Forget boring you with a lament of 12 months painfully passed. It's been done to death. I'd rather ride 2002 out on a positive note - especially considering this is our Best of Year issue, a time when Boards dedicates itself to all that's good in the world of adverts.

So, 2002: the year of Frank Budgen, the director last seen under a growing pile of award hardware (for "Tag", "Sofa", "Cartoon"); Wieden + Kennedy, an agency which understands that good creative is as much environment as raw talent; and Fallon and Anonymous Content, who rode BMWfilms into our lists despite snubs from several award shows. In spite of the often-expressed belief that the year was a wash, there was so much good work. We've got the lists to prove it.

But it wasn't until we were well into the Best of Year compilation process (and too far to turn back) that I realized I hadn't added a top-10 list for editors, which we wanted to include this time around. Par for the course with editors, I'm afraid. They're always getting overlooked.

Editor Sam Sneade (Levi's "Odyssey") hit the nail on the head in an interview this month when he observed: "Editing is not obvious. That's why the craft awards are a mockery. Few people understand what good editing is about. They can feel it, but they can't articulate it." Guilty as charged. Part of the problem lies in the fact that the best editors cut in such a way that you don't take your eyes away from the story long enough to think about the mechanics behind it.

So, before the year fades completely, we should acknowledge the great work of Sneade and his ilk - such as Russell Icke who worked on the Nike "Tag " trio (with Emily Denois and Lucas Eskin) and on "Sofa"; Paul Martinez and Hank Corwin who helped form Fox Sport's "Nail Gun" etcetera; or Paul Watts, who made the cuts for Levi's "Twist" as well as Stella Artois' "Doctor" (with Filip Malasek).

It's a hackneyed expression, but many good films are made in the editing suite by people who turn stacks of footage into emotive, coherent wholes. They should get more recognition - or at least as much as the other members of the teams behind the great work. Because if there's one thing that will allow us to get past tough years like the one just passed, it's collaboration.

Next year, we're going to need more pages.