Today, I decided to ask the director a little bit about how he edits a movie.
"The process of editing a scene is simple, but tedious. First, I organize all the pertinent footage for that scene, grouping takes from each camera. Next I watch all the takes, every last second, there's no telling when a seemingly useless second can be stitched into the edit to mesh the continuity of two takes or cover some error in an otherwise brilliant take. Once I'm done analyzing the footage I start splicing together the shots in a way that would best convey the story. This is one of the least tedious aspects, but that's not saying much.
After the edit comes sound syncing. Without matching timecodes on my camera and audio recorder alignment is done by ear, matching what the audio file with whatever the camera on-board mic did. A first step in this process (once again, due to the lack of corresponding timecode) is listening to the audio file and noting the in and out points of each take.
Next comes the special effects. Muzzle flashes, composite shots, and any CGI goes here. Once these elements are put into the shot the whole scene is color corrected to give it the proper mood. No scene in even the most dull film project goes without this step now that digital tools are available at a reasonable price. (“Reasonable” being hundreds versus thousands of dollars.) Sound design, e.g. gunshots, car engines, footsteps, etc. is often worked in concurrent to this step.
Last but not least is the music. Once the rough edit is complete the composer will start his work, but all the final touches can only be made once the exact timing has been established. When the final cut is locked the composer does his magic, the film is reviewed, assessed, reworked, reviewed again, and, if all goes well, printed. That, in a nutshell, is the editing process."
