Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of
film editor
Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology.
The film edit ...
s that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the
post-nominal letters
Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...
"ACE". The organization's "Eddie Awards" are routinely covered in trade magazines such as ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' and ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''. The society is not an
industry union, such as the
I.A.T.S.E. (specifically the
Motion Picture Editors Guild
The Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG; IATSE Local 700) is the guild that represents freelance and staff motion picture film and television editors and other post-production professionals and story analysts throughout the United States. The Moti ...
or MPEG), to which an editor might also belong. The current President of ACE is
Kevin Tent
Kevin Tent is an American film editor and director. Tent has been elected to membership in the American Cinema Editors (ACE) and serves as a member of the board. Kevin Tent is best known for being Alexander Payne's go-to film editor on films such ...
, who was elected in 2020.
Membership
Eligibility for active membership may be obtained by the following prerequisites:
* Nomination or win of ACE Eddie award and/or
* Desire to be a member
* Sponsorship by at least two active members
* Minimum of 72 months' (6 years) editing experience on Features and/or Television
* Interview by the Membership Committee
* Approval by the Board of Directors
* Acceptance by the general membership
Members use the postnominal "ACE" as part of their signatures, as well as on
motion picture credits
Two types of credits are traditionally used in films, television programs, and video games, all of which provide attribution to the staff involved in their productions. While opening credits will usually display only the major positions in a pr ...
. Thus the president of the society in October 2012 was Randy Roberts, ACE. Until 2014, the Acronym was separated by dots "A.C.E.", but this was dropped in order to conform with the more modern format used by many other industry organizations, such as
ASC ASC may refer to:
Educational institutions
* Anglican Schools Commission, Australia
* Andres Soriano Colleges of Bislig, located in Surigao del Sur, Philippines
* Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia
Organizations Australia
* Australian Singing ...
. The society publishes its current membership on its website.
Board of Directors
, the Board of Directors consists of:
Officers
*
Kevin Tent
Kevin Tent is an American film editor and director. Tent has been elected to membership in the American Cinema Editors (ACE) and serves as a member of the board. Kevin Tent is best known for being Alexander Payne's go-to film editor on films such ...
(President)
*
Sabrina Plisco (Vice President)
*
Lillian Benson
Lillian Benson is a film and television editor who currently serves on the board of American Cinema Editors
Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of profess ...
(Secretary)
*
Andrew Seklir
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...
(Treasurer)
Board of Directors
*
Kate Amend
Kate Amend is an American documentary film editor whose career spans more than thirty years. She is known for being a dedicated editor who finds the emotional center of each scene she works with. A member of American Cinema Editors, Amend is the ...
*
Anita Brandt-Burgoyne
Anita Brandt-Burgoyne is an American film editor.
Filmography
*''Payback'' (1995)
*''A Kid in King Arthur's Court'' (1995)
*''A Very Brady Sequel'' (1996)
*''Good Burger'' (1997)
*''I'll Be Home for Christmas'' (1998)
*''Legally Blonde'' (2001)
* ...
*
Richard Chew
Richard Franklin Chew (born June 28, 1940) is an American film editor, best known for his Academy Award-winning work on ''Star Wars'' (1977), alongside Paul Hirsch and Marcia Lucas. Other notable films include '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' ...
*
Dorian Harris
Dorian may refer to:
Ancient Greece
* Dorians, one of the main ethnic divisions of ancient Greeks
* Doric Greek, or Dorian, the dialect spoken by the Dorians
Art and entertainment Films
* ''Dorian'' (film), the Canadian title of the 2004 film ' ...
*
Maysie Hoy
Maysie Hoy is a Canadian film editor and actress.
Hoy has a brother, William Hoy (film editor), William Hoy, who is also a film editor.
Life
Hoy grew up in Canada, and moved to San Francisco to study improvisational theatre. She took up the ro ...
*
Bonnie Koehler
*
Michael D. Ornstein
*
Tatiana S. Riegel
Tatiana S. Riegel A.C.E., is an American film editor known for independent films such as ''Lars and the Real Girl'', ''The Way Way Back'' and ''I, Tonya''. She received an ACE Eddie award for "Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Non-Com ...
*
Stephen Rivkin
Stephen Elliott Rivkin is an American film editor best known for his editing work on the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series as well as his work with director James Cameron as an editor on ''Avatar'', for which he was nominated for an Academ ...
*
Terilyn A. Shropshire
Terilyn A. Shropshire is an American motion picture and television editor. She is the daughter of Thomas B. Shropshire, a corporate executive.
