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Watch: Post-production

8 items
See all: Watch: Post-production

Career ladder

From first job to head of department

Picture, colour, sound and post management are four disciplines with their own ladders. An editor doesn't become a colourist.

Picture edit

  1. Entry grade Editorial traineeAlso: post runner Runs, drives, logging, helping assistants.
  2. Step 2 Assistant editor Ingest, sync, bins, turnovers, VFX pulls.Watch and read
  3. Step 3 First assistant editor Runs the cutting room and the workflow for the editor.
  4. Step 4 Assembly editor Cuts scenes or episodes under the editor.
  5. Top of the ladder Editor Head of the cutting room; shapes the story with the director.Watch and read

Specialists branch off the ladder at the grade shown; they aren't steps on it

  • VFX editorbeside Assistant editorTracks VFX shots between the cutting room and vendors.
  • Online editorbeside Assistant colouristConforms and finishes the master.

Colour

Parallel ladder
  1. Entry grade Grading assistant Conform prep, renders and deliverables.
  2. Step 2 Assistant colourist Dailies, matching and versions.
  3. Top of the ladder Colourist Grades the picture from dailies look to final master.Watch and read

Post sound

Parallel ladder
  1. Entry grade Trainee sound editor Ingest, track lay prep, conform.
  2. Step 2 Assistant sound editor Organises sessions and conforms.
  3. Step 3 Sound editorAlso: dialogue, effects or Foley editor Dialogue, effects or Foley editing.
  4. Step 4 Supervising sound editor Leads the sound team and the track.
  5. Top of the ladder Re-recording mixerAlso: dubbing mixer The final mix: dialogue, effects and music.Watch and read

Post management

Parallel ladder
  1. Entry grade Post coordinator Schedules, bookings and deliverables paperwork.
  2. Step 2 Post-production supervisor Runs post from wrap to delivery.
  3. Top of the ladder Post producer Owns the post budget and the delivery.
Grade by grade: what you need before moving up
Picture edit
GradeWhat you doBefore moving up
Editorial traineeAlso: post runnerRuns, drives, logging, helping assistants.Knowing the cutting room, the software and the workflow.
Assistant editorIngest, sync, bins, turnovers, VFX pulls.Several shows' worth of workflow; trusted with media.
First assistant editorRuns the cutting room and the workflow for the editor.Running a cutting room through to delivery.
Assembly editorCuts scenes or episodes under the editor.Scenes the editor and director accept.
EditorHead of the cutting room; shapes the story with the director.A body of work and a director who trusts you.
Colour
GradeWhat you do
Grading assistantConform prep, renders and deliverables.
Assistant colouristDailies, matching and versions.
ColouristGrades the picture from dailies look to final master.
Post sound
GradeWhat you do
Trainee sound editorIngest, track lay prep, conform.
Assistant sound editorOrganises sessions and conforms.
Sound editorAlso: dialogue, effects or Foley editorDialogue, effects or Foley editing.
Supervising sound editorLeads the sound team and the track.
Re-recording mixerAlso: dubbing mixerThe final mix: dialogue, effects and music.
Post management
GradeWhat you do
Post coordinatorSchedules, bookings and deliverables paperwork.
Post-production supervisorRuns post from wrap to delivery.
Post producerOwns the post budget and the delivery.

Post cards (rate cards index) · Every department's ladder: Careers A–Z · Getting work · Working freelance

Learn it, step by step

9 paths
See all: Learn it, step by step

Safety first

Screens, hours, distressing footage and data

Post looks safe because it's indoors. Its real hazards are slower: posture and eyes, very long hours near delivery, footage that can be hard to watch, loud mixes, and data that can't be lost or leaked.

Start the safety module Take the safety check

Watch first

Module 1 of Post-production workflows and the assistant editor. Mark them done there to track your progress.

The hazards

6

What hurts people in this department on UK sets, and what keeps them safe.

