ABSTRACT
When putting together a scene or sequence, work on it until people have a finished a version that reflects people’s ideas to that point, then set it aside. A workplace should be a neutral space where decorum allows everyone to do their best work, regardless of whether it happens to be in the editor's own home or in an editing facility. The editor should be asking the director, "how do you like to work," and the director should be asking the editor the same question. From a practical standpoint, what does the editor need from the director when the project begins? Editor Fiona Otway describes her initial conversations with the director like this: the author am trying to extract their understanding of their own story. Editor–director teams should be wary of getting mired in endless problem-solving sessions that yield few results; usually this indicates a need to move on to a different problem for a while.
