The cuts required are normally sent to the distributors by reel number or time of scene - as in the following extract from the Cannibal Holocaust cuts (LS = Long Shot).......
At 19 mins: Following LS sight of man holding naked woman's head as she lies on the ground, remove sight of woman dragged through the mud and having her legs forced apart.
At 20 mins: In same sequence, and following LS sight of man preparing to attack naked woman lying on the ground, remove all subsequent sight of woman struggling and being raped with wooden dildo.
At 20 mins: In same sequence, and following sight of man raising nail-studded mud ball, remove all subsequent sight of naked woman being genitally mutilated.
It's up to the distributors and their editing team how the cuts are made as long as the offensive footage is removed. If the cuts are heavy then substituted footage is used to make the scene more legible.
Back in the bad old days cuts were made extremely badly (as with Vipco's Eaten Alive or the Satanica video of Night Of The Bloody Apes) and whole scenes would suddenly end, music would jar badly, and even dialogue would simply appear unintelligible. These days, using an Avid Suite, cuts can be made much more smoother and better (as with New York Ripper), and occasionally it can be hard to spot that a cut has actually been made.
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