Narrative Film Editing
Narrative film editing is the spine of the bench. Feature and short form story projects
arrive as camera cards or completed dailies, and the editors assemble them scene by scene
into a cut that carries momentum. Alternative takes are compared on the sync block, the
strongest performance is chosen, and the rhythm between scenes is tuned until the story
breathes on its own. We build a first assembly, refine it through structured passes, and
protect the emotional line of the film from the rough cut to locked picture.
Because the same room handles the later stages, the narrative cut is never frozen too early.
Editors keep the timeline flexible while the grade and mix are prepared, so a performance
that needs two extra frames gets them without a rebuild. Directors receive a screening link,
notes are folded back in with a logged trail, and the picture locks only when the story is
truly ready to be finished.
Commercial Spot Finishing
Commercial spot finishing takes an approved creative and makes it broadcast ready. Trims are
cleaned, timing is brought to the exact legal length for each market, and versioning is
generated for every rotation a campaign needs. The bench delivers a single approved frame
count so the spot clears traffic and standards departments without a return trip to the edit.
We treat the spot as a precision job: the cut, the titles and the end card all land on the
frame the specification calls for.
Finishing also covers the practical demands of advertising schedules. Multiple durations,
alternate calls to action and region specific end frames are produced from one master so the
versions never drift apart. Loudness and colour are matched across the set, ensuring a spot
that airs in the morning looks and sounds identical to the one that airs at night, on
whichever platform the media plan requires.
Color and Sound Post
Color and sound post run together on the same project, which removes the risk that a handoff
creates. Grading balances the image shot by shot, matching cameras, shaping contrast and
giving the film a consistent look from the first frame to the last. In parallel the audio
pass balances levels, cleans dialogue, places music and effects, and shapes the final mix
until the master holds up on a phone speaker and in a cinema alike.
Working both crafts in one room means the picture and the sound are tuned against each
other. A colour shift can be judged against the mood of the score, and a mix decision can be
checked against the pace of the cut. The result is a finished master in which image and audio
feel like a single object rather than two layers that happen to share a timeline.
Documentary Assembly
Documentary assembly takes interview and observational footage and builds it into a
structured narrative with a defensible spine. Hours of rushes are logged, transcribed and
reduced to selects, then arranged into a story that argues its own case. Story cards and
transcripts stay indexed so a director can trace any editorial decision back to its source
clip, which matters when a factual claim needs to be verified before broadcast.
Long form documentary work is as much an organisational task as a creative one. We keep a
living outline beside the cut so the structure is visible at every stage, and we protect
alternate storylines so a late revision does not mean starting over. When the film reaches
picture lock, the paper trail that supports it is already in order and ready for delivery.
Social Media Cutdowns
Social media cutdowns take the approved master and reframe it for every platform the
campaign touches. Vertical, square and horizontal versions are cut from one source, with
shots repositioned so the subject stays in frame when the format changes. Captions are set
to broadcast legibility, and each cut is timed to hold attention from the first second
while reading clearly with the sound off.
Because the cutdowns come from the same graded and mixed master as the main deliverable, the
short versions match the long version exactly in colour and loudness. A client approves one
master and receives a matched family of short cuts that all look like they belong together,
which keeps a campaign coherent across every feed it appears in.
Archive Digitization
Archive digitization rescues legacy tape and film elements and folds them into a modern
library. Carriers are scanned or captured, cleaned where the material allows, and catalogued
into an indexed digital archive with checksums and timecoded proxies. The original carriers
are handled with care and returned untouched, while the digitized copies become searchable
assets that can be pulled into new edits in seconds.
The archive service is often the first step of a restoration or retrospective project. Once
old material is digitized and indexed, it can be matched against new footage, regraded for
consistency and mixed alongside fresh recordings. What was once a shelf of fragile tapes
becomes a living library that a production can search, cite and reuse with confidence.