Bins, Stringouts & Selects: Assistant Editor Organization

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Choose the path that matches your current project type:

Narrative Feature → Focus on Bins (hierarchical scene/setup structure), Stringouts (director-driven), and Selects (curated for picture lock). Pay particular attention to the Interface and Handoff section for turnover to color and sound.

Episodic Television → Prioritize daily ingest protocol, bin naming with episode prefixes, and rapid stringout turnaround. The Assistant Editor Standards section covers the pace and tooling required for series work.

Multicam / Live Event → Start with Angle Bins and multicam stringout assembly. The Bins section covers pre-synced multicamera clips and Smart Assembly mode for fast turnaround.

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Efficient editorial organization is the bedrock of any successful post-production pipeline, transforming raw footage into a coherent narrative. For serious filmmakers, mastering this initial phase is not merely about tidiness; it is about establishing a systematic framework that supports creative decisions, facilitates collaboration, and prevents costly errors down the line. This guide covers the core components of editorial organization (bins, stringouts, and selects) and outlines the exacting standards assistant editors employ to maintain a disciplined workflow. For the complete overview of the post-production journey, see our Post-Production Pipeline Masterclass: Proxies to Conform.

Assistant editors are the architects of this organizational structure, responsible for translating mountains of media into accessible, editable assets. Their work directly impacts the editor and director's ability to focus on storytelling rather than searching through a chaotic project. Without a disciplined approach to bin management, stringout creation, and selects curation, even the most talented editor can find themselves bogged down in technical debt, losing precious hours to asset hunting. For a deeper look at how raw camera files move from set to edit bay, see our Media Management 101: Checksums, Folder Rules, and Backup Strategies. This article provides actionable insights into establishing and maintaining these critical organizational standards, drawing from established industry practices.

Bins: The Foundation of Media Management

Bins in an editing application like Avid Media Composer are far more than simple folders; they are dynamic containers for clips, sequences, and effects, serving as the digital filing system for an entire production. The way these bins are structured and managed dictates the efficiency of the editorial process. Industry standards emphasize a modular, hierarchical approach to bin organization, designed to scale from short films to multi-season episodic television.

Upon ingest, raw footage should be immediately sorted into a logical bin structure. This often begins with event bins, grouping all media from a specific shoot day or location. Within these, scene bins further subdivide the media by script scene, containing all takes for that particular segment. A master bin structure then houses sequences, selects, and other project-wide assets. This granular organization ensures that any piece of media can be located rapidly, preventing the common mistake of simply dumping all footage into a single "Footage" bin, which can delay editing by tens of minutes per scene, crippling an editor's pace.

In shared editing environments, particularly on larger productions, bin management takes on additional layers of complexity. Tools like Avid Interplay, integrated with Media Composer, enable multi-user bin locking and asset sharing over shared storage systems like Avid ISIS or Nexis. This prevents multiple users from inadvertently overwriting each other's work. A common practice is to maintain a "Master Bins" folder containing read-only copies of critical bins, ensuring a stable reference point. Many teams employ custom or third-party scripts to automate bin creation during dailies ingest, sorting footage by timecode or slate information and further streamlining the initial organization.

Beyond basic organization, bins also serve as a repository for metadata. Assistant editors at major studios use bins for comprehensive asset management, tracking media across tiered storage solutions, from active shared storage to long-term archives on LTO-9 tapes. Broadcast standards often mandate that bins adhere to specific EBU/SMPTE metadata schemas, ensuring proper quality control and future-proofing of assets.

💡 Pro Tip: Prefix your bins with scene numbers (e.g., "101A_Stringout," "101A_Selects") to ensure they auto-sort chronologically in your bin views. This simple trick reduces visual clutter and speeds up navigation, especially in projects with hundreds of scenes.

For dialogue-heavy projects, advanced bin functionalities become invaluable. Avid Media Composer's script sync bins link clips directly to lines in a script, allowing for quick navigation and comparison of takes. Furthermore, the "PhraseFind" feature within bins enables script-based searching, allowing editors to locate specific dialogue instances almost instantly. Assistant editors also develop "Angle Bins" where multicamera clips are pre-synced via timecode, ready for instant stringout generation, significantly reducing setup time for the editor.

