allows you to tell a white lie with complete confidence, that there is a solution, even though you have no idea of how to achieve it. Chris cleverly used matched bits of the grassy field to cover up the ‘dead’ bodies, and with a voiceover of, ‘Quick! Let’s get out of here’ from the fleeing and happily alive German soldiers that I had shot only with a camera. The sequence was saved, and with it, to a small extent, my reputation.

• Roy Gould (Comedy Director)

A director who has been working on a show from the script stage through rehearsals and into the studio can sometimes lose focus with what is important and what is not. A good editor who has not been involved with these other aspects of a production comes in with a fresh pair of eyes and ears and have not been tainted by everything else that has been going on beforehand, and will be able to help the director to sort out the wheat from the chaff.

• Sydney Lotterby (Producer & Director)

I want an editor who I know wants to work on the sort of programmes I make. Ability and enthusiasm are the obvious principal attributes of a good editor, but hard on their heels is tact and charm.

An editor’s skill is repairing by using the best retake, not necessarily the easiest, even sometimes using the sound from one take and vision from another, but that’s where the skill lies.

The director is sometimes too close to the programme, and a good editor is often able to suggest time cuts if needed.

All directors are possessive – it’s their baby. When they are new – they want it cut their way – now’s the time for an editor to be tactful – suggest but don’t be dogmatic. Remember, once you’ve shown your skill and gained the director’s confidence, you’ll most likely be editing alone next time. Leaving a lot more time for the director to show his appreciation and buy you a drink!

• Gareth Gwenlan OBE (Producer, Director, Former Head of Comedy at BBC Television & MD Topcomedy Ltd)

A wise director will choose, as a matter of priority, an editor who is familiar and sympathetic to the style and expectations of the production.
A good editor will contribute editorially, lighten the load, and often inspire the director to make a better programme.

• John Bartlett (Producer, My Family, Goodnight Sweetheart)

Editing is a technical job, and an editor is a technician, assembling the writers’, actors’ and director’s achievements into a preconceived whole. Genuinely top-class editing is all the foregoing, but then you have to add craft, artistry, a genuine and instinctive feel for the material and the ability to transform what could be just a professionally produced programme into so much more.

• Ed Bye (Director)

A good editor can make your show better than you ever anticipated, often making the editing process the most enjoyable part of the production, and most times will get you out of the proverbial.

• Julian Meers (Producer)

Editors don’t just cut pictures, they require both creative and technical skills combined with huge patience, a degree in director psychology, greater aural than verbal senses and a beady eye on the clock. Not much to ask really, but that’s the gig.

• Lovett Bickford (Director)

Making a film or television programme is essentially a collective creative activity.
The director perhaps has the overall vision, then his production team go about realising that vision. Within that framework the editor is a crucial element, and many directors rely on them hugely. Many films (which will remain nameless – it’s a fairly bitchy profession!!) have been made in the editing suite. Indeed, many a director, not sure of what he wants, has shot scenes from every conceivable angle and shot size, and then left it to the editor to assemble and make the scene. Of course, this is not always the case, but editors I would say are probably the key element in the finished product. A clever editor can very often get a director out of trouble, if he has failed to cover a scene properly.

23/01/2021

tv professionals comment on editing

• Sir David Jason OBE (Actor)

One of the most difficult genres to edit is comedy. If one wants to edit comedy, one has to have an innate sense of timing and, of course, a sense of humour. With these essential qualities, a comedy editor helps the director to stand aside for a moment or two, and see the work with fresh eyes, which an experienced editor can bring. A good editor can work on his own, but works best together with a director and, as a team they can fine tune a performance. Conversely, whilst they can improve comic moments they can also ruin them. I have learnt over the years as a performer, to work closely with an editor, as they have a skill which can enhance the entire production.

• David Hitchcock (Designer)

I hate editors…….they cut out all the wide shots.

• Barbara Hicks (Vision Mixer)

As a vision mixer, there is nothing worse than seeing random shots used from ISO’s being slotted into a programme, however good the shots may be. A good editor is sympathetic to the style of the programme, and takes over the baton from the vision mixer without trying to craft something different.

• Brian Leveson & Paul Minett (Writers)

Every television production stands or falls by the quality of its editing. In sitcom particularly, it’s vital that a comedic rhythm is maintained. It should be like a piece of music. It also helps to know about human nature. For instance, quite often the laugh is not going to be on the person cracking the gag, but on those reacting to the line. Great editors like Chris know this. Thanks for saving our scripts!

• Bernadette Darnell (Script Supervisor)

One of the first questions I ask is “Who is the editor?” – you are SO important to my role!

• Nigel Bradley (Director of Photography)

As a DOP shooting on location, I see my role as providing the edit with the best kit of parts I possibly can, a bit like the components of a car. When I see the results on TV, a good editor will have miraculously transformed the footage into a Rolls Royce, always a pleasure to see!

• Paul Gartrell (Sound Supervisor)

An editor provides the conduit through which every technical, artistic and creative shortfall is minimised.

• Andrew Marshall (Writer)

A great editor of a TV Comedy is like a great orchestrator for a piece of music. Only they drink less.

• Paul Taylor (Tim in ‘Chocolates and Champagne’)

The care taken by everyone, during the filming of ‘Chocolates and Champagne’, to include as many options as possible for editing was remarkable. When we saw the finished film, I was amazed at the difference, even a slight change of shot, made to the delivery of the dialogue.

• Simon Frodsham (MD, The Independent Post Company)

A good editor will always add to a programme – but what makes a good editor? The old adage that it’s 20% about the kit and 80% about personality isn’t that far from the truth. If you don’t understand what the client wants to convey, all the technical ability in the world will not help you. It’s that ability to match or exceed the client’s vision that will ensure you are never without work. An ability to empathise with people is the first quality I look for in potential recruits to The Independent Post Company. Then comes technical ability, editorial judgement and everything else.

• Shelly Fox (Bookings Manager, Suite TV, London)

The right editor is so important to the production and will make a very necessary contribution. From attending rehearsals, location and studio recordings, to understanding what the director and cast need to achieve. This is more than just pushing buttons, it’s teamwork and making the directors vision come alive.

• Helen Lakey (Programme Compliance ITV)

It’s all about two heads being better than one in achieving the desired end result. The key role of an editor, I believe, is to help a director make the good stuff look amazing and to be honest enough, as a friend, to suggest that the so-so stuff just isn’t right for your final cut!

• David Colantuoni, (Senior Director of Product Management at Avid)

To help you deliver your creative vision, we provide the deepest creative tools that have been refined by professional editors in every segment of post-production. Media Composer gives you the clearest career path to the top tier of the film and video industry, and we wish you every success on your journey.

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