Tools and Training for Film Editors

Over the years I’ve reviewed a huge range of film editing tools; professional software, apps, plugins, widgets, iPad apps etc. In this page you’ll find a growing list of each of those reviews to help you figure out if it’s something that will benefit your workflow.

The second part of this article also includes quick links to some of the best training resources for film editors and colorists I’ve used and reviewed on the blog too.

It always surprises me how much editors are willing to invest in having the latest and greatest hardware and how little they are willing to invest in developing their own skillset!

Invest in your own professional development, it will be worth much more than the time saved through a few extra GBs of RAM or CPU cycles!

If you’re looking for all the posts related to a specific category, e.g. for DaVinci Resolve or Adobe Premiere Pro, just use the ‘Browse by topic category’ in the sidebar of the site.

Doing this will take you to every post on that topic ever written here.

Top 5 Tools for Film Editors

Before we jump into the exhaustive big list, here are my top 5 tools that I use on almost every project.

Riverside.fm | Hedge & Post Lab | Frame.io | Artlist.io | PDF Viewer

Riverside.fm is the best way to record video calls, podcasts or screen-shared presentations that I know of when it comes to quality, simplicity and ease of use. Read all about why this is, here.

You can save 20% on any plan with the discount code: jonnyelwyn

Hedge is my favourite way to safely duplicate files from one drive to another. It’s beautifully designed, ridiculously fast and far superior to dragging and dropping!

Save 10% on Hedge products with this special link.

Post Lab is a superb Post Production collaborative editing platform that also does handy things like allowing you to send lots of people a single link, have them drop files into it (even from their phone) and they appear in your Post Lab Drive in a tidy folder, headache free.

Frame.io is the best way to share video files for review, get your camera files into the cloud from set and create proxy based dailies with ease. Frame.io’s Transfer app is the best way to get your files into Frame.io.

Artlist.io is the only place I go to get royalty free production music for my editing projects. I always find great tracks far quicker and more abundantly than on other sites. The license is stupid simple and the value is immense.

Use this link to get two extra months free on any subscription plan.

PDF Viewer is an incredibly simple tool but highly effective. It just allows you to view PDF’s inside of Adobe Premiere Pro, which is the best way to convert your client’s feedback notes/email/spreadsheet/document into something you can reference instantaneously.

BONUS TOOL – Ghost.org

I use Ghost .org to run my free weekly newsletter – Cut/daily – and I would highly recommend it as an easy to use all-in-one-platform for any creator looking to build a website or start a newsletter.

Free and open source if you’re tech savvy with Ghost .org
Ghost Pro is a low monthly subscription rather than 10% cut like Substack or Gumroad
Ghost Pro includes hosting, newsletter sends, analytics, payments etc. for just $9/month

Tools For Film Editors

It’s worth checking out the ‘Free Stuff’ page to see if you can snag yourself a discount on some of these apps and training.

Film Editing Software Round Ups and Plugins

Vital Tools for Post Production Pros > Assimilate Scratch, Hedge for Mac, Gpanel & PDF Viewer plugin, Closed Caption Tools, Filestage Review and Approval, FCPX Plugins, Kollaborate Workflows

Free Editing Software for Beginners > DaVinci Resolve, Filmora, Hit Film Express, Lightworks, Media 100

Editing and DIT Tools for 2018 > Omni Disk Sweeper, Silverstack 6, Hedge, EditReady 2, ParaShoot, Sim DATA Calculator, Seal Verify, PocketControl for ARRI Cameras

How to make a DCP for Film Festival Projection > DCP Transfer, NeoDCP Player, DCP-o-matic, EasyDCP, OpenDCP, FinalDCP, CuteDCP, Wraptor DCP

Premiere Pro Plugins and Extensions > Post Notes, PDF Viewer, Wipster and Frame.io extension panels, Mamoworld extension panels

How to Be a DIT Part 18 – DIT Tools Reviewed > Omni Disk Sweeper, Hedge, Silverstack 5, Digital Rebellion Auto Transfer, Plural Eyes 4, ShotPut Pro, HD-VU2

Trapcode Suite 13 Review | Trapcode Suite 14 Review | 3.5 hours of Free Trapcode Training

iPad Apps for Film Editors > Ctrl+Console, EditMote & Cut Notes, ProCutX, Custom Keypad, LivePlay/ToDailies

Essential Editing Apps Every Editor Should Own (2015) > EditReady, Renamer, QT Change, MPEG Stream Clip, Flashgot

Colour Grading Apps, Plugins and Freebies

Free Film LUTS for Colorists, Editors and DITs > Download hundreds of free LUTs

Free Film Grain and Light Leaks

Download Free 4K Anamorphic Lens Flares

Ravengrade – Professional Film Emulations & Tools

Understanding Film Emulation with Film Convert Nitrate

Creating a Real Film Look with FilmConvert’s Premiere Plugin

The Best Colour Grading Plugins for Video Editors > Color Finale, FilmConvert, Magic Bullet Suite

Inside Cinema Grade – Reinventing the (Grading) Wheel? > Tactile Colour Grading interface from the makers of Color Finale Pro.