A critical aspect of bin management is knowing what to keep and what to consolidate. Over-nesting bins beyond three levels can slow navigation, while prematurely deleting "unused" clips can break sequence links, leading to offline media. Conversely, failing to consolidate bins before project handoff can bloat project sizes unnecessarily, sometimes exceeding 100GB, making sharing and archiving cumbersome. The goal is a lean, navigable, and meticulously organized project that supports creative flow without technical overhead.

Stringouts: The Editor's First Look

Stringouts are the editor's initial roadmap through the raw footage. These are linear sequences that assemble all takes for a particular scene, typically in script order. They provide a comprehensive overview of the available material, allowing the editor and director to quickly assess performances, camera angles, and pacing options. Assistant editors routinely build up to 5-10 stringouts per day on episodic television productions, a testament to their foundational role.

The construction of an effective stringout follows specific best practices. Footage is typically arranged in a picture-lock order, starting with wider shots, then moving to closer coverage. Each take is trimmed to include only the essential action, with a small amount of "handles" (typically +2 seconds before and after the action) to provide flexibility for the editor. This approach avoids creating excessively long stringouts that can be cumbersome to review or even crash playback on less powerful systems. The common mistake of including every take fully untrimmed can result in stringouts that are two hours or more per scene, hindering the editorial process.

Iteration is key with stringouts. Assistant editors often create versions with suffixes (e.g., "Stringout_v01," "Stringout_v02_finecut") to track changes and feedback rounds. These versions can then be exported as EDLs (Edit Decision Lists) for review, allowing for a clear record of editorial decisions. In modern workflows, tools like Telestream Vantage automate the transcoding of stringouts to review-friendly formats like ProRes 422 HQ, ensuring that directors and producers can access high-quality review decks quickly.

💡 Pro Tip: Pre-load stringouts with synchronized audio from field recorders. While manual syncing is a common mistake that can lead to 20% time loss per scene, using AAF exports or shared Pro Tools sessions enables efficient transfer of field sound mixes, ensuring the editor receives a stringout with a solid audio foundation. For a complete breakdown of audio interchange formats, see our AAF vs OMF vs EDL for Sound.

For multicamera shoots, Avid Media Composer's Smart Assembly mode and auto-sync features are invaluable for quickly building coherent stringouts. Assistant editors also tag "Hero Takes" within stringouts using markers, often linked to director notes in Interplay. This allows for one-click extraction of preferred takes, speeding up the transition from stringout review to selects creation.

Major studios, including Warner Bros., rely heavily on assistant editors to create stringouts not just for editorial, but also for on-air promotions and publicity teams. These workflows operate under tight deadlines, necessitating a rigorous approach to organization and quality control. Standard practices dictate that timelines are set at 23.976fps, with embedded LUTs for Rec.709 delivery, ensuring visual consistency across all review stages.

The stringout phase is not just about assembly; it is also an opportunity for preliminary quality control. While full QC comes later, assistant editors often perform a quick check for obvious technical issues within the stringout. This early detection can prevent minor issues from becoming major problems further down the pipeline, reinforcing the assistant editor's role as a gatekeeper of technical quality and organizational integrity. This meticulous approach to stringouts lays the groundwork for the more refined process of pulling selects.

Selects Reels: The Editor's Curated Toolkit

Following the review of stringouts, the next crucial step is the creation of selects reels. These are highly curated sequences that compile only the best takes, typically 20-30% of the total footage, into a polished rough cut. Selects reels serve as the editor's primary toolkit, providing a concise collection of optimal performances and camera angles. They are essential for gaining director approvals and preparing material for downstream departments like VFX and sound.

The process of pulling selects begins after the stringout review, often incorporating feedback from the director. The goal is to identify the top 1-2 takes per setup, ensuring variety and strong performances. It is standard practice to include slates and a small amount of room tone before and after each select. This provides context and essential audio information for sound editors. A common mistake is pulling selects subjectively without director input, which can lead to full rebuilds and several days of lost time.

