4 ways you’re wasting your video editor’s time – and how to stop

Posted: 24/08/2016

There’s never enough time in edit. No matter how big your budget or how many hours you’ve spent in the suite, you always wish you had a little more time with your video editor. But have you ever considered how much of your editor’s time you’re actually wasting? We’re not talking about coffee breaks and chat here – the time-wasters we’re referring to are productive, often essential, activities – there’s just no reason for them to happen in the edit. Here’s some ways you might be wasting your editor’s time:

1. Expecting your video editor to fix everything in post

While there are many problems that can be fixed in post, there are limits to what can be achieved -and the edit suite is no place to discover problems for the first time. View your rushes before you get into edit to avoid spending your time solving problems instead of editing. Viewing rushes not only gives you an opportunity to identify technical issues like low audio levels, unsteady camera movements or soft shots, but also to check that no pick-up shots are needed, that continuity is consistent and that you’ve covered your shotlist.

2. Drowning your editor in footage

Video editors will tell you that viewing the project’s footage is part of the creative process, but this does not mean that your editor should see all 55 takes of scene 3. The move from tape to digital storage means that we’re shooting more footage than ever before and, while this gives you freedom on the shoot, the sheer volume of footage can be overwhelming when you get into post. Whittling down your footage before you get into edit will not only save time and money in the edit suite, but will also mean you pay for less storage at the post house – a double win!

3. Sending your video editor on a treasure hunt without a map

Every minute your editor spends searching through bins and clips for “that shot” is a waste of their time and your money. Logging your footage before the edit means that you’ll be able to search for key words and find specific shots in seconds – which is crucial for high-shoot-ratio productions. Applications like TimeCode Buddy allow you to create and assign clip tags on your shoot – these can then be expanded into full logging metadata and searched during your edit.

4. Using the edit suite for everything

Before you ask your editor to do anything that doesn’t involve cutting video, you should investigate whether there is another, more cost-efficient way to perform that task. Just because transcription and subtitling are part of your video delivery requirements doesn’t mean that your video editor should put them together or that the best place to do them is in an edit suite.

Find out how Forscene can help you save time and money in post-production – book a demo now.