  1. Your workstationChair, desk, screen height and lighting set up for you, and short breaks away from the screen. If you're employed and use screens daily, your employer must assess your workstation and pay for an eye test if you ask (the DSE Regulations).
  2. Hours and crunchDelivery dates squeeze post. Most workers can't be made to average more than 48 hours a week unless they've opted out in writing, and should get rest between days. Tell your lead or producer before tiredness causes mistakes.
  3. Distressing footageDocumentary, news and drama rushes can include violence, abuse and grief. Ask to be warned before you view it, take breaks, and talk to someone. The Film and TV Charity's Support Line is free, 24 hours: 0800 054 0000.
  4. Loud mixesDubbing theatres are calibrated loud. Take ear breaks and follow the mixer's levels, especially on long sessions.
  5. Data and confidentialityRushes contain unreleased work and people's personal data. Use the production's drives and systems, never a personal cloud; keep two verified copies; report a lost drive at once. Many clients ask vendors to meet the Trusted Partner Network's security standard.
  6. Working alone at nightLate sessions in an empty facility count as lone working: someone should know you're there and when you leave.

Who is responsible

  • The post supervisor and post producer set the schedule, the hours and the data rules.
  • The facility owns the building, the workstations and fire safety.
  • The editor or lead in each room looks after the team in it.

As a trainee, never

  • Never copy rushes to a personal device or cloud account.
  • Never format a card or drive before the copies are verified.
  • Never sit through hours of distressing material without a break or support.

Anyone can say stop. If something feels wrong, say so to your head of department or the 1st AD.

Where this comes from

Checked 13 November 2026. This is awareness, not a safety qualification: follow your production's risk assessment and your head of department.

Check yourself

3 situations. Get them all right.

Pass the safety check before the rest of the path. One wrong safety answer means try again. It's practice, and your answers stay on this device.

Question 1: You're logging rushes for a documentary and the next cards include footage of a serious assault. What's the right approach?

Question 2: It's the night before delivery and you need to keep working from home. The project drive is in the facility. What do you do?

Question 3: You've worked 60 hours a week for a month and you're making mistakes. What do you do?

AI in film and TV

How AI fits this department

Resolve, Avid and Adobe now include AI for transcription, masking, re-framing and clean-up. Editors and colourists use them to move faster; the creative decisions stay human.

Learning path: AI in post The AI channel Consent and credit

Post-production, in detail

What it does on a UK unit

Post starts on the first shooting day, not after wrap. Rushes go from the set, via the DIT, to the cutting room, where the assistant editors ingest and sync them. The editor cuts an assembly while the unit is still shooting. After wrap come the director's cut, the producers' and broadcaster's notes and picture lock. Then the work fans out:

  • VFX: shots turned over to vendors.
  • Grade: the colourist sets the final look.
  • Sound: dialogue, effects, Foley and music are edited, then mixed in a dubbing theatre.
  • Online and delivery: the final conform, titles, captions, QC and the deliverables list.

The post-production supervisor runs the schedule and the budget from start to delivery. Much of the work happens in post houses in London, especially Soho, and in cutting rooms on studio lots.

Who it works with

  • Director and producers: the cut, notes and approvals.
  • DIT and camera: media, metadata and the dailies look.
  • Script supervisor: the notes that tell the editor what was shot and why.
  • VFX supervisor and editor: shot turnovers and versions.
  • Composer and music supervisor: temp music, score and clearances.

Kit and vocabulary

Term What it means
Rushes / dailies The footage shot each day
Avid Media Composer The standard edit system on UK drama
Assembly The first full cut of the scenes in script order
Picture lock The point after which the cut is not changed
Turnover Handing the locked cut to sound, VFX and grade (EDLs, AAFs, reference)
Conform Rebuilding the cut from the full-quality media
M&E Music and effects tracks without dialogue, for foreign versions
QC Technical quality control against the delivery specification

How to get in

Most people start as a runner at a post house or as an editorial trainee on a production. A film or media degree is common but not required. What counts is knowing Avid, DaVinci Resolve or Pro Tools well, and being careful with media. England has a post-production technical operator apprenticeship standard. The ScreenSkills Trainee Finder places edit trainees.

Pay

Post cards are on the Bectu rate cards index, including the post production branch film card, 2023–25. Check the index for the latest version.

Where Futures in Film helps

We don't run a post-production course. These pages are a start:

Who to know: Post-production

Other departments

17 departments
See all: Other departments

Where we come in

Hold a post-production grade on a crewed unit.

ApplyTrain in Post-production

Read for post-production

6

The magazines and books people in post-production read. Borrow the books free from a library.

All resources and reading: trade press, directories, libraries and more

Events for post-production

8

Shows, festivals and careers days where post-production crew go to learn and meet people. Dates checked on each organiser's site.

All events and expos, with a month-by-month calendar

Next for Post-production

Last reviewed 9 November 2026