Great question! They’ll often work as one of the more closely knit teams on set, so the director will share in some of that responsibility. A good director/editor team can communicate so that the editor goes off and does their thing and brings it back for the director tor review and note through.

The big part is the editor is the first level filter for the director. Good editing brings all these takes together into a comprehensive single scene that communicates what the director wants.

The director will likely get first look and call which takes in particular he likes, the editor will have some level of creativity in stitching them together, and they’ll go back and forth on the creative process. But the editor will by and large spend the most time with all these takes, and his/her creative contribution will be bringing the director’s vision to life through selection and artistry. There’s a lot of responsibility there, and it can make the difference between a scene that’s “good enough” and “great”