💡 Pro Tip: Utilize Avid's Bin Monitor for frame-accurate verification of selects against camera logs. This ensures that the selected takes precisely match the director's intentions and any specific notes from set, preventing discrepancies that could lead to costly reshoots or re-edits.

Avid Media Composer, particularly with features like PhraseFind, can significantly streamline the selects process. By linking clips to a script, assistant editors can auto-populate selects based on specific dialogue or performance cues, rapidly narrowing down options. Once created, these selects reels are often exported as self-contained AAFs (Advanced Authoring Format) with handles, ready for transfer to color correction or sound mixing departments. For preliminary grading and quality control, these Avid selects can be imported into tools like DaVinci Resolve Studio, where vectorscope and waveform monitors can be used for initial visual assessment.

Quality control is paramount during the selects phase. Industry norms dictate that assistant editors perform a basic QC to broadcast specifications. This includes monitoring audio levels to standards like -24 LUFS (ATSC A/85 for North American broadcast) and ensuring video levels are within 100% legal limits before any Digital Cinema Package (DCP) creation. For streaming deliverables, the target shifts to -27 LKFS ±2 LU per Netflix, Amazon, and Apple specifications. For a complete breakdown of loudness targets and compliance pitfalls, see our Loudness and Compliance guide. At major studios, selects are routed through ticketing systems, allowing for multi-team feedback and ensuring all stakeholders are aligned before moving forward.

Beyond the primary selects, assistant editors often build "Parallel Selects" bins. These separate bins allow for A/B comparisons of different takes or performance nuances, giving the director and editor more options during the fine-cut stage. For secure theatrical previews, selects exports might even embed Key Delivery Messages (KDMs) using DCP tools like EasyDCP, safeguarding pre-release content.

The careful curation of selects reels reflects a deep understanding of the project's creative direction and technical requirements. It is a refinement process that transforms the raw material of stringouts into a highly usable collection of cinematic moments, ready for the editor to weave into the final narrative. This step is a critical bridge between the initial organizational chaos of dailies and the focused creative work of editing, underscoring the assistant editor's pivotal role in shaping the film.

Assistant Editor Standards and Workflows

Assistant editors are the unsung heroes of post-production, establishing and maintaining the rigorous standards that underpin the entire workflow. Their expertise ensures that media is ingested, organized, and prepared with precision, allowing editors and directors to focus on the creative aspects of filmmaking. In high-volume environments, such as major studios, assistant editors handle everything from initial ingest to final delivery, often juggling multiple projects simultaneously.

A typical day for an assistant editor begins with a strict daily ingest protocol. This involves transcoding raw camera footage into efficient proxy formats, such as DNxHR LB, suitable for offline editing. For more on proxy codec selection and relink strategies, see our Proxy Workflow Design guide. Once transcoded, the media is meticulously organized into the predefined bin structure, and stringouts for the day's footage are built by the end of the day. This systematic approach ensures that new material is always ready for editorial review without delay.

Workflow testing is another critical responsibility. Assistant editors often simulate full project workflows within Avid Media Composer to validate storage and quality control pipelines. This proactive measure identifies potential bottlenecks or issues before they impact the production timeline. Tools like Avid Interplay Assist enable real-time bin sharing and management of edit decision lists (EDLs), facilitating coordinated collaboration among multiple team members. For long-term archiving, software like SGL FlashNet Archive Manager, compatible with current LTO-9 tape systems, automates bin archiving with Media Asset Management (MAM) integration, ensuring that all project assets are securely stored and retrievable.

💡 Pro Tip: Customize Avid workspaces with "Assistant Palette" macros. These one-button commands can automate repetitive tasks, such as generating stringout templates or exporting specific review formats, significantly boosting efficiency and consistency across projects.

The qualifications for assistant editors at major studios are stringent, typically requiring a minimum of three years of Avid experience and proficiency in MAM systems. Studios like Warner Bros. place a strong emphasis on understanding LTO and cloud-tiering strategies for media management. Furthermore, assistant editors are often responsible for ensuring that final deliverables adhere to Digital Cinema Package (DCP) standards, including IMF packages for global distribution, which are verified using waveform monitors and other QC tools.

