Real World Digital Video, Second Edition

The Editing Process

In the film world, once shooting is complete it's customary for the director to confer with the editor, then return weeks or perhaps months later to view a rough cut—the editor's first draft of the picture. However, in video production, many directors prefer to supervise the editor directly as she works. (There's no practical reason for this difference, except that film and video are separate cultures.)

The editor's first assembly of clips into a story sequence is called a string-out. Starting from there, she will go through several versions, each more polished, before arriving at the rough cut.

Working closely with the director, the editor will go through several more refined, intermediate cuts. When the director is reasonably ...