Picture editorial is the stage of post-production where a film or TV show’s visual story is shaped from raw footage. Led by the editor and guided by the director, this creative process determines narrative, pacing, and emotion.

The work moves the project from scattered shots to a finished cut:

Ingest & Organize – Assistant editors receive the “dailies,” sync picture with sound, and prepare material for editing.

Rough Cut – The editor assembles a first pass of the story, with the director giving notes to align with their vision.

Fine Cut – Timing, transitions, and pacing are refined shot by shot to reveal the final shape of the film.

Picture Lock – Once approved, the edit is frozen so sound, visual effects, and other departments can build on a fixed visual blueprint.

Personnel who also support this process include Post-production Supervisors, Music Editors, VFX Editors, Music Supervisors, Title Designers, and Post-production Accountants.

Sound editorial shapes the audio world of a film. Sound editors prepare the soundtrack by cleaning dialogue, adding and editing effects, and working with the sound designer and mixer to create a seamless, emotionally resonant soundscape.

Key steps include:

Dialogue Editing – Remove noise, polish clarity, and sync every line to picture; replace or re-record dialogue when needed (ADR).

Sound Effects – Add and refine effects that enhance realism or create a stylized environment.

Sound Design Collaboration – Partner with the sound designer to craft unique textures and sonic moments that drive the story.

Mixing – Organize dialogue, effects, and Foley tracks so the re-recording mixer can balance everything into the final soundtrack.

Supervising sound editors oversee the team, budget, and schedule, ensuring all elements come together for a rich, immersive audio experience.

Film scoring is the process of creating the original music that drives a movie’s emotion and rhythm. A composer works closely with the director to understand the story and craft recurring musical themes that support the characters and plot.

The work unfolds in three main stages:

Spotting – The composer meets with the director, studies the script and visuals, and researches musical styles to plan the score’s direction.

Orchestration & Arrangement – Themes and cues are written for specific scenes, and a “sound palette” of instruments is chosen. Arrangers adapt the music for different instruments, while orchestrators translate the composer’s ideas into detailed scores for each section of the ensemble.

Recording & Mixing – Musicians perform the orchestrated music under a conductor, while sound engineers record, edit, and mix the final soundtrack.

The finished score is delivered to post-production and synchronized with the picture, giving the film its emotional heartbeat.

Finishing is the last stage, when the locked edit is polished to its highest quality and prepared for theaters, streaming, and archiving. Once picture lock is reached, specialists perfect every visual detail.

The process begins with conform, where a finishing artist replaces the low-resolution editing files with the original high-resolution camera footage, creating the foundation for all remaining work.

Next, the VFX team delivers final high-resolution shots created during production. A finishing artist composites these elements with the live-action footage so computer graphics, motion graphics, and subtle “optical” effects like fades or speed changes blend seamlessly into the film.

A professional colorist then performs color grading, balancing exposure and color for consistency, and working with the director and cinematographer to shape the film’s final look and mood.

Finally, the finishing team runs rigorous quality-control checks before creating master files for release. Deliverables include Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs) for theaters, optimized streaming versions, and localized files with subtitles or dubbing. All elements are archived for future use.