Should a Director Edit Their Own Documentary?

Should a documentary director edit their own footage? The industry answer has traditionally been “no”.

Why? Because a director loses perspective. They become partial to the footage because they were present when it was shot. They absorbed the risk, the ambience, the expectations–and everything else that wasn’t recorded on tape.

An editor, on the other hand, comes to the footage fresh and impartial. As film editor Paddy Bird has pointed out, the editor serves as the “first audience” for the footage.

But what if you can’t afford an editor? This is a common problem in the independent documentary world. Given that editor compensation is frequently the largest line item in a film’s budget– can easily range from $80,000-$100,000–what to do?

Here are three viable options:

First, edit the footage yourself, but hire a story consultant to guide you. A seasoned story consultant can act as “first audience” and also bring storytelling mastery to your film’s dramatic arc.

Second, cut the cost of an edit in half by taking on the time-consuming logging phase yourself. For verite footage, include only the key moments. As one of my editors said, “It’s easy enough to find the surrounding clips to build scenes.”Hand the culled footage over to an editor. More on how here.

A third option: find a young but talented editor who is about to make a name for themselves, but doesn’t yet have the filmography to command a professional salary.

I’d love to hear other idea and options!