Editing…Notes…Revision…Edit…

A never ending cycle…or so it seems. 

After collecting the footages in two hard drives (one for the editor, one as backup or for yourself), once you have solidified your deadlines and the people to work with, you send one of the hard drives off to the editor to communicate revisions, refining the work until you are satisfied. 

A couple things to make note of: 

• Budget. Always make note of how much to spend and how much is reasonable. 

• Deadline. Crucial especially if doing it for a school project as everyone has multiple projects on their plate, including the video editors, etc. 

• Revision deadlines. It’s important to know how many revisions there will be so that you don’t go over the final deadline. Always give yourself some more leeway time in case things don’t go according to plan. 

• Most importantly, detailed notes.

This last point surprised me a bit during this project, but I quickly realized that the editors will always thank you for a very thorough and detailed note after each and every revision. The more detailed the better, as they can get a clearer idea as to what you expect so that they don’t have to repeat the work if needed. 

Of course, as a project director and producer, I must also make note that not everything will go according to plan, and I must be okay with that. It is important to note when in collaboration with others or even if they are hired to do the work, one must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently. Frankly (blunt honesty) people don’t have time to waste. 

Here are just some behind the scenes so that you get a picture of what it may be like:

I definitely learned a lot during this process.

The constant revisions, always refining the work and making sure that everything is aligned to what everyone wants; trying to juggle everyone’s time while also including my own expectations as to what is accomplishable. A typical editing timeline often takes months and even years to finish, even more so for blockbuster movies and cinema. My film was a rather short one, so there weren’t that many revisions but I tried to give ample time for each revision while keeping track of my deadlines. A semester school deadline is not ideal for film projects; however, thanks to the professionalism and mostly smooth sailing encounters with my editors, we were able to finish on time and make it the best possible. 

I had one of the most fruitful experiences with them. Shoutout to their kindness and hard work for making this possible!

NEXT UP: WRITING POETRY