Glory

Go to a showing of a movie you worked on. Listen to the audience laugh. If it's a comedy, rejoice. You let the script, the actors, and the lines tell themselves. The pauses for audience reaction were spot on. If it wasn't a comedy, no one really reads the credits.

If you know how to make viewers sniffle, shriek, hold their breath, or gasp. You're a master of your craft.

It's up to you to make sure the audience laughs or gasps at the right times. You're in control of a viewer's attention for about two hours (or, if you're working on a Scorsese movie, three hours). If you're really good, your audiences will remember your work for a long, long time. Editors who see audiences reacting to their work say the feeling can be among the most powerful in their lives.