Need a video editor for 10 hours of raw wedding footage

January 17, 2017 9:43 AM

When we signed the contract for the videography of our wedding, we misunderstood how raw the raw footage would be. We need to find someone who can edit about 10 hours of footage from three cameras down to about two hours. We don't want to work with our videographer because we are unhappy with his turn-around times and price. Does anybody have personal experience with an editor for such a job?
posted by Lucubrator to Media & Arts (9 answers total)

It might be helpful if you could specify what kind of turnaround you need, what price range you're looking for, and whether the location in your profile is correct. Also, think about posting something to Jobs, in case anybody here is a video editor and would be willing to consider taking it on themselves.
posted by zebra at 10:16 AM on January 17, 2017

(I know you're looking for recommendations, but honestly, the combination of "we misunderstood how raw the raw footage would be" and "we are unhappy with his turn-around times and prices" is a pretty big red flag. IANAVideoEditor, but I know several, and hear constantly that unrealistic expectations from clients are a really big problem for them. If you could be up-front about what those expectations are, that would probably be very helpful in making sure you get the appropriate advice.)
posted by zebra at 10:25 AM on January 17, 2017 [11 favorites]

I also know some video editors and dabbled a bit. I wanted to just second zebra because I think it's important that you understand just how time-consuming (and therefore expensive) video editing can be. Make sure that whoever you end up with for the editing, that you explain exactly what it is you are looking for, and your expectations for turnaround and price. For a rough editing job, assume 1 hour of editing for 1 minute of finished video, for multiple camera angles. Since a lot of editors get paid by the hour, and that's typically between $50-$200/hour, making a 2 hour final product can be extremely pricey and take many weeks to turnaround. Obviously you can go cheaper, but often....you get what you pay for. Good luck - your best bet here is to just interview potential video editors. If you really want this done on the cheap, you'll probably end up paying a student and it obviously won't be as good as a professional.
posted by FireFountain at 10:50 AM on January 17, 2017 [2 favorites]

I have video editing experience. Final Cut for years, then the last five or so years mostly doing Premiere.

We need more info. What format is the video? What zebra said. This isn't a flat tire repair, video usually means one needs to see some of the footage to make an estimate.

If you could cut out the bits you're sure you don't want yourself, you can save a bunch of money.
posted by Sphinx at 10:53 AM on January 17, 2017

Also think about whether you really want a 2 hour finished product. Are you ever going to sit down and watch 2 hours of wedding video? Maybe you will, but most people won't. I shot and edited some weddings in the past (very distant past - think editing on tape). I agree with the others that it's very time consuming (a little faster without having to shuffle tapes, but that's a small percentage of it). Most of the people I worked for, I'd do an edit of anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes of highlights, with some nice music. A few also asked for the whole ceremony, and I'd do those as a separate video from the highlight reel, and I'd do much lighter editing on that so it was faster to do. I never had anyone ask me for a feature-length film, and I probably would have balked if they had. However, I never did this as my full time gig, so maybe it's something that more experienced wedding videographers are used to.
posted by primethyme at 11:12 AM on January 17, 2017 [6 favorites]

Is it three camera angles of the same thing, which you want to have synced and cut? Or is it three cameras shooting different stuff that doesn't need to sync? Or some combo? The answer could impact the price and turnaround time considerably.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 11:22 AM on January 17, 2017

As others are saying, upthread, editing video can be WAY more complicated and expensive than most people think. (I started with 4+ hours of home movies, "off-lined" the footage myself using time-code, and relied on a professional to stitch it together and add soundtrack. Final product: approx. two hours. Final cost: just under $5,000.)

If you have a college, a community college or maybe a film school nearby that trains students on video editing equipment, you might find someone who could come close to doing what you want at a price you could feel good about paying.

Sphinx and zebra are offering good advice. Be clear about your expectations. Be prepared to hear a cost estimate you can't swallow. Be prepared to scrap the project ... at least for now.
posted by John Borrowman at 11:52 AM on January 17, 2017

Response by poster: Thanks for your responses. Sorry for not clarifying the details.
I agree that the misunderstanding was unfortunate. The reason for this request is because it is very important for our parents to have about one and a half to two hours of video. I have full appreciation for the amount of work this involves. We've already paid about 6k for the wedding videos. Our budget for this will be around 5000.

For the turnaround time: Somewhere between 3-6 months is okay. I will be ready to respond to any questions regarding timing and sequence of events.

Two cameras are static and another one is hand-held. We have about 300 clips totalling 116 GBs. They are shooting different things and need to be synced with the audio. Video format is .mov
posted by Lucubrator at 12:36 PM on January 17, 2017

If you happen to be in New York you are awash in a sea of independent filmmaking professionals and students.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 1:03 PM on January 17, 2017 [1 favorite]