What does Editor’s Cut mean?
Editor’s Cut is the first assembled version of a film or television episode created by the film editor after principal photography is complete — before the director, producers, or studio have given notes or requested changes. The editor’s cut represents the editor’s interpretation of the material, working from the script and the shot footage to assemble a coherent, complete version of the project. It is typically longer than the finished film and serves as the starting point for the collaborative editing process. The editor’s cut is followed by the director’s cut, then the producer’s cut, and ultimately the final cut.
Example:After six weeks of assembly editing, the editor screened her editor’s cut for the director — a version that ran twenty minutes longer than the target runtime but contained every scene and established the full arc of the story before any decisions about cuts were made.
Example: The director was pleased to see that the editor’s cut had found a rhythm and emotional logic in the footage that even he had not fully anticipated during production — a reminder of why experienced editors are valued creative collaborators rather than merely technical assemblers.
Did you know?
Under the Directors Guild of America agreement, directors have the contractual right to deliver their own cut of a film before the studio can make changes — this is the ‘director’s cut’ that follows the editor’s cut. However, the editor’s cut often contains insights and choices that directors incorporate into their own version. The relationship between a director and their regular editor is one of the most creatively significant partnerships in filmmaking — think of Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker, who have collaborated on nearly every film of his career.
You can also find “Editor’s Cut” and related terms in this category: Editing and Post-Production.