Common mistakes in assistant editor workflows often revolve around version control and underestimating technical requirements. Neglecting proper version control can lead to approved stringouts being overwritten during revisions, costing valuable time. Underestimating ingest times, especially for high-resolution formats like 4K RAW (which can be 1TB per hour without hardware acceleration), can cause significant delays. An experienced assistant editor anticipates these challenges and implements proven countermeasures.

To optimize their workflow, assistant editors often customize their Avid workspaces with macros and templates. They track project metrics using systems like Reach Engine for producer reports, providing clear communication on project status. For critical bin backups, solutions like MOG Safe Deposit for Azure can restore bins in minutes, compared to hours from tape, offering a rapid recovery option in case of data loss. The assistant editor's role is not just technical; it is strategic, ensuring the entire post-production operation runs smoothly and efficiently.

Interface and Handoff Notes

The success of editorial organization hinges on clear interfaces and well-defined handoffs between departments.

What you receive (upstream inputs):

2. Inconsistent Naming Conventions: Lack of a standardized naming system for bins, sequences, and clips, causing confusion, misidentification, and breaking relink paths during conform.

3. Lack of Version Control: Overwriting or failing to duplicate stringouts and selects during revisions, resulting in lost work, inability to revert to previous versions, and unclear editorial decisions.

Integration with Storage, QC, and Delivery

The meticulous organization of bins, stringouts, and selects is not an isolated task; it is deeply integrated with the broader post-production ecosystem, particularly storage management, quality control (QC), and final delivery. This integration ensures that editorial assets are not only well-structured but also technically sound and compliant with distribution specifications.

Modern post-production environments rely on tiered storage solutions. Active project bins and their associated media reside on fast shared storage (e.g., Avid Nexis, NAS systems) for immediate access by the editorial team. As projects progress or reach completion, assets are systematically archived to colder storage tiers, most commonly LTO-9 tapes. This process, often managed by software like Masstech LTO, handles bin-linked archives capable of storing up to 90TB compressed, with XML metadata for efficient future restores. Cloud integration, such as using AWS S3 for active bins and LTO for cold storage, is also becoming increasingly common, offering both accessibility and long-term security.

Quality control is interwoven throughout the editorial organization process. While comprehensive QC happens at later stages, assistant editors perform crucial preliminary checks on stringouts and selects. This involves using scopes to verify video levels (ensuring they are within the IRE 7.5-100 range for broadcast) and audio metering to confirm levels meet standards like -24 LUFS (ATSC A/85). These early checks prevent minor technical issues from escalating into major problems that could cause rejections further down the pipeline. Major studios, including Warner Bros., often integrate Telestream Vantage for coordinated ingest and output workflows, capable of outputting to various delivery formats, including IMF and DCP.

💡 Pro Tip: Pre-flight bins with Avid's Media Insight. This tool validates MXF media files before archiving or handoff, ensuring that the media is compliant and free of errors that could cause issues during relinking or conform.

For final delivery, the organizational integrity established during the initial editorial phase is critical. When creating Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs) or Interoperable Master Format (IMF) packages for global distribution, the underlying media must be perfectly linked and conform to strict technical specifications. Major studios often coordinate multi-team ingest and output workflows with Vantage, adhering to precise broadcast delivery specs. Assistant editors often play a role in generating "Digest" reports from DCPs for festival submissions, verifying that all technical parameters are met.

A common failure mode at this stage is skipping the relinking process post-transcode, which can cause offline reference mismatches and significant delays. Another critical error is ignoring Key Delivery Message (KDM) encryption for selects or preview exports, risking pirated previews of pre-release content. The careful management of bins, stringouts, and selects directly contributes to preventing these issues, ensuring a smooth transition from editorial to final delivery. By integrating these organizational practices with disciplined storage, QC, and delivery protocols, filmmakers can safeguard their project's technical integrity and creative vision.

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