Creating Colour Graded Dailies On Set with Silverstack Lab

Using LUTS to Match a Real Film Look > FilmConvert, Motion Picture Film LUTs, plus tons of free training and downloadable LUTs.

LUT Gallery for FCPX and DaVinci Resolve

Plugins for Adding Custom Optical Flares to Your Edit and Grade > Using ResolveFX Lens Flare, mFlare2, Video CoPilot Optical Flares.

Online Services for Film Editors

The Best High-End Stock Video Footage Sites Compared > Artgrid.io, FilmPac, raw.film, filmsupply.com, filmhero.com (lots of discount codes!)

The Best Royalty Free Production Music Sites > Art-list.io, Premiumbeat.com, The Music Bed, YouTube Audio Library

The Best Way to Record Audio and Video Calls

5 MASV Video File Transfer Workflows > Best way to send huge files quickly and securely

Updates to Video Review Services in 2018 > Frame.io and Wipster

Online Video Review Tools Compared > LookAt.io, Wipster, Frame.io, Kollaborate, Screenlight, Vimeo, Dropbox, ftrack.com, framez.co, Movidiam

Inside Motion Array’s Review and Portfolio Service

Useful Tools for Film Editors You May Not Know About > Filmstro – Customisable Production Music, Kyno – All in one Media Management, Masv.io Portals – ‘Reverse WeTransfer’, XTRMX xView – Real time sync video review tool with no upload/download.

Professional Training for Film Editors, Colorists and DITs

There’s a lot of amazing professional training available online today. So much so that I put together this article, with free and paid for training which could reasonably equip you with the skills you need to become a freelance film editor, learning online and in your own time.

Build your own editing film school online

Film School for Film Editing – An Alternative

Over the years I’ve also reviewed or pointed to the best online paid training I’ve seen, which you can browse through below. There are of course hundreds, if not thousands of hours of free training, scattered throughout most of the posts on this blog, so use the category dropdown in the side bar to find what you’re looking for.

If you’re looking to learn how to become a DIT, check out this post How To Be A DIT – The Complete Series for a run down of 20+ blog posts on being a Digital Image Technician.

But remember, every penny you invest in your editing abilities will be the fuel for your personal growth as an editor, you won’t regret it!

Inside The Edit

Inside the Edit is quite possibly the best course on documentary editing money can buy, and it’s well worth your time.

Inside The Edit – Editing Course Review – Including all of the free sample tutorials

Lessons from Inside The Edit – The Advanced Tutorials

Learn the Craft of Film Editing

Learn Documentary Editing from Professional Documentary Editors

Film Editing Pro

The Art of Drama Editing – Want to cut your first feature? This course will give you that chance! Get access to 30 hours of indie feature film dailies and 40 training lessons to support you as you edit the entire film.

How to Edit a Film Trailer – 45 minutes of free trailer editing training plus tons of tips and tricks. This is probably one of my favourite posts on the blog!

Sound Design and Secrets of Creative Editing Training – Better Editing Through Sound Design

The Art of Action Editing – Download the raw footage and training you need to learn how to edit a martial arts fight scene.

How to Edit an Action Movie – More insights and resources on editing action sequences.

Master The Workflow

The Master The Workflow course covers everything you need to know from before production begins to shepherding the final deliverables through approval:

Pre-Production – 3 lessons
Setting Up – 5 lessons
The Digital Codebook – 8 lessons
Principal Photography – 5 lessons
Editorial – 6 lessons
Finishing – 5 lessons
Extras – Practice Media
Bonus – VFX Roto in Avid Media Composer

Master The Workflow Assistant Editor Immersion 1.0 – Feature Films – My initial detailed review

Master The Workflow One Year On – Follow up on student progress and course development.

How to Become an Avid Media Composer Assistant Editor (Overnight) – Books, resources and free training to help you learn Avid in a hurry.

Masterclass.com

Masterclass.com is by far and away my favourite place on the internet right now. For a yearly subscription you can learn from some true masters of their craft. I watch it more than Netflix.

James Cameron Filmmaking Masterclass Reviewed

Master Filmmakers on the Craft of Film Editing

Masterclass.com All-Access Pass Reviewed

Aaron Sorkin Screenwriting Masterclass Reviewed

Ron Howard Directing Masterclass Reviewed

Hans Zimmer Composing Masterclass – An Editor’s Review

Martin Scorsese Teaches Filmmaking Masterclass Review

Masterclass courses for Film Editors