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editing calendar – timetable
Hi,
its gonna be my first time editing feature length documentary for a client without a producer supervising me… Do you guys have any fixed set of rules you try to stick to when it comes to time? That is, for instance
– try to get 2 or 5 or whatever minutes edited per day?
– what works best for you: office hours (never done that before, even with a producer, I would come in early, and leave… well, not necessarily leave), fixed hours?
– most important, very, very important to me:
how can I know Im behind schedule? Say I have a month and a half for a 1 hour docmentary. Do I stick to 60 divided by 45, that is about 2 minutes edited per day???? I dont quite see how a system like that would make sense. Or does it? -
6 Replies
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Only you know your skill level when it comes to editing so you have to make a schedule based on your skill level and the amount of work to be done.
I look at how much raw footage I’m getting, whether or not they are logged, how much information the Producer is giving me, how much total finish work I’m responsible for (Color Correcting, Graphics, Audio Design, Show Open / Titles, etc…), the script length (if there is one), how much narration there is vs. nat sound, how much compositing there is in the project, the total running time, delivery format and deadline.
Based on all the above information I come up with a schedule for digitizing time, rough cut time, polish cut time, graphics / titles / show open time, finish time (CC, Audio, etc..), mastering time. I lay that out on a real calendar using only Monday – Friday as work days.
I can tell pretty quickly using that if I’m behind schedule.
Based on the amount of days the project will take, I’ll usually quote a “Project Rate” based on “X” days to complete the project. Any days over that will cost “Y” per day. Also remember to factor in any deck rental if required for mastering.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comDirector, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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Well, 3 weeks for a rough cut, 2 for a fine cut, and one for locked picture. That is my general rule…
Office hours? As long as you put in a 8-10 hour day…
I try to get five minutes edited a day. Sometimes I do more, sometimes less. Tough to gauge.
Shane
Alokut Productions
http://www.lfhd.net -
I find that things take incrementally longer to finish the closer I get to the end. in other words, the rough cut comes together pretty qickly…its the tweaking and finishing that takes up more time..
I edit a 50minute high-def broadcast documentary every three weeks (Discoveries…America) seen on INHD2. Thats about one week to log and capture approx 20-25 hrs of footage, one week for the rough cut and one week to finish including all of the associated wrap up tasks…mastering tapes, archiving material, making DVD, etc. BUT…I have done this on 36 episodes so far…so i have a pretty tight grasp of the product and process.
If I was editing a completely different program it would take much longer without any kind of “template” to follow.
just my opinions…
Sterling Noren
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I find the opposite to be true. I find that getting the rough cut to take longer. Finding what I need and putting it into place, finding the right temp music, getting general pacing. The polishing takes less time as I know where stuff is if I need to flourish. But it depends on how intense the finishing work is. If I am doing a lot of photoshopping on pictures, that will take a while. But the cutting itself goes quicker on the later versions.
Shane
Alokut Productions
http://www.lfhd.net -
I’m talking with a fellow about a doc right now, and I tried to tell him that I couldn’t predict accurately how much time until I knew more about the material.
Your answer is so helpful (especially whether they are LOGGED or not) that I’m tempted to paraphrase it in an email to him. It’s amazing how many independent documentary makers just run and gun, then show up with 60 hours of footage and no notes.
Anyway, thanks for the clear and cogent explanation of assessing documentary timetables.
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This is a very interesting thread. I have a couple of questions for those of you who have responded.
“Thats about one week to log and capture approx 20-25 hrs of footage”, I assume your logging and capturing everything? If you’re using FCP, do you log then capture, or capture and then log? You ratio is over 30:1. Can you be more specific about the show? Sorry, INHD2 is not available in Canada, to my knowledge. Do you get to see the shooting scripts? Are there any notes?
and Shane, on your 3 week sched, what kind of production is that? Scripted?
I work in a University; typical show is sort-of scripted, and sort-of logged. I find I’m often seeing visuals that have been overlooked, and lot’s of unused actuality which is what makes docs, in my mind. The sched is usually 1 35 hour work week per production, which range anywhere from 16:00 to 55:00 running time. And that 35 hour work week is what I’m paid for and in no wise reflects my actual hours.
“take incrementally longer to finish the closer I get to the end.” I think of it as like painting a room, in that the last 10% of coverage takes a lot more than 10% of the time.
Thanks!
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