What you’ll learn
- Be able to describe the cutting room hierarchy (editor, 1st and 2nd assistant, trainee) and what the room does in pre-production, during the shoot and in post, through to picture lock and the turnovers.
- Know what an assistant's day contains (ingest, checking against the reports, sync, bins and metadata, backups, outputs, AAFs, EDLs and change lists) and what good looks like on day one.
- Have a list of the Avid Media Composer assistant workflows to learn, know how to practise them free with Resolve and real rushes, and have an honest scored skills audit.
- Know the seven places cutting room experience comes from at Stage 1, the UK rules on pay, unpaid placements, hours and confidentiality, and how to look after yourself at the desk.
- Have drafted a one-page Stage 1 CV titled for the job, with a software section a 1st assistant would believe, and know how to approach 1sts and post supervisors without annoying them.
- Know the map of UK editing (studios, Soho, the factual clusters, commercials and trailers), the ladder from runner to editor, where else the same skills get you hired, and be able to certify honestly against MFJF's five Stage 1 exit statements.
Where this leads
By the end you will have written your own Stage 1 plan, checked yourself against MFJF's five Stage 1 statements, and know exactly what to do next: a mentor clinic, an Academy workshop, and Stage 2, the HotList.
Finish the course and you can build your personal plan: MFJF's three-stage planner for this role, ticked from Your Profile and your CV, with dated next steps and the CV line each one becomes.
The role and the cutting room
20 minWhat a cutting room does from the first rushes to picture lock, who is in it, and what the assistant does all day to keep the editor cutting.
- readThe cutting room: who is in it and what it does8 min
- readAn assistant's day, during the shoot and in post8 min
- checkCheck: the room and the job4 min
Before day one: software, media and the words
20 minThe Avid workflows an assistant must be fluent in and how to learn them free, the paperwork the room lives on, the vocabulary, the ten tips, and an honest audit of where you are.
- readThe software to learn now: Avid first, Resolve free, and the rest of the kit7 min
- readThe reports, the words and the ten tips6 min
- taskTask: your skills self-audit7 min
Getting experience at Stage 1
20 minWhere cutting room experience really comes from, the rules on pay, unpaid work, hours, confidentiality and looking after yourself, and three routes you can act on this month.
- readWhere cutting room experience really comes from7 min
- readThe rules: pay, unpaid work, hours, the union, confidentiality and safety6 min
- taskTask: find three routes this month7 min
Your CV, cover letter and first approaches
20 minWhat a Stage 1 edit assistant CV contains, the software section that gets it read, the email, how to approach 1sts and post supervisors, and what a reference means in this trade.
- readThe Stage 1 CV, the email and the approach8 min
- taskTask: draft your Stage 1 CV outline8 min
- checkCheck: the CV and the approach4 min
The industry around the role
20 minThe map of UK editing, the departments the assistant touches, the ladder from runner to editor, where else the skills get you hired, the bodies, and the library for this course.
- readThe map: where the rooms are, who you deal with, and the ladder8 min
- resourcesThe library: do these in order8 min
- checkCheck: the map and the ladder4 min
Your plan: Stage 1 to Stage 2
20 minTurn everything into one saved plan, then certify yourself honestly against the five Stage 1 exit statements and know what to do next on MFJF.
- plannerPlanner: your route into the cutting room10 min
- readHow you know you are ready for Stage 26 min
- checkCheck: ready for Stage 2?4 min
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