ABSTRACT
What does an editor do? Some say an editor’s job is to simply take out the slow parts. Others say it’s to follow the wishes of the director and to string together the best takes. Ask an editor what the job entails, and he or she will say it’s to breathe life into a film or video or to find and expose its heart and soul. Ask that same editor at the end of a long and difficult project, and you’ll probably hear, “It’s to make everyone else look good.” All are true, and yet none comes close to capturing the critical role the editor plays in any production. I think a great editor is like a great chef. Someone may hand the editor the ingredients and even the recipe, but the editor puts those ingredients together in a way that fires the viewer’s imagination, stokes the thought process, and stirs the passions.
