How do you split an episode between two or more editors?
Divide the episode by act or by story strand and give each editor clear ownership of their part. Agree on shared settings before anyone starts. Each editor cuts their section in their own sequence, and the acts are joined for screenings and the final lock. The part that usually goes wrong is the sharing, so decide early how editors see each other’s work without overwriting it.
On a tight schedule one editor cannot cut a whole episode alone. Unscripted shows have split episodes between editors for years, and scripted shows do it when a deadline moves. Done well, it gets the episode finished far sooner. Done badly, it produces two halves that do not feel like the same programme.
How to divide the work
By act is the most common split. Each editor takes one or two acts, and the story editor or showrunner keeps the episode in their head. It works because act breaks are natural seams.
By story strand suits shows with parallel stories. One editor cuts every scene for one strand while another takes the other strand. The two are woven together later. It gives each strand a consistent voice but makes the joining harder.
By task works on some shows. One editor builds the stringouts and another shapes the scenes. This is closer to an assistant and editor working together than a true split.
Agree these before anyone cuts
- Project settings. Frame rate and picture size must match in every act, or joining the acts becomes a repair job.
- Track layout. Agree which tracks carry dialogue and which carry music. It makes the joined episode readable and the turnover to sound much easier.
- Naming. Name sequences by act and round, such as “Act 3, round 2”, so nobody screens the wrong cut.
- Shared elements. Decide who owns titles and music, and keep one copy of each.
- Ownership. Each act has one editor. Others can watch it, but only its owner changes it.
Keeping it feeling like one episode
Screen the whole episode together as soon as there is a rough cut of every act. Pace and tone wander apart quietly, and the joins only show when you watch straight through. Let one person, usually the lead editor or the story producer, give notes on transitions between acts.
How B/side handles it
In B/side a whole show is one project. Each editor cuts their own act on their own machine, and assistants can ingest dailies while you cut. There are no bin locks and nobody touches your timeline, so editors can see each other’s work without risk of overwriting it.
Every act, and every earlier cut of it, is kept in that one project. When the showrunner asks for the version of act two from last week, it is still there.
When something else is better
If your team already shares projects on a facility system in one building and it works, keep it. The split itself is about people and ownership, and those rules apply in any editor.
Last reviewed