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 stock, film which increasingly involves the use Digital cinema, of digital ...

s who 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, an 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 and television editors and other post-production professionals and story analysts throughout the United States. The Motion Pi ...

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 President of the board. He is best known for his longstanding collaboration with Alexander Payne, having ed ...

, who was elected in 2020.

Membership

Eligibility for active membership is based on the following: * Nomination or win of an 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 ...

. 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 other industry organizations, such as the

American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

. The society publishes its current membership on its website.

Board of directors

, the board of directors consists of: Officers *

(President) * Sabrina Plisco (Vice president) * Lillian Benson (Secretary) * Andrew Seklir (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 r ...

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 ...

* Dana E. Glauberman * Dorian Harris *

Maysie Hoy Maysie Hoy is a Canadian film editor and actress. Hoy has a brother, 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 role of artistic director at ...

* Nancy Richardson * Tatiana S. Riegel * Stephen Rivkin * Kate Sanford * Terilyn A. Shropshire Associate Board *

Ben Bulatao Ben Bulatao, ACE, is a Filipino-American film/television editor. He is best known for his work on ''Deadliest Catch'', ''Coal'', ''Orlando Bloom: To the Edge'', and ''Dancing with the Stars''. Bulatao's work on the Discovery Channel's docuserie ...

* Mark Helfrich *

Susan Vaill Susan Vaill, ACE, is an American film and television editor, director and producer. She is best known for her work on the television series '' Hacks'', '' This Is Us'', and ''Grey's Anatomy''. Life and career Susan was born in Los Angeles. She ...

John Venzon John Venzon, ACE, is an American film editor. He is known for his work on '' The Bad Guys'', ''The Lego Batman Movie'', ''Storks'', ''Flushed Away'', and '' South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut''. Career Venzon graduated with a BFA in film studie ...

Eddie Awards

Beginning on March 14, 1951, the ACE held an annual dinner to honor the film editing

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominees - and the award was dubbed the ''Academy Nominees Awards Dinner'' for its first eleven years. When the

National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), also known as the National Television Academy until 2007, is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of televisio ...

(NATAS) created a film editing category, the ACE invited them to the dinner as well. The first dinner was hosted by filmmaker

George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American actor and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1944 to ...

while

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...

handed the awards. The first dinner also included over two hundred guests - including film editors, stars, and producers. Since the 12th American Cinema Editors Awards in 1962, the ACE began giving its own awards and renamed the event to ''American Cinema Editors Awards Dinner''. In addition to handing out awards to film editors, they also began handing awards to television editors. The "Eddies" name and the statuette were introduced at the 15th American Cinema Editors Awards in 1965. 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 it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

newspapers and journals such as ''

'' and ''

''. As of 2024, 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.

Current Awards

Film

* Best Edited Animated Feature Film (2009–present) * Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical (1999–present) * Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic (1961–present) * Best Edited Documentary – Feature (1972–present)

Television

* Best Edited Single-Camera Comedy Series (2021–present) * Best Edited Multi-Camera Comedy Series (2021–present) * Best Edited Drama Series (1962–2004; 2021–present) * Best Edited Documentary – (Non-Theatrical) (2012–present) * Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television (1972–present) * Best Edited Non-Scripted Series (2007–present) * Best Edited Variety Talk/Sketch Show or Special (2020–present) * Best Edited Animation (Non-Theatrical) (2020–present)

Special Awards

* The ACE Student Editing Competition winner * Career Achievement Awards (1988–present) * The ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award (1967–present)

Former Awards

Film

* Best Edited Special (

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

–

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

) * Best Performance by an Actor in a Film Debut (

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

) * Best Performance by an Actress in a Film Debut (

) * Outstanding Picture of the Year (

–

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

) * Best Director in a Motion Picture (

) * Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (

) * Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (

)

Television

* Best Director in a Television Program (

) * Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Program (

) * Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Program (

) * Outstanding Television Program of the Year (

) * Best Edited Half-Hour Series for Television (1992–2016) * Best Edited Comedy Series for Commercial Television (2017–2020) * Best Edited Comedy Series for Non-Commercial Television (2017–2020) * Best Edited Drama Series for Commercial Television (2005–2020) * Best Edited Drama Series for Non-Commercial Television (2005–2020)

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 (13 May 1947 – 7 April 2024) was a Dutch film editor, who moved to the United States in 1985 after editing over 15 films in the Netherlands. He was a member of the American Cinema Editors and was fluent in English, German, Frenc ...

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 or rushes are the raw, film editing, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. The term "dailies" comes from when movies were all shot on film because usually at the end of each day, the footage was dev ...

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.

Editing exercises

The ACE Store is the source of the

used at most film schools today, primarily for

editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio engineer, audible, or Film editing, cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing p ...

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 centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

''. The educational film with this footage is called ''Film Editing: Interpretation and Value'', and is available only to instructors of film editing classes, though it can be found online as well. The film includes three different edits of the ''Gunsmoke'' scene, as well as the scene's original dailies. Another film, "Basic Principles of Film Editing", was produced by

Leon Barsha Leon Barsha (December 26, 1905 November 13, 1964) was an American film producer, editor and director. As a producer and director he was best known for making films in the Western genre. In his later years he concentrated especially on editing. ...

. Using clips from the movie, ''

Baby Face Nelson Lester Joseph Gillis (December 6, 1908 – November 27, 1934), also known as George Nelson and Baby Face Nelson, was an American bank robber who became a criminal partner of John Dillinger when he helped Dillinger escape from prison in Crown P ...

'', the film demonstrates how the use of various angles would enhance the film's story.

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