Avid Editing, 6th Edition

2Basic Editing

Editing Rules

Unfortunately—or fortunately, depending on your perspective—there are no editing rules. That is not to say there isn’t an aesthetic at work or that any ordering of shots is “correct.” If that were the case, a trained monkey would be as good an editor as Thelma Schoonmaker, who received seven Oscar nominations and won three Oscars (Raging Bull, The Aviator, and The Departed).

So what makes an editor good? When you’re editing a sequence involving a number of different shots, many skills and talents come into play. First of all, you must be able to choose from among the options given to you. To make the right choices you must understand the script—and not just the storyline but also the subjects’ or characters’ motives. ...