Every frame logged, synced and in the right bin before the editor asks.

The job

Every morning the rushes arrive. You ingest them, sync picture to sound, check them against the camera and sound reports and the script supervisor's notes, and organise them so the editor can find any take in seconds.

Through the edit you prep screenings, output cuts, track versions and manage temp effects and music. At picture lock you prepare turnovers for sound, VFX, the grade and online. Big shows have first and second assistants, and a VFX assistant editor.

A typical day

• Check overnight media has arrived from the DIT or the lab.
• Ingest and transcode, then sync sound by timecode or slate.
• Build bins by scene, with script notes attached.
• Flag problems to the editor and production: missing takes, focus issues, sound drop-outs.
• Output a cut for the producers with burnt-in timecode and watermarks.
• Pull VFX plates and log them in the VFX tracker.
• Back up and verify media before you leave.

Skills

• Expert Avid Media Composer, plus a working knowledge of DaVinci Resolve and Pro Tools.
• Codecs, frame rates, timecode, colour spaces and file handling.
• Meticulous organisation and version control.
• Problem-solving under deadline.
• Discretion. You see the whole show before anyone else.

Reporting lines

You report to the editor and, for schedules and deliveries, to the post-production supervisor. On a large show a second assistant or trainee reports to you.

How people get in

Most assistants start as post house runners or editorial trainees. Some come through edit trainee places on the ScreenSkills Trainee Finder or the post-production technical operator apprenticeship in England. Cutting short films is useful practice, but productions hire assistants for their workflow knowledge, so learn Avid properly.

Next step up

First assistant editor, then assembly editor and editor. Some assistants move into VFX editor, online editor or post-production supervisor.

Find out more

• ScreenSkills: editorial trainee skills checklist
• ScreenSkills: post-production career map (PDF)
• Post rates: the post cards on the Bectu rate cards index