What is post production film editing?

Post production editing is the term for all stages of production (making) whereby a piece of media goes through after the raw footage has been shot to ensure that it is, in the eyes of the producers, ready for popular release. In fact, this process can take longer the actual shooting of the film. In this article, I will examine this process, particularly in reference to film making.

Editing and sound

Editing Perhaps the biggest part of movie production is the editing itself. This involves the film editor taking all the potentially useful footage from the director (who should be in close collaboration with the editor) and combining the shots into sequences by cutting and splicing together in order to produce a continuous sequence of film. Sound However, editing also refers to the post-production process in general. Another important part of film production is the production of the soundtrack. This may mean choosing existing songs, which should involve meticulously trawling through one’s record collection/iTunes for that song which captures the feeling of a scene, perhaps even better than words can. Copyright issues The film companies must then seek permission to use the song from the original artist/s and subsequently pay them royalties. Or, it may mean the writing of new songs, tracks or sounds and the production of these. For example, horror films often employ a variety of unique spooky sounds/tracks.

Images and physical copy

Images In addition to adding sound, post production editing also involves the adding of certain images to a movie. This is especially true of sci-fi/action films and thrillers, which typically feature many dangerous action scenes and/or futuristic scenery. Using technology to replicate real backgrounds Because at times it is not possible/desirable to authentically replicate the scenery in these films, computer-generated imagery is often employed. These are images generated by the computer which can be added to films to make it appear that actors are actually in the particular background. For this to happen, when filming, actors act in front of the neutral ‘green screen’, which is notorious for its difficulty for actors to have to imagine the scene to the scenario they are acting out. Physical copying of data The process also involves the physical copying of the film such that it can be exhibited in cinemas. Traditionally, this meant preparing ‘release prints’ (film reels to be shown by film projectors), but these are waning due to the increase of digital cinema whereby films are shown via hard-drives optical disks (e.g DVDs) or satellite. Many film ‘purists’, however, enjoy the charm and tradition of the projection of film reels.