Digital Editing and the Cut

Digital video editing is the process of digitally re-arranging or graphically manipulating segments of video footage to form another piece of video. The goals of digital video editing are the same as in film editing, it serves mainly to remove unwanted footage, to isolate desired footage, and to arrange the footage to create a new piece of footage.

The increased popularity of online or web video clips has produced a large increase in video editing activity for Internet users. The Internet has now become an important medium for digital video broadcasting and viewing and since the introduction of DV technology, the production and usage of video has become more achievable for budget, or independent filmmakers.

There are usually several editing stages and the Editor's cut is the first. An editor's cut is normally the first pass of what the final film will be. The film editor usually starts working while principal photography (shooting) starts. The editor and director will view and discuss the raw footage shot each day as shooting progresses. This is known as screening dailies, and gives the editor a ballpark idea of the director's intentions. Because it is the first pass, the editor's cut might be somewhat longer than the final film. The editor continues to refine the cut while shooting continues.  The entire editing process can go on for days, weeks, months or even years, depending on the film. 

When shooting is finished, the director can then turn his or her full attention to collaborating with the editor and further refining the cut of the film. This is known as the Director’s cut and is the time that is set aside where the film editor's first cut is molded to fit the director's vision, and before the studio and/or producers are generally allowed to have input. Finer tuning takes place now, ordering and removing segments and if required adding missing shots.

In most feature film productions, after the director has had his or her chance to oversee a cut, the subsequent cuts are supervised by one or more producers. This is known as the Producers cut. The Producer represents the production company and/or movie studio. Some directors are also the producers of their films, and, with the approval of the funding studio, have a much tighter grip on what makes the final cut than other directors. Independent directors who work outside of the studio system are usually more free to have a final cut, and thus independent films often take more risks but have more creative rewards than studio films. 

Aeon Multimedia offers production services for developing video media for usage in sales and marketing presentations, training and OH&S demonstrations, corporate and promotional ads as well as other audio and visual communications. The nature of the film or video will determine the size and type of crew required for production.

Our in-house crew can deliver video solutions for interactive Cd Roms, web video clips, corporate DVDs, mobile phones, television ads and independent film.

Contact us to further discuss your requirements. Our Consultants will then be able to provide you with tailored advice and a custom quote to suit your needs, budget and ideals.