Editing & Post Production overview
What is post production?
Post production is the term for the final stage of production in which the raw material (shot by the camera crew and recorded by the Production sound crew) is edited together to form the completed programme or film. Editing is the key function - of picture, sound, effects, or a combination of these.
The processes involved in post production include: picture editing, sound editing, composing and recording the score, music editing, adding visual special effects, adding audio sound effects such as Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR), Foley (post-synchronised sound effects), sound design, sound mixing, colour grading, titles design, and negative cutting.
Digitisation has dramatically altered the post production sector, with new editing and effects capabilities emerging all the time. Digital technology and computer-based editing systems allow for clearer pictures and smoother editing techniques, constantly improving picture quality.
As the Post Production period usually lasts longer than the actual film shoot, and may take many months to complete, it is an expensive process. Post Production Supervisors must ensure that the edit runs as smoothly as possible and that each project stays within agreed budgets.
Editors creatively determine the way that films unfold and stories develop. They work and rework scenes in order to maximise a programme or films potential. Because scenes are shot and edited out of sequence, Editors may work on scenes from the end of the film before those at the beginning, and must therefore be able to maintain a clear idea of the emerging story. These sequences are edited together to form the assembly edit (or rough cut) which is painstakingly worked and reworked over months to produce the fine cut or picture lock (when the Director and/or Executive Producer give final approval of the picture edit).
Both picture and sound editing are highly creative crafts, requiring specialist skills which must be acquired over many years of on the job experience. Because the majority of films are edited on computers, all those who work in cutting rooms must have experience and knowledge of digital editing equipment and software, combined with precise attention to detail, and excellent communication skills. They may start work at junior levels or as Runners at post production facilities houses before eventually progressing to Assistant, Editor or Post Production Supervisor.
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