Her big break as a motion picture editor came when she was hired to cut ''Eve's Bayou,'' the auspiciou ...
Associate Board
*
Dana E. Glauberman
Dana E. Glauberman, ACE, is an American film and television editor. She is known for her work on films such as ''Juno'', '' Up in the Air'', ''Draft Day'' and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'', as well as TV series such as ''The Mandalorian'' and ''Ahs ...
*
Mark Helfrich
*
Nancy Richardson
Nancy may refer to:
Places France
* Nancy, France, a city in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and formerly the capital of the duchy of Lorraine
** Arrondissement of Nancy, surrounding and including the city of Nancy
...
*
John Venzon
John Venzon, ACE, is an American film editor. He is best known for his work on ''The Bad Guys'', ''The Lego Batman Movie'', ''Storks'', and '' South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut''.
Career
Venzon graduated with a BFA in film studies from the Univ ...
Executive Director
*
Jenni McCormick
Jenni is a feminine given name, sometimes a modern diminutive or short form of Jennifer. The etymology is actually that of a diminutive of Jane, however.
A separate name, with the same spelling, serves as a Finnish language diminutive of Johanna. ...
Eddie Awards
Beginning in 1950, the ACE held an annual dinner to honor the film editing
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominees. When the
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, edu ...
(NATAS) created a film editing category, the ACE invited them to the dinner as well.
In 1962, the ACE began giving its own awards. The awards and nominations are typically covered in
entertainment industry
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have dev ...
newspapers and journals such as ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' and ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
''.
The following awards are either currently given or have been given in the past. The American Cinema Editors does not publish an archive of these awards; it refers readers to the Internet Movie Database (
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
) for archival information.
As of 2021, the ACE presents 16 categories for film and television alongside special ones, these have gone through several name changes to make distinctions between genre, running time and commercial/non-commercial television productions depending on the category. The list below shows the categories under their current names respectively.
Film
*
Best Edited Animated Feature Film
*
Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical
*
Best Edited Documentary – Feature
*
Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic
Television
*
Best Edited Comedy Series for Commercial Television
*
Best Edited Comedy Series for Non-Commercial Television
*
Best Edited Drama Series for Commercial Television
*
Best Edited Drama Series for Non-Commercial Television
*
Best Edited Documentary – (Non-Theatrical)
*
Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television
*
Best Edited Non-Scripted Series
*
Best Edited Variety Talk/Sketch Show or Special
*
Best Edited Animation (Non-Theatrical)
Special Awards
* The ACE Student Editing Competition winner
*
Career Achievement Awards
* The ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award
Magazine
Since 1951, the ACE has published the quarterly magazine ''
CinemaEditor''. It began as an in-house publication, but grew to 5,000 subscribers in 1963. In the early 1990s the magazine collapsed into a four-page newsletter. In 1994, Jack Tucker was appointed as editor and transformed the publication into today's magazine. Walter Fernandez Jr. leads the magazine's team, with publications committee chair
Edgar Burcksen
Edgar Burcksen (born 13 May 1947, Apeldoorn), is a Dutch film editor, who moved to the United States in 1985 after editing over 15 films in the Netherlands. He is a member of the American Cinema Editors and is fluent in English, German, French and ...
.
ACE Student Editing Competition
The American Cinema Editors also holds an annual student competition, awarding one student editor for editing a set of video
dailies
In filmmaking, dailies are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. The term comes from when movies were all shot on film because usually at the end of each day, the footage was developed, synced to sound, and pri ...
for a dramatic scene. Three finalists are guests at the annual ACE Eddie Awards in February. Applications are accepted through October and cost US$125. The competition is limited to the first 100 students only.
''Gunsmoke'' editing exercise
The ACE Store is the source of the
dailies
In filmmaking, dailies are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. The term comes from when movies were all shot on film because usually at the end of each day, the footage was developed, synced to sound, and pri ...
used at most film schools today, primarily for
editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
exercises. One scene that many film students must edit is from "Buffalo Man," a
1958 episode of the TV series ''
Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...
''. The educational film with this footage is called ''Film Editing: Interpretation and Value'', and is available only to instructors of film editing classes. The film includes three different edits of the ''Gunsmoke'' scene, as well as the scene's original dailies.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
American film awards
Entertainment industry societies
Film editing awards
Film organizations in the United States
Universal City, California
1950 establishments in the United States
Organizations established in 1950