Film Career · Post-Production
Editor
Post-Production · IATSE Local 700, Motion Picture Editors Guild
- Union
- IATSE Local 700
- Day rate
- ~$3,500–$8,000/wk
- Experience
- 4–10 yrs
What does an Editor do?
The editor assembles the picture from dailies, shaping performance, pace, and story in the cut. Assistant editors manage media, sync, and turnovers underneath them. Editors Guild membership for picture editors typically requires documented professional editing days.
What does an Editor make?
- About $3,500-$8,000 a week (Local 700 scale around $4,000-$4,500 for TV; feature editors negotiate above), roughly $130K-$400K+ a year.
- Feature versus TV versus unscripted and A-list credits drive the range.
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
Government wage data
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the closest federal occupation.
On the job
- Build the film scene by scene from dailies, selecting performance and shaping rhythm
- Partner with the director through the director's cut and every note that follows
- Solve story problems in the cut that the script and the shoot left behind
- Supervise assistants managing media, sync, turnovers, and versioning
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You know editing software and the craft of assembling a scene
- You have strong story and pacing instincts
Soft skills
- You have patience for long hours alone with footage
- You collaborate closely and diplomatically with directors
Career progression
The established ladder is post PA, then assistant editor, then editor. The assistant years teach the technical spine of post while you cut scenes on the side until someone lets you cut a project of your own. Television editors often rise inside a show from assistant chairs.
A typical path, from entry to the top of the craft. Times are rough and vary by market, luck, and how steadily the work comes.
- Production Assistant· 0-2 yrs
~$35K–$55K/yr
- Assistant Editor· 2-4 yrs
~$60K–$400K+/yr
- First Assistant Editor· 2-4 yrs
~$50K–$400K+/yr
- Editoryou are here· peak of the craft
~$130K–$400K+/yr
How do you become an Editor?
Learn Avid properly; it remains the professional standard. Take any post PA or assistant seat and cut constantly on your own time: shorts, recuts, anything that builds judgment. Editors get their first real credit from a director or producer who saw their side work, so make sure people see it.
On covered productions, rates, hours, and conditions for the role are set by IATSE Local 700, Motion Picture Editors Guild contracts.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.