About Assemble Editing to Tape
An assemble edit records all video, audio, timecode, and control track information on to
tape starting at the In point of the edit. Whatever signal was on the tape previously is
replaced. By definition, this means there must already be some signal recorded on the
tape (even if it’s only 10 or 15 seconds at the head of the tape) so you can set an In point.
When an assemble edit stops, there is a signal break at the Out point between the new
signal and the previous signal already on tape. Thus, the In point of an assemble edit
maintains a smooth control track signal, but the Out point always has a break. Since
you can always cover up the last Out point break with the In point of a new edit,
assemble editing gets its name from the fact that it is used for quickly assembling
footage together in a linear fashion. However, you cannot replace a shot in the middle
of the tape without creating a signal break at the Out point.