FAQ
FAQ About Our Editing Service
Q: What makes New Doc Editing different than just hiring an editor?
We are masterful storytellers, not just cutters. We adapt screenwriting principles to make documentaries as dramatic as narrative films. Working hard to understand your vision for the film, we bring your footage to life. And with a talented editor and acclaimed story consultant on your team, you get two minds for the price of one!
Q: How much does editing cost?
A: Our fee is $2950/week, a competitive rate among experienced documentary editors. The fee for on-call editors in the world of post-production independents is $3897, according to the Motion Pictures Editors Guild. If you’re looking for a talented documentary editor at a competitive rate, you’ve come to the right place! And I have some advice for you.
Don’t hire the cheapest editor. Even if they have some experience with documentary editing, editors who compete on price alone will dismay directors who aren’t savvy to the documentary film editing process. Anyone can learn Premiere, call themselves an editor, and cut according to a script. You get what you pay for. Our documentary editors are fast–and I don’t just mean they can clatter across a keyboard at high speeds. They can quickly pinpoint the gold amidst loads of footage, and then craft it into highly watchable film. That makes them a sterling find among the many dimes!
How long does it take to edit a documentary?
The Alliance of Documentary Editors (ADE) estimates that for an average documentary, a rough guideline for scheduling is: one month of editing per 10 minutes of finished content. So if you’re aiming for an 80-minute film, schedule 8 months of editing. Of course, this ratio depends on whether the film is heavy on verite or archival footage collected over years (editing may take longer), or an interview-driven doc (may take less time with transcripts), as well as the director’s interest in experimenting.
For example, we recently worked on an archival heavy documentary that took just over a year to edit because the director had plenty of funds and wanted to try different directions. It premiered at the prestigious Telluride Film Festival.
Earlier this year, one of our editors won gold at the 75th Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards! This talented cutter does not fall into the “editors are a dime a dozen” category. He can work quickly b/c he knows what he’s doing.
Q: How often can I work with the editor?
A: As often as you’d like! These days, location is no longer a barrier to working with a talented editor. We encourage frequent collaboration via phone, email and Zoom. Most of our editing collaborations are remote, but may be able to visit in person if you’d like. And because our editors work in their own homes and studios, you don’t have to pay the extra fee of renting editing equipment or an editing suite.
Q: Where are your editors located?
A: Currently we have four career editors located in San Francisco, New Mexico and Los Angeles. They are vetted and chosen because of their impressive achievements in film. To be hired, they must have been lead editor on at least two award-winning feature docs, before they are further trained by story consultant Karen Everett.
Thank you to director Louise Weber who described our editing staff as “highly trained in the art of storytelling. You pay for what you get, and Karen’s team is AMAZING! It’s a worthwhile investment.”
Q: Is the editor employed by me?
A: No. Editors work for New Doc Editing as employees (not as independent contractors), and they agree not to independently accept outside employment from the directors to whom we introduce them. Business-related questions should be directed to owner Karen Everett, who will make sure you’re satisfied at every stage of post-production. We want to make sure your documentary is edited on time and on budget!
Q: Where does the story consultant come in?
A: For every 4 weeks you use our editor, you receive a complimentary story consulting ($2000 value). Then we’ll schedule a conference call to discuss the cut with you, the editor, the story consultant, and anyone else on your editorial team. Out of this discussion comes our “Prioritized List of Editorial Tasks” for the next cut.
Q: What’s that?
A: That’s our fancy term for new storytelling tasks ordered by importance. For example, after reviewing an Assembly Cut, our top five priorities for Rough Cut A might include 1) cutting unnecessary characters; 2) outlining the protagonist’s narrative arc, 3) constructing the inciting incident, 4) roughing out narration with text on screen, 5) creating an introduction.
Q: Does editing include other tasks such as color correction and sound mix?
