Editing as a craft, not a correction
Where the story actually gets made
Most people think editing means fixing mistakes. In practice, editing is where the meaning of a piece is decided - what stays, what goes, and in what order events are allowed to unfold. Narrative Cut Lab was built around that premise. This approach to narrative editing helps you identify the craft decisions you want to practise. Before you sign up, ask how to get access to a suitable track and confirm any editing software installation or setup requirements.
The courses here focus on the decisions editors actually face: how to handle a scene that drags without removing anything essential, how to use rhythm to signal emotional shift, and how cutting a single line can reframe everything that came before it.
Three disciplines that structure every course
Structural Editing
Understanding how the order of scenes determines what the audience feels - and when they feel it.
Narrative Pacing
Working with duration, cut frequency, and silence to control the tempo of a story without losing its thread.
Visual Continuity
Maintaining coherence across cuts - matching eyelines, energy, and graphic weight so the edit becomes invisible.
Each course is built around a specific editing problem rather than a software workflow. Lessons use real footage, with annotated before-and-after sequences showing the reasoning behind each decision.
The courses suit editors who already know their software but want to understand why certain cuts work and others do not. Prior experience with a non-linear editing system is assumed.
All material is self-paced and asynchronous. Learners access lessons on demand and can revisit any section without restriction during the enrolment period.
The people behind the curriculum
Declan has spent over a decade cutting documentary and short-form drama. His courses focus on how editors shape meaning through sequencing and restraint.
Aoife develops the lesson architecture for each course - deciding how concepts are sequenced and what practical exercises reinforce the theory.
Where the focus sits right now
Current course development is weighted toward long-form work - specifically how editors maintain story momentum across episodes or across a feature-length cut.
