4) Assembly Editing

- A drama editor would generally take the footage they have been provided with and start to edit the clips together in the order dictated by the script, either from the     .           beginning or scene by scene. 

- A documentary editor would generally be provided with a 'sync pull' script prepared by the edit producer which lists all the key clips of interview - often taken from               .multiple sources - which are edited together to create a timeline focusing just on the initial story. This would then be refined with extra footage such as GV's, photos and       reconstructions being laid over the top of the interviews.

- A studio or gameshow editor would be provided with a long version of the show from when it was recorded 'as live' which they will then cut down to time before adding          covering shots to 'polish' it up.   

- Meanwhile a music video editor might be much more experimental, playing around with timelines and potentially prioritising great shots over narrative or context. 

But regardless of the genre, the project evolves and becomes more intricate as the edit creates more and more layers of media, resulting in one timeline that can be exported as a whole. 

As editing techniques have evolved over the years, certain processes have made the workflow easier whilst others have made it more complicated. 

However now that 'non-linear editing' - using computers and having the flexibility to move media around easier - is so common, it's easy to get into bad habits and make mistakes that actually make the job much harder. 

One of the biggest errors seen recently is the technique adopted by many of editing by dragging a clip into the timeline and 'chopping off' the bits you don't need. This isn't practical, it's inaccurate, time consuming and unprofessional -i.e. industry editors would never cut a sequence in this way. Using this method to edit also increases the chances of you making mistakes and accidently disrupting the media in your timeline. 

SOURCE WINDOW: Adding Clips of a Certain Duration

'In' and 'Out' points are used to define a specific section of a clip before adding it to the timeline. 

The 'In' point marks where the clip will start, and the 'Out' point marks where it will end. This allows an editor to select a precise portion of a clip rather than using the entire file.

 Once set, the chosen section can be inserted into the timeline at the desired position, ensuring the exact duration needed is used in the edit.

In this case, you would set an IN OR an OUT point on the timeline or RECORD monitor to tell the software where you want to place the clip. We don't tend to add both IN AND OUT as the program will start to ask you about the need to match durations which is often unnecessary at this stage. 

*The image below shows the SOURCE clip marked with an IN and OUT point (red box) and the IN point on the timeline indicating where the clip will be placed (yellow box).  

RECORD WINDOW: Highlighting a Section to Replace in the Timeline

'In' and 'Out' points can also be used to replace a section of an existing timeline edit. 

By setting 'In' and 'Out' points on the timeline or in the RECORD monitor, you can precisely dictate what needs to be replaced in the sequence whilst maintaining its original duration. This is especially useful for refining edits without disrupting the overall structure of the timeline. 

This is usually used in conjunction with the OVERWRITE edit button (see below). 

In this case, you would set an IN AND an OUT point on the timeline or RECORD monitor to tell the software which section you are keen to replace. However to avoid the issues with matching durations, you would usually only add an IN OR an OUT point in the SOURCE monitor.

*The image below shows the SOURCE clip marked with an IN point (red box) and the IN and OUT points on the timeline indicating where the clip will be placed (yellow box).  

There are two key types of edit:

INSERT Edit

An Insert edit is used to place a new clip INTO the timeline without deleting any existing footage. 

When a clip is inserted at a chosen point, it is 'forced' into the timeline pushing everything that comes after it back, keeping the overall sequence intact but lengthening the total duration. This is useful for adding new content while preserving the rest of the edit.

OVERWRITE Edit

An Overwrite edit REPLACES the footage at the selected position without shifting the timeline. 

When a new clip is placed over an existing section, it replaces whatever was originally there for the duration you select with your IN and OUT points, maintaining the overall length of the edit. This is ideal for refining a sequence by swapping shots without affecting the rest of the timeline structure.