Make the Cut: A Guide to Becoming a Successful Assistant Editor in Film and TV [Paperback]

I found this to be a hard review to write. Normally I pick up a book after reading its title and figure that it will include something that will interest me. I read the title to the instant book and figured the contents would include information about what a skilled film editor needs to know to be good at his job. Basically I expected to read a book that would help me understand "how to stock footage, sound effects (SFX), music (MX), visual effects (VFX or VIZFX), automatic dialog replacement (ADR), onlining, protecting network/studio assets, and even organizing the office space." [see page 3 of book]. I also expected to learn about being "responsible for paperwork systems, project settings and organization, digitizing, import/export/file transfer procedures, logging, media storage, backup technologies and procedures." [id]. Unfortunately I did not get what I expected. Instead I was stuck reading a career guide for someone considering getting a degree in filmmaking or who has sufficient technical training to skip such schooling.

Sometimes I give a very low star rating to a book that is guilty of bait and switch. Sometimes I don't. It really depends on the mood I find myself in when sitting down to write my review. I have put off writing this review for over a month now. So if I cannot find some good qualities in it, then I should have written a killer review a month ago, i.e, 1-star.

The authors have been involved in filmmaking for a long time now - more than 30 years each I think I read. I got the feeling they are kind of old and by writing this book they were "giving back" so younger people could successfully follow in their footsteps. The authors are freelancers. They work on projects and when one projects ends they go without work for a bit until another project comes along. In the book they explain how a recent graduate of filmmaking school needs to get an intern position under a film editor. Such jobs usually are performed without pay, but they enable you to eventually get hired as an assistant film editor - i.e., chief bottle washer under a full-fledged film editor. Interestingly we are told you have to be an assistant before you can become a full-fledger. However, one of the full-fledgers interviewed at the end of the book said he had no technical skills and couldn't do what an assistant does if his life depended on it. So I got conflicting messages from this book.

If I were interested in learning about how to get an internship, then get gigs as an assistant editor, and finally get recognized as a full-fledged editor, then I would have been very happy to read this book. It explains that there is a lot of pro bono work provided by the wanta-be assistant editor. There is a lot of effort required to be expended in order to appear to be skilled and competent and willing to go the extra mile. All in all, I though someone would have to be crazy to want to be a film editor in the filmmaking business. It reminded me of my days trying to find my way in the legal profession as an attorney. What a racket!

Much of what we are told is common practice in any project management setting. There are the managers with authority, and then there are the worker bees doing all the real work for little or no pay. By the way, why wasn't compensation mentioned more in this book? After all, money is why people pursue a career and this book is certainly a career guide.

This book included 16 chapters that were divided among 4 parts or sections. The subject headings for the "parts" did not really help me follow the book too well. And it seemed absurd to group 9 of the 16 chapters in a part called "Getting Started."

Since this book is a career guide I think it should have had a few less chapters in the first part of the book. I think there should have been a "part" that covered filmmaking schools and degree programs. And there certainly should have been some coverage of the technical training that could be substituted for a filmmaking degree before a person sought an internship.

So the book is mistitled. It covers a bunch of interesting stuff for a career guide, but it fails to cover all the bases that should be covered in a good career guide. So I can't say I loved or liked this book. But I didn't dislike or hate it, either. So what is left, a 3-star rating? The book is just OK.

Lori Jane Coleman and Diana Friedberg's book "Make The Cut" is an incredibly invaluable resource, packed with detailed and useful information about how to become an assistant editor, what to do when you are one, and how to move up and away from being one once you're ready to do so.

The first chapter covers briefly, yet effectively, how best to prepare for and obtain an assistant editing job. The remaining bulk of the book gets right down to business, going over the myriad duties and assignments typical of an assistant in TV or film. I think the best way to put it is that this book "demystifies" the role of an assistant editor by getting down to the nitty gritty details of what they actually do on a daily basis. It's something I've always wondered myself, even as a film school grad. Most film schools typically train students in the basic uses of NLE software, teaching them how to cut for themselves, which is fine... until the student heads to Hollywood and realizes that no one is going to hire him as an editor until he pays his dues as an apprentice or assistant. Knowing how to cut doesn't necessarily mean that you'll know how to assist. As our authors clearly illustrate, assistant editing is an entirely specialized role of its own.

After covering the basics, from handling dailies to prepping for the online cut, the book delves into potential differences among genres, such as documentaries and reality TV, using helpful screencaps from both Avid and Final Cut Pro systems. It also wisely ventures into some of the most common unwritten rules of the editing room, offering tips in ways to navigate tricky politics and personality conflicts. And lastly, it discusses the various ways in which a career can be molded in the post industry.

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who's serious about approaching film/TV editing as a career. It offers up a wealth of specific and relevant information pertaining to the world of assistant editing, delivered by two talented and experienced ACE editors.

Every once in a while there comes along a book that is short, sweet and profoundly gets to the things that you really need to know. "Make the Cut" is just that kind of a book. It doesn't waste the reader's time in how-to techniques of editing. The authors assume that you already have learned that part and are now trying to land in a good spot with those skills.

This book is great in it gives advice of how to organize your editing tasks from the first day on the job to day-to-day advice that SHOULD be common sense to anyone who wants to enter into the crazy-making business of film. Unfortunately, howwever, you very rarely have anyone teach you that in film school. Authors Lori Jane Coleman A.C.E. and Diana Friedberg A.C.E. do a very good job in giving tips to keep a would-be assistant editor organized and on task. I really liked the break down of oranizing and documenting what it is that you are editing with continuity schedules. The included tables, script supervisor production report templates and prep schedule, sound editor and other included templates were very helpful. This book has a great deal of film, television and media specific business advice as to the unwritten rules of the editing room, upward mobility, money management and planning your career in the film industry to take the next important and crucial steps. This is something that is not covered nearly enough and Coleman and Friedberg do a very good job of driving that point home. There are no crybabies in this business, and loyalty to your boss and the company and making them look good, even if you never get credit is key.

For those who do not want to necessarily be an assistant editor, "Make the Cut" is a really well grounded, experience backed book that can help film students, directors, producers or anyone who is truly interested in the business of film and/or television.