The age of the edit
Beyond fancams and character compilations
One of the most frequent ways I find myself currently consuming television actually comes not from a particular streaming service, but in the form of edits. Between TikTok, YouTube, Tumblr, or one of the countless other sites I spam my brain with on a daily basis to avoid having a singular thought, each has their own form of re-shaping a piece of media into something new.
At its most simple level, an edit can be a compilation of one character’s best/most notable moments. Maybe it’s set to a sultry song with slow zooms on the actor’s face (it oh so often falls into this category). On the more comedic side, it may be strung together with meme photos, viral audios, and commentary by way of comic sans subtitling. In some cases, edits can open up a wormhole of media references so deep that not even the most internet-addled can easily follow. Or maybe, just mayyyyyybe, it’s an edit so well put together that it not only enhances the viewer’s experience of the original media, but expands upon the characters and themes in a way you never thought possible. I have this Good Omens edit to blame for wrecking me emotionally when I was trying to wind down before bed.
Film is an editor’s medium, and television even more so. The subsequent fan edits that cascade across the internet following the release of a show to the public is merely an extension of that notion. Having grown up with digital tools at our fingertips from the day we could spin our thumb around the dial of an iPod Nano, younger generations like my own have driven this crazy edit train onto entirely new tracks. We’ve been conditioned (for better and for worse, but WAY more the latter) to frame and adjust things to post online our entire lives, and by god have we gotten good at it.
As someone who loves to over-analyze how a story comes together, I appreciate edits as a way to see how parts of a show connect. A character may say or do things throughout a season that the writer or creator (who deserve to be paid a fair wage!!) put in as an arc to make a greater point. However, us squalid viewers with rapidly deteriorating attention spans may have missed that aspect. But thanks to a trusty edit that cut all those moments together, I can appreciate the craft behind on-screen storytelling even more.
Edits aren’t just compilations, though. Like other creative mediums, they reflect and showcase the personality of the person who made them. Some are extremely detailed with a painstakingly crafted aesthetic, while others are more choppy or brash. In a way, I feel like I get to know people through their edits, and grow a greater sense of community within the particular fandom the edit focuses on.
Not long after I finish watching a new show, I find myself looking for edits—or being provided them by algorithms. If they don’t exist yet, rewatching the show with the fast-forward button within reach is a close second. Although, edit makers are devoted to their work, and often even less than a day after a premiere I will find several (made seemingly at hyperspeed?? Truly I don’t know how they do it🫡) already making the rounds online.
Beyond immediate gratification, there are edits of shows from several years ago that I find myself returning to regularly. My YouTube history and I are the only ones privy to know the true number of replays. Do I also regularly rewatch these TV shows in their entirety anyways? Of course! Yet there’s something about a great edit that keeps me coming back for their synthesized version. It could just be the quick hit of all your favorite character’s top moments without the time commitment of a full rewatch, but I would argue it’s more than that.
Edits are a form of conversation in the online age, a way people express what they loved most about a show. Like showing someone a scrapbook or collage you made with cutouts from assorted entertainment magazines. Alrighty, maybe that example was just me. They let us further geek out on something we are already like. Being obsessed with a piece of media and getting to enthusiastically enjoy it in all its forms without judgement is one of (an overly online) life’s sweetest pleasures. And I’m all for letting the kids have a little something sweet.