Editing Film editing (section)

== Assistant editors ==
Assistant editors aid the editor and director in collecting and organizing all the elements needed to edit the film. The [[Motion Picture Editors Guild]] defines an assistant editor as "a person who is assigned to assist an Editor. His or her duties shall be such as are assigned and performed under the immediate direction, supervision, and responsibility of the editor."<ref>{{cite book|last=Hollyn|first=Norman|title=The Film Editing Room Handbook: How to Tame the Chaos of the Editing Room|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hXOxnJa7vLAC&q=%22assistant+editor%22|date=2009|publisher=Peachpit Press|page=xv|via=GoogleBooks|access-date=March 29, 2019|isbn=978-0321702937}}</ref> When editing is finished, they oversee the various lists and instructions necessary to put the film into its final form. Editors of large budget features will usually have a team of assistants working for them. The first assistant editor is in charge of this team and may do a small bit of picture editing as well, if necessary. Assistant editors are responsible for collecting, organizing, and managing all the elements needed for the editing process. This includes footage, sound files, music tracks, visual effects assets, and other media assets. They ensure that everything is properly labeled, logged, and stored in an organized manner, making it easier for the editor to access and work with the materials efficiently. Assistant editors serve as a bridge between the editing team and other departments, facilitating communication and collaboration. They often work closely with the director, editor, visual effects artists, sound designers, and other post-production professionals, relaying information, managing deliverables, and coordinating schedules. Often assistant editors will perform temporary sound, music, and visual effects work. The other assistants will have set tasks, usually helping each other when necessary to complete the many time-sensitive tasks at hand. In addition, an apprentice editor may be on hand to help the assistants. An apprentice is usually someone who is learning the ropes of assisting.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wales|first=Lorene|title=Complete Guide to Film and Digital Production: The People and The Process|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DvQoCgAAQBAJ&q=%22assistant+editor%22&pg=PA209|date=2015|publisher=CRC Press|page=209|isbn=978-1317349310|via=GoogleBooks|access-date=March 29, 2019}}</ref>

Television shows typically have one assistant per editor. This assistant is responsible for every task required to bring the show to the final form. Lower budget features and documentaries will also commonly have only one assistant. Higher budget films and shows tend to have more than one assistant editor, and in some cases, there can be a full team of assistants.

The organizational aspects job could best be compared to database management. When a film is shot, every piece of picture or sound is coded with numbers and [[timecode]]. It is the assistant's job to keep track of these numbers in a database, which, in non-linear editing, is linked to the computer program.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} The editor and director cut the film using digital copies of the original film and sound, commonly referred to as an "offline" edit. When the cut is finished, it is the assistant's job to bring the film or television show "online". They create lists and instructions that tell the picture and sound finishers how to put the edit back together with the high-quality original elements. Assistant editing can be seen as a career path to eventually becoming an editor. Many assistants, however, do not choose to pursue advancement to the editor, and are very happy at the assistant level, working long and rewarding careers on many films and television shows.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=Chris|last2=Jolliffe|first2=Genevieve|title=The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pap7NL-Y1SgC&q=%22assistant+editor%22+film&pg=PA363|publisher=A&C Black|date=2006|page=363|via=GoogleBooks|access-date=March 29, 2019|isbn=082647988X}}</ref>