Monday, February 20, 2006

What is Video Editing





Film editing evolved from the process of physically cutting and taping together pieces of film, using a viewer such as a
Moviola or Steenbeck to look at the results.

All initial editing is done with a positive copy of the negative called a workprint. This allows the editor to do as much experimenting as he or she wishes, without the risk of damaging the original.
When the workprint has been cut to a satisfactory state, it is then used to make a negative cutting list. The negative cutter refers to this list while processing the negative, splitting the shots into A and B rolls, which are then optically printed to produce the final film print.

Since the film was physically cut and pasted, a 'nonlinear' style of editing evolved. At the workprint stage, strips of film could be placed in any order. This approach is generally considered superior to the strictly linear approach that was necessary in
video editing through the 1970s. A video 'cut' is really the copying of scenes from various camera tapes onto a master. Before the development of powerful computer systems that could store large amounts of visual data for transfer, it was necessary to make the transfer in strictly linear order. Trying to insert a shot between two shots already on the master tape would create noise, etc. A system such as Avid allows the creation of a workprint.

In recent years, 'film editing' has come to mean what a 'film editor' does, even though the work involved is now generally performed on a computer-based
non-linear editing system, such as Avid, Lightworks or Apple's Final Cut Pro and, at the semi-professional level, by programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Pinnacle Edition or Sony Vegas.

If the end product is to be a traditional movie, the final negative cutting list is produced from the software, and the negative cutting process occurs as before.

In other cases, an
edit decision list may be generated for a video editing system.
With the emergence of
digital cinema, there is now a movement towards all-digital assembly of the final product, such as in CFC's Digital Lab process. (more)

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