So, it's in the Can. The productions wrapped. All you've got to do now is edit it. You think its all over but the processs is only just beginning.

A word of warning. Generally, all film makers are perfectionists. They're never satisfied. They take fifty takes when the first would have done. They write extra scenes because they think the film won't be long enough and now they're staring at fifty reels/cassettes of film/ videotape and don't know where to start. They forgot the golden rule of film making... even Steven Spielberg forgot it when he kept re-shooting and re-editing 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. The Golden rule is... Do the best you can, and take consolation in the fact that a film never turns out how you imagined it. And then sometimes, you just have to leave well alone and start something new.

If you are smart and well organised, after each days shoot you will have logged every single bit of footage. Logging is a pain in the backside, but so is sitting in front of an edit suite and not being able to find the shot you want. You will also have identified any shots that need re-shooting and re-shot them. What? You didn't do that? My, I bet your sore Now!

Okay, so you've logged your tapes. What next? Well, you could write yourself an Edit Decision List which documents all your good takes and where to find them, and in what sequence. Are you organised or what?

Why bother, I hear you say? Well, if you were doing this professionally, Time is Money, as they say. Edit suites cost a packet! Your looking at thousands of pounds over a production. That's a lot of dough to waste. "Yer, but we don't pay for edit time. We get to use the College suites and they're free!" Maybe so. Generally though, you are only allocated so much edit time per production. After all, there are other groups clammering for that edit suite. You better make your time count. That's why you need to be organised and know what you are doing when you get in there.

It seems like an odd thing to say, but you ask any editor. Editing is like breathing. Like a heartbeat. Or a piece of music. It has a rhythm of its own. Whether it is a Documentary or a Drama, it will have a certain pace. Have you ever watched a thriller, or a horror film, where the zombie/ psycho/ alien is chasing the College girl (they're always College girls, have you noticed?) and the music is tense, and the shots are quick? Have you ever counted the length of those shots? They're generally about 4 seconds or less. Quick cuts create tension, create excitement. You will have shot the footage with a certain pace in mind, and it is the editors job to choreograph the action. So think about it when your editing. Does the scene need longer takes, such as in a love scene, or are we making something with all the excitement of a Bond movie?