Salary and Outlook

According to the US Department of Labor, there are 33,000 people employed as film and video editors in the United States. The median annual salary is $67,300. Entry level employees earn approximately $34,870 per year and senior employees earn approximately $152,720 per year.

Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime pay, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.

Job Duties

• Organize and string together raw footage into a continuous whole according to scripts or the instructions of directors and producers.
• Edit films and videotapes to insert music, dialogue, and sound effects, to arrange films into sequences, and to correct errors, using editing equipment.
• Select and combine the most effective shots of each scene to form a logical and smoothly running story.
• Review footage sequence by sequence to become familiar with it before assembling it into 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.
• Trim film segments to specified lengths and reassemble segments in sequences that present stories with maximum effect.
• Cut shot sequences to different angles at specific points in scenes, making each individual cut as fluid and seamless as possible.
• Review assembled films or edited videotapes on screens or monitors to determine if corrections are necessary.
• Discuss the sound requirements of pictures with sound effects editors.
• Verify key numbers and time codes on materials.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Determine the specific audio and visual effects and music necessary to complete films.
• 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.
• Conduct film screenings for directors and members of production staffs.
• Develop post-production models for films.
• Collaborate with music editors to select appropriate passages of music and develop production scores.
• Estimate how long audiences watching comedies will laugh at each gag line or situation to space scenes appropriately.

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