Founded in 1950,
American Cinema Editors (
ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing itself. The society is not to be confused with an
industry unionA trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, such as the
I.A.T.S.E.The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or I.A.T.S.E., is a labor union representing technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live theatre, motion...
(specifically the
Motion Picture Editors GuildThe Motion Picture Editors Guild 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...
or MPEG) to which an editor might belong. The current President of ACE is Randy Roberts.
Membership
Eligibility for active membership can be obtained by the following prerequisites:
- Desire to be a member
- Sponsorship by at least two active members
- Minimum of 60 months (5 years) of editing experience on Features or Television
- Approval by the Board of Directors
- Acceptance by the general membership
Members are entitled to include the designation "A.C.E." as part of their signatures; thus the president of the Society in August 2007 was Alan Heim, A.C.E. The society publishes its current membership on its website; as of 2008, this website does not include deceased members.
Eddie Awards
Beginning in 1950, the ACE held an annual dinner to honor the film editing
Academy AwardAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nominees. When the
National Academy of Television Arts and SciencesThe National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences or NATAS was created in 1955 to advance the arts and sciences of television. Headquartered in New York, NATAS's membership is national and the organization has local chapters around the country....
(NATAS) created a film editing category, the ACE invited them to the dinner as well.
In 1962 the ACE began giving its own awards. Today, held at the
Beverly Hilton HotelThe Beverly Hilton is a hotel located on an property at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards in Beverly Hills, California, USA...
, the following awards are given:
- The ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award
- Career Achievement Awards
The American Cinema Editors gives one or more Career Achievement Awards each year. The first awards were given in 1987; the winners have been:*2011: Michael Kahn and Michael Brown*2010: Paul LaMastra and Neil Travis*2009: Sidney Katz and Arthur Schmidt...
- Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)
- Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical)
- Best Edited Half-Hour Series for Television
- Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Non-Commercial Television
- Best Edited One-Hour Series for Television
- Best Edited Documentary
- Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Commercial Television
- The ACE Student Editing Competition Winner
Ceremonies
- 2000: 51st ACE Eddie Awards
- 2001: 52nd ACE Eddie Awards
- 2002: 53rd ACE Eddie Awards
- 2003: 54th ACE Eddie Awards
- 2004: 55th ACE Eddie Awards
- 2005: 56th ACE Eddie Awards
- 2006: 57th ACE Eddie Awards
The 56th ACE Eddie Awards of the American Cinema Editors were given on 18 February 2007 in the International Ballroom, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, California, USA.-Film:*Best Edited Feature Film - Drama :...
- 2007: 58th ACE Eddie Awards
The 58th ACE Eddie Awards were held on 17 February 2008 in the International Ballroom, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, California, USA; the nominees and winners are listed below.-Film: Best Edited Film - Dramatic:...
- 2008: 59th ACE Eddie Awards
The 59th American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards, which were presented on Sunday, February 15, 2009 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, honored the best editors in films and televisions of 2008.-Film:Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic:...
- 2009: 60th ACE Eddie Awards
The 60th American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards, which were presented on Sunday, February 14, 2010 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, honored the best editors in films and televisions of 2009.-Film:Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic:...
- 2010: 61st ACE Eddie Awards
The 61st American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards, which will be presented on Saturday, February 19, 2011 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, honored the best editors in films and televisions of 2010.Nominees were announced on January 14, 2011.-Film:...
Magazine
Since 1951, the ACE publishes the
CINEMAEDITORThe CINEMAEDITOR is a quarterly publication by the ACE, American Cinema Editors. It began in 1951 as an in-house publication, then grew to 5,000 subscribers in 1963. Edgar Burcksen leads the magazine's team, with Associate Editor Vincent LoBrutto....
quarterly magazine. 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 the Editor and he with President Tom Rolf and Laura Young expanded the publication into today's magazine.
Edgar BurcksenEdgar Burcksen , is a Dutch film editor, who moved to he United States in 1985 after editing over 15 films in the Netherlands...
leads the magazine's team, with Associate Editor Vincent LoBrutto.
ACE Student Editing Competition
The American Cinema Editors also holds an annual student competition (
The ACE Student Editing Competition), awarding one student editor for editing a set of video
dailiesDailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
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 50 students only.
The Gunsmoke footage
The ACE Store is the source of the
dailiesDailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
used at most film schools today. The scene is from a 1958 episode of the TV series
GunsmokeGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
. It is available only to instructors of film editing classes. The video tape is called "FILM EDITING: Interpretation and Value" and includes three different edits of the scene.