How Fast Do You Edit?

Status
Not open for further replies.
H

HollywoodDreams

Member
Hi Guys, I guess the question would have a lot of factors, but I'm just looking for some general answers (and an opportunity to rant). I'm doing an internship at a film company that is shooting a pilot for a reality show. I am just learning FCP7. It's officially my two week anniversary from the day I first opened the program. They're using three cameras to shoot. There's no slate or any way for me to quickly sync the clips with the audio they want to use (which is the audio track recorded through one of the cameras) so I spend lots of time hunting through clips, finding and logging the ones that match and tagging the clips that have the audio that they want to use.

They also want music, sound effects and stock footage in all of the scenes, which isn't a problem, but it also takes some time to search online for the right music for the scene or stock footage that looks realistic enough to use in the context of the story. Not to mention the computer crashes :(

I also have no guideline to go off, so I'm trying to assemble a story in my head off whatever I've been able to gather from the clips I watch, so that takes some time too. They will film 2 hours worth of clips (about a minute or less in length) and expect me to have a rough cut together with music and effects an hour later and when I don't, they tell me that I need to get faster because editors are supposed to work extremely fast :crybaby:

They are saying that if I want to be an editor I have to find a way to get it done quickly, because the editors they've worked with in the past could have a 90 minute feature cut in a day and a 1/2. I just can't see how I can move any faster with this show. There are so many unstable, out of focus shots or shots where you can see another crew member or the boom or something. When I try to explain that, they say I need to find a way to put in more time in the office, but I only agreed to work there 4 hours a day during the week and 8 hours on Saturday and Sunday. Instead, I'm there 10 hours a day during the week and don't even get me started on the weekends. It's just extremely demanding. I have barely seen my husband and can't even remember the last time I spent time with my daughter, outside of watching her sleep.

So at the end of the very long, drawn out rant, I'm basically asking, is this something that's normal in the editing world or are they crazy :) How long does it take you to assemble clips and create a scene?
 
This sounds like a really crappy internship, if you don't mind me asking....what company is this? They sound very unprofessional. They did not slate, have not provided you with a script, and expect an intern to deliver a full feature cut in a day and a half?

Also, if you're an intern why are you working as their assembly editor. An intern should just been logging, and syncing the clips. Even that job should be paid...

If I were you I would quit this job, it's not going to do anything in regards to finding you paid work. They are just abusing you, and you should go work for a reputable company.
 
I could see the ability to have an assembly cut for a 90 minute feature in a few days, assuming the production audio was sent to the camera so there's no alignment involved. There are, of course, a lot of variables. What are the average number of takes for each scene? How many setups per scene? Are there notes from the script telling you which take the director liked, etc. Do you have to dig through 10 takes of the same scene to find workable audio for the one take where the actor actually hit there marks or the focus puller didn't land on their ears?
 
the editors they've worked with in the past could have a 90 minute feature cut in a day and a 1/2.
Click to expand...

I would like to see these features. :huh: It's possible to have rough cut that quickly IF -- IF -- you're fully prepared with each shot already selected and the entire "edit" basically decided on before you start. But a finished feature? Not a good one.

Still, an experienced pro could do what they're asking for this project, even if they seem to be doing their level best to make it as hard as possible. But that's an experienced pro, probably very experienced -- and in that kind of project -- especially if they're putting the onus on you to come up a sensible story on the spot, find stock music, etc. If you're a two-week novice, you'd need to be the Amadeus of editing to keep up with their demands.

If you're describing it accurately, of course. I don't mean you're being dishonest, but it may look worse from your point of view than it might actually be.
 
I'll try to keep this short, but this is how it goes. We are on set, the director will say "ok, let's get a shot of him on the couch talking on the phone. He just found out his brother stole his car. Ok, cameras up, roll sound and action" and then the guy will basically improv the scene. There is no script. They do a few takes of that where the actor will try to come up with different ways of saying the same thing. We (yes we, in this moment, I'm on one of the cameras)

Next scene the director will say "ok, next shot, you're laying in the bed sleep. Your girlfriend calls. She cheated on you or did something that pissed you off. Ok, cameras up, roll sound and action".

We go on like this until the cards are full. The footage is moved onto a hard drive, the cards are formatted and we go back to shooting.

When we go back to the office, I start importing all of the clips into FCP and logging them, which takes a while because there are just so many and I have to match. Once they are all in there, I go through them all to find the matching shots and the shot that has the right audio. Then I start assembling them in the timeline, trying to cut around the out of focus or boom shots and still keep everything in sync. So I'll have a bin with the footage of him on the phone with the girlfriend and a bin of footage with him finding out about the stolen car. After that, I go back and try to assemble sequences into some kind of story line that makes sense. In the midst of all this I keep getting the "ok, let me see what you've cut so far" and I'm like seriously? It's been 20 minutes. I just got all the clips in here!
 
Snazzy Flapper said:
I could see the ability to have an assembly cut for a 90 minute feature in a few days, assuming the production audio was sent to the camera so there's no alignment involved. There are, of course, a lot of variables. What are the average number of takes for each scene? How many setups per scene? Are there notes from the script telling you which take the director liked, etc. Do you have to dig through 10 takes of the same scene to find workable audio for the one take where the actor actually hit there marks or the focus puller didn't land on their ears?
Click to expand...

Sometimes they will do 5 or 6 takes of a scene, but there's no script. It's all reality. So in one take, he may say "Oh, my god! You stole my car!" and in another he may say "You dirty bastard! My car! How could you do this to me!" It's kind of all over the place, so I do have to dig through takes from different cameras and find ones that match and pray that I can sync the audio to a portion of the video where you can't see crew in the scene or the boom.

For set ups, we will do a wide shot, a close up and another camera at a different angle. All three cameras move each take. There's just no organization or real direction and i think that's what's bothering me. If he'd say, ok this is the scene I want, followed by this or that...I could obviously do that quickly. But when I'm going through clips and trying to pull it together, they're filming more shots. I'm flying by the seat of my pants. It's easier the days I'm on set and can follow the action. But, I only filmed one day. The other days, i have no idea what was going on.

They say to not be so meticulous with it, but I think that's my job as an editor. To pick the shots that look the best, make the most sense and advance the story. The music that I select has to fit the scene and it has to feel right to me. I can't just go online and hear a random clip and use it if it doesn't support the tone of the scene. I want to create something good. Not something that's just thrown together because I was rushed.
 
Last edited:
In all fairness I'd expect the director to edit. If I were shooting that style of production It would be with the expectation that I was editing it.
 
Their expectations are completely unrealistic, they are unprofessional and are certainly taking advantage of you.
 
You're not an intern, you're a galley slave on a Viking ship. If you want to stick with it for the experience (because you probably won't get a worthwhile reference from these jokers), just be secure in your head that what they're asking for is nuts, how they're working is nuts, and it's eventual failure will not be because of anything you did.

...and multiple takes and actors on a "reality" program? Wtf?
 
Thanks for the comments. It's good to know that I'm not crazy. I suggested that they outsource the work if they didn't feel that I was keeping up with their time schedule. I am doing the best I can with it, but if it's not good enough, what can I do? Not only that, I just think it's way too demanding. Yesterday, I went in at 1PM and stayed until a quarter after midnight. In that time, I edited, ran camera for new footage, helped with lighting and sound, took still photos, photoshopped those photos, got food for the other 2 camera operators (the director didn't even offer) and I did it all because I really do love this line of work, but I feel like this situation is just too much. Even when I was leaving at midnight, the director barked at me about how I need to find a way to put in more time. Not to mention, you hear him on the phone with the client asking for more money, telling them his crew has stopped work and they won't start again until they get paid and he needs money to feed the crew and stuff, but he isn't paying us anything and the only time someone got food is when he went and got some chicken nuggets from BK and gave one of the camera guys his left overs.

I tried to have a talk with them last night before leaving, but I was told that I just need to be a team player and that all of this would lead to more work and paid gigs. You know...the promise of a new day talk. So that's why I wanted to check with you all here to see if I'm really being unrealistic or if they are out of line. I think I knew the answer in my gut though.
 
mcbob said:
You're not an intern, you're a galley slave on a Viking ship. If you want to stick with it for the experience (because you probably won't get a worthwhile reference from these jokers), just be secure in your head that what they're asking for is nuts, how they're working is nuts, and it's eventual failure will not be because of anything you did.

...and multiple takes and actors on a "reality" program? Wtf?
Click to expand...

It's because the show is so dry in the first place. Usually reality stars have some sort of energy and personality to draw viewers in, but these guys are boring and they only got the opportunity because they know someone who knows someone who knows someone that happens to work at a network that may just be interested in this kind of show. So he's trying to create drama where none exists to make it interesting. It's like scripted reality without a script :huh:
 
I could edit a 90-minute movie in 1-1/2 days. It would look and sound like CRAP, of course. But I could do it.

Seriously....I don't know anybody who can do a quality edit in that kind of time frame. I think they're jerking you.
 
This is utter rubbish. You can not edit 90 minutes in 36 hours. That's like saying you can cook a lasagne from scratch in ten minutes. You might have all the ingredients in there, but it sure won't taste or look like a lasagne. I have been using FCP for nearly ten years and I can tell you that it is impossible to edit that fast.

It sounds like you're doing an internship at a company that's run by retarded clowns. I'd quit. The experience won't be worth the paper it's written on.
 
Have you seen any of their previous work? this whole scenario seems shady as hell. personally i've banged out a 28:30 in two days but that was with pre-planning for weeks, a script and a second set of eyes. I'd say do your best, chalk it up as a learning experience and in the end THEIR heads will be in a noose. No offense, but as stated previously you are definatly in over your head, and it sounds like this whole project was a shitshow from the beginning. Feel free to PM me a link to some of their work or a website. I'm curious.
 
It sounds like these are such jerks that if you walk they may threaten to black ball you. If they do, I'd remind them of what you know of their practices.
 
Bahaha...a 90 minute feature in a day and a half...unless that movie was The Russian Ark, they have NO CLUE what they are talking about. NO CLUE! The only time a rough cut can be completed shortly after filming is if the editor has been cutting as they shoot. I think Michael Kahn had a rