Post production of video takes place in an "editing suite." Historically, video editing was done by copying scenes from one videotape ("camera master") to another videotape, ("edit master"). During this process, the editor would enhance the edit master with graphics, supplementary audio and transition effects.

This process is called "linear editing" because each scene is added to the edit master in a linear fashion, like the links of a chain. One of the drawbacks to linear editing is that it is very difficult to change any of the scenes once they are recorded on the master tape.

For instance, if you wanted to eliminate one scene in the middle of your production, you would have to re-edit all of the scenes from the middle to the end (or the beginning) of the production! Another drawback of linear editing is the necessity of having at least three video tape recorders (VTRs) running simultaneously and in perfect synchronization in order to achieve even the simplest effect, like a wipe or dissolve.

In the late 1990s, computers, fast hard drives and inexpensive software made "nonlinear editing" reliable and affordable. Nonlinear editing requires only one VTR, which is used to play video into a computer where all the editing is done, and to record the final product off the computer for distribution. Nonlinear editing allows an editor to manipulate video, audio, graphics, titles and effects in the same way as a scriptwriter manipulates words, sentences and paragraphs.

When scenes are entered into the computer, they appear as picture icons ("picons") in a window. The editor drags these picons to a timeline where they may be adjusted for length and shuffled in various orders of play. When the timeline is built to the editor's satisfaction, he can save it and record the results for the client. If the client requests changes, these can be executed quickly and another version can be saved without harming the original version. Using various versions, the editor can create, test, revise and retrieve any previous version for as long as the budget will allow.

Finally, when the client approves the final version, the editor record a digital video tape of the final edit and issue distribution copies. Since the edit resides in a computer, often the editor convert the finished version into a format that is compatible to the Internet, CD-ROM or DVD playback, further amortizing the cost of the production into further streams of deployment.