A: No. We don’t do color correction or sound mix because we specialize in editorial work, and those tasks are mainly technical in nature. But we can refer you to professional colorists and sound designers! That said, we can adjust audio levels and dark shots for screenings.
If you are interested, our talented editors can sometimes help with additional tasks during and after the edit. This work includes research, archival inquiries, website work, graphics, and other producing and distribution-related related work. (Note that if you choose to use a New Doc Editing employee for additional tasks, the edit itself may run longer.)
Q: What are the stages of your post-production?
A: We follow the industry’s professional 4-part post-production process: Assembly Cut, Rough Cut, Fine Cut, Locked Picture. For essay-style documentaries that rely primarily on interviews, a preliminary paper edit or radio edit often makes sense. This decision is made on a case-by-case basis.
Q: How do you schedule editing time?
A: We generally schedule long-form edits in 6-12 week increments, until the project winds down. (Toward the end, when you’re arranging for outside audio mix and color correction, you may only need a day or a week of editing here and there.) We require pre-payment for all work.
Q: Why do you require pre-payment?
A: I decided early on in my business that I would require pre-payment in order to streamline billing and avoid chasing down late payments. This policy has worked great for all involved! While many people are familiar with the “half upfront, half upon delivery” model, pre-payment is also conventional in many businesses, such as law firms, custom goods and services, and highly sought-after creative talent. New Doc Editing features some of the world’s leading documentary story consultants and long-form editors. Have you read a few of our 150+ testimonials? We offer a hard-to-find service at excellent rates.
Q: What if I need a few more hours (or days) of editing?
A: That’s fine. If our editor has open time available, you can pre-pay in half-day (or full day) increments. And you’ll be refunded for any unused time. We encourage you to pre-pay for MORE time than you think you’ll need. Why? Directors often get excited about editorial changes and underestimate how much more editing they will want. We understand that. And we don’t want to have to stop editing while waiting for your payment to come through. Again, you’ll be reimbursed for any unused time and kept up to date on time used.
Q: Can I take some time off between cuts?
A: Yes, if we arrange it at the start of a contract. And you’ll probably want to reserve (with pre-payment) for weeks of editing after the break to ensure your editor is available. For example, the schedule might be edit for 15 weeks, then take a 2-week break, then we resume for another 5 weeks.
While a break is certainly possible, keep in mind that most directors prefer editing for several consecutive weeks until picture lock (the final stage). That’s because a no-break schedule sustains momentum, ensures your editor’s availability, and keeps the footage fresh in your editor’s mind. As experienced directors know, tasks such as additional shooting and rough-cut screenings are often done in parallel to the edit.
Q: In parallel? How does that work?
After every cut review, the editor has a new Prioritized List of Editorial Tasks. In addition to these storytelling tasks, there are always time-consuming tasks to do that don’t require your creative input. These behind-the-scene duties include finessing scene transitions, finding b-roll, adding drop shadows to titles, adding moves to photos, adjusting audio levels, etc. All are done without needing a director’s involvement, so the director can focus on more shooting–or some other project tasks.
Q: If I take a break, will my editor be available when I’m ready to return to the edit?
Yes, if you’ve pre-paid to reserve the time. Bear in mind that our editors need to keep working to provide an income, so we’ll endeavor to accept other work in between your breaks. This can potentially push the return to editing your film further ahead that you might like. We’ll collaborate in good faith to create the most ideal schedule.
Q: What do you need from me?
A: We require a mirror copy of your media drive so your footage is backed up. A treatment, transcripts and script are welcome and will speed up the edit. But they are not required.
Q: How do you prefer payment?
A: Best options are Zelle or bank wire so you can schedule your desired dates immediately. Pre-payment is required for all work. Note that we are often booked several weeks in advance, so it makes sense to lock in your edit as soon as possible.
FAQ About Accelerated Post
Q: What is Accelerated Post?
A: Designed for independent filmmakers on a modest budget, Accelerated Post is a fast-track approach to editing that will save you money. We will edit your film in ten weeks! How? We significantly shorten the time each stage takes, turning a 6-9 month process into 10-week schedule. This depends in part on your culling your footage to 30 hours.
Here’s an estimate:
Assembly Cut – 3 weeks
Rough Cut (A and B) – 4 weeks
Fine Cut – 2 weeks
Locked Picture – 1 week
Q: How much does it cost?
A: Our rate is still $2950/week. But again, the real savings comes in time. The Accelerated Post™ program generally runs 10 weeks. At our weekly editing rate of $2950, that’s a $29,500 investment. Not bad when you consider that post-production budgets often call for $60,000-$120,000 in editor fees alone, according to the Alliance of Documentary Editors.
Q: What if I’ve already started to edit my documentary?
A: If you already have a Rough Cut, we can probably finish in 6-9 weeks, depending on whether your Rough Cut is preliminary or advanced. These estimates assume that you have identified 30 hours of footage for our editor to watch and have completed transcripts for key interviews.
Q: I have 200 hours of footage. How do I narrow it down to 30 hours?
A: We’ll guide you or your assistant with criteria that help you quickly identify the most important interview sound bites, B-roll, archival and live action footage. We’re going to jettison the traditional, time-consuming method of logging footage from A – Z. So let go of your perfectionist mindset! You’ll take the first pass at editing your interviews, for example, organizing only the best sound bites into sequences.
This process generally takes you 1 – 3 weeks, depending on the amount of footage you have, whether it’s already ingested into an editing platform such as Premiere, and how much logging you’ve done to date. Then you’ll ship a mirror copy of your drives to our editor.
Q: What if I miss something good in logging?
A: That’s bound to happen in any editing scenario—much less an accelerated one. Remember, we’re letting go of our perfectionism. The goal is to make a compelling documentary with a limited budget. In the unlikely event that the footage you cull doesn’t produce a good rough cut, then it’s time to go hunting again through your selects. Or shoot more.
Q: What if I don’t want to cull the footage myself?
A: No problem. We’ll do it for you. We’ll add about 40 hours (one week) to the post-production schedule for every additional 20 hours of footage our editor watches.
For example, if you give us 30 hours of footage, we’ll complete the Assembly Cut in our standard 3 weeks. But if you hand us 50 hours of footage, we’ll add 40 hours to the Assembly Cut schedule. So, the Assembly Cut would take four weeks rather than three.
Depending on whether your footage is talk-heavy, this extra time could shrink or increase, so decisions about the Assembly Cut schedule will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Q: How do you edit so quickly?
A: Before we enter each cut, we’ll work with you to prioritize the 5-15 specific, editorial tasks needed to complete the cut. (See “Prioritized List of Editorial Tasks” above.)
Using this protocol, we streamline our workflow without excess experimentation.
We’ll also work hard to understand your vision for the film, so we’re all on the same page. That saves time. To realize an ambitious timetable, we will not be able to rework sections as often as we might with a more traditional, generous editing budget.
Q: You claim to edit a documentary in ten weeks. Can you guarantee that?
A: No. That’s partly because only you, the director, can truly say when your documentary is done. It’s up to you to take responsibility for the Post-Production schedule by a) realizing Accelerated Post doesn’t allow the luxury of many editorial experiments and b) helping the editor create and then approve a prioritized list of changes for each cut.
Q: Who is Accelerated Post not for?
A: It’s not for chronic complainers, drama queens, or lazy directors! Accelerated Post™ is not for someone who can’t take the time to cull footage–or who doesn’t have a budget for our editor to do it.
Also, if you don’t have funds for pre-payment, you are not ready for this program yet. In that case, ask about our story consulting services to move your project forward.
Accelerated Post is also not for directors who have a proper post-production budget and who want to spend more time experimenting with storytelling avenues. If that’s you, let’s talk about what a more expansive editing scenario might look like!