A lot of people forget that editing is a crucial job in making a film, mainly because it's unnoticeable in the final product, and that's a good thing. If the editing is noticeable to the audience and doesn't flow as naturally as it should, it's probably not good editing. Editing is meant to be hidden, in order to immerse the audience into the film and forget they are watching a man-made product.
Live-action editors are usually introduced in post-production, where the footage and audio is handed to them and they, along with the director's guidance, take control of how the film will be pieced together to create an immersive illusion. They have a lot of responsibility in making the film work.
Animation editors do the same as live-action editors but are deemed by others to have an easier job than live-action editors. All they have to do it put the finished pieces of animation together along with it's sound, right?
But the success of making an animated film resides on the decisions of the pre-production team and how they they plan the script and storyboards. The story is the most important part of any creative art. If the story or visuals aren't perfect during production, live-action filmmakers can go back to pre-production to take things out or put things in before they can reshoot the scenes. In animation however, 'reshooting' isn't an option. The pre-production teams have more pressure on them to make the script and storyboards right the first time before the animation process, as re-animting a scene can add more time and money to the budget. So in order to make sure the story and visuals are just right, the editor is brought on from the very beginning. The editor can add an extra opinion on the story as they already have an understanding of how film is put together. If something in the script doesn't add up in their head, they can talk about it to the directors, storyboard artists and even the writers. The editor's input saves time in remaking animated segments and makes it easier for the pieces to be put together in post-production. Animation editors don't necessarily have a harder job than live-action editors, but they feel pressure to make the film work from the very beginning.
Animation can most definitely be edited, but we rather don't want to as we don't want hours of work from the animators going to waste. Editors overall do have a crucial job, but a very rewarding one when they see the final film becoming the illusion it was meant to be. Editing is a process that I myself am very interested in, especially editing in animation, as I can then have a say in the story, which in itself is exciting! I think I know what I really want to do in this industry now...
Animation editors do the same as live-action editors but are deemed by others to have an easier job than live-action editors. All they have to do it put the finished pieces of animation together along with it's sound, right?
But the success of making an animated film resides on the decisions of the pre-production team and how they they plan the script and storyboards. The story is the most important part of any creative art. If the story or visuals aren't perfect during production, live-action filmmakers can go back to pre-production to take things out or put things in before they can reshoot the scenes. In animation however, 'reshooting' isn't an option. The pre-production teams have more pressure on them to make the script and storyboards right the first time before the animation process, as re-animting a scene can add more time and money to the budget. So in order to make sure the story and visuals are just right, the editor is brought on from the very beginning. The editor can add an extra opinion on the story as they already have an understanding of how film is put together. If something in the script doesn't add up in their head, they can talk about it to the directors, storyboard artists and even the writers. The editor's input saves time in remaking animated segments and makes it easier for the pieces to be put together in post-production. Animation editors don't necessarily have a harder job than live-action editors, but they feel pressure to make the film work from the very beginning.
Animation can most definitely be edited, but we rather don't want to as we don't want hours of work from the animators going to waste. Editors overall do have a crucial job, but a very rewarding one when they see the final film becoming the illusion it was meant to be. Editing is a process that I myself am very interested in, especially editing in animation, as I can then have a say in the story, which in itself is exciting! I think I know what I really want to do in this industry now...