by Photo Credit: https://stock.adobe.com/search/images?k=someone+editing+a+video&search_type=usertyped&asset_id=241558583
By: Stella Rask
What Is a Fan Edit?
Have you ever been mindlessly scrolling on TikTok or Instagram Reels and come across a collection of video clips fading in and out of each other to the beat of a song? You may have just encountered a fan edit, a type of social media content that brings fandoms together. Whether the subject is a model, singer, actor, anime character, or sports team, edits have become an essential part of fan culture.
There are no official rules for making an edit, but most follow a familiar formula. Editors cycle through photos and video clips of their subject, with the visuals switching to the beat of the chosen song. Another hallmark of a fan edit is consistent color grading and filters across all the footage, which gives the final product a polished, cohesive look.
Some editors are known for their specific styles, like anime editors who use manga panels and distinct color palettes that people recognize as their calling card. Celebrity editors, meanwhile, often pick songs by similar artists and genres so all of their edits blend together when scrolling through their page.
Why Does This Matter?
Edits are a great marketing tool, and thousands of people have discovered a new piece of entertainment through an edit they saw on social media. After the movie “Obsession” was released, TikTok was flooded with fan edits, all of which encouraged people to go see the movie for themselves. These edits helped spread the word all over social media, and in the end “Obsession” became one of the highest-grossing horror films of 2026.
Brands like Lionsgate have started to catch on to this strategy and are hiring editors they’ve scouted off of social media to work on their advertising teams and make edits for upcoming movies. Felipe Mendez, a manager for Lionsgate’s TikTok account, reached out to 250 editors and built a team of 15 to help advertise their films.
In an interview with Variety, Mendez recalls seeing an edit for the movie “Creed” by TikTok user Areq. The edit has reached over 195 million views and 19 million likes since it was posted in July 2025. The comments are flooded with people saying studios should just hire editors to market movies.
Now Lionsgate’s TikTok account is posting curated edits to promote its upcoming movie “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.” The editors all have access to clips from the film and are giving fans sneak peeks through edits posted on the Lionsgate account. It’s good PR for Lionsgate, but also a great opportunity for editors around the world to turn their skills into a career.
This blog post was so interesting, Stella! Although I am familiar with fan edits, I never knew that Lionsgate had started hiring these creators to work on their marketing teams. I have been influenced to watch various movies and shows, as well as listen to certain songs because of fan edits and it’s interesting to see the reach that those videos have had on social platforms. It makes sense that those videos have inspired deeper engagement into those movies and shows because the creators are emotionally connected to that content more so than other fans.