How To Log Footage Quickly

Many thanks to the filmmakers who wrote to say they enjoyed my BlogTalkRadio episode about Accelerated Editing. One filmmaker, however, said he listened for thirty minutes and still hadn’t heard any tips for logging footage quickly.

So, below are tips for what some consider the most tedious part of making a documentary!

First a quick question. Does anyone recommend a particular software for transcribing interviews?

Thanks in advance to my five talented editors for their contribution to these logging tips:

First, if you have a lot of footage, avoid renaming your clips. That can make relinking media a nightmare if you didn’t also change the associated media name. We’ll save the naming for our sequences.

Next, gather your footage into specific sequences, sometimes called “string outs”.

Create individual sequences for each important verite scene. Include only the key moments. As one of my editors said, “It’s easy enough to find the surrounding clips to build scenes.”

With verite footage and home movies, also search for interesting dialogue. (See my blog about how conversations can be plot points.)

When dealing with multiple protagonists with different quests and backstories, create a separate sequence for each main character. Put plot points in chronological order (for now).

For thematic, essay-based documentaries, start with a list of the film’s top 7-10 ideas. Then create a sequence for each. For example, in my film American Visionary, I created sequences for “conscious evolution”, “tipping point theory” and “negative media”. Then organize your interview bites into the appropriate sequence.

If you don’t have footage of a key plot point, create a title card placeholder for the event. Ditto for interviews to come. Just summarize in text that person’s thematic contribution(s).

For an editor other than yourself, it’s also helpful if you use text on screen to explain what we’re watching.

With our Accelerated Post approach, we can edit your documentary in ten weeks—provided you cull your footage down to 30 hours. I hope these tips will help!