Your work. Your records.
Film and Video Editors: Workplace Records
A review note can refer to a different cut from the one an editor was working on. If an employment discussion concerns an omitted change, delivery or correction, build a version timeline. Identify the instructions you received and the material they referenced, keeping requested changes, submitted work and acceptance as separate events.
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A record map for your role
What to organize first
Cut identity
Tie a disputed instruction or review note to the specific version available to you.
Reference context
Record which cut a time-code reference concerns and whether you verified it yourself.
Review milestones
Keep submission, correction requests and recorded acceptance separate.
Personal records
Retain permitted employment correspondence while leaving project media and restricted links in authorized systems.
Start with the work you actually do
Edit moving images on film, video, or other media. May work with a producer or director to organize images for final production. May edit or synchronize soundtracks with images.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Film and Video Editors (27-4032.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Organize and string together raw footage into a continuous whole according to scripts or the instructions of directors and producers.Source task 4057 · updated 08/2020
- Verify key numbers and time codes on materials.Source task 4056 · updated 08/2020
- Review assembled films or edited videotapes on screens or monitors to determine if corrections are necessary.Source task 4058 · updated 08/2020
Identify the cut and the instruction version
Record the permitted project reference, cut version and date the instruction reached you. Distinguish script instructions from a director's or producer's later notes. If a note referred to an earlier cut, explain that sequence without treating the discrepancy as proof of fault. Leave unreleased footage, scripts and restricted review links in their authorized system.
Preserve the meaning of a time-code reference
When a discussion identifies a frame or segment by time code, note the version to which the reference applies. Do not assume the same time code identifies the same content in every cut. State whether you checked the reference yourself or relied on someone else's description. Your personal account can identify the record location without reproducing the media or making technical changes to it.
Separate submission, review and acceptance
Record when you submitted work, when review notes arrived and whether a response or approval was recorded. Sending a cut does not establish that it was accepted, and a later correction request does not establish what the earlier review decided. Keep your own permitted employment notices, schedule changes and clarification requests when those are the concern. Mark outstanding or unavailable responses openly.
Limits of the task descriptions
The selected O*NET 31.0 tasks cover arranging footage according to instructions, verifying key numbers or time codes and reviewing assembled work for corrections. These entries are dated August 2020. They provide occupational context rather than editing procedures, production approval rules or a measure of performance. The timeline suggestions are editorial and do not determine responsibility, copyright ownership or legal entitlement.
Choose your next step
Review the workplace retaliation guide, unpaid wages guide, or discrimination guide if those concerns fit your experience. A job title alone does not establish a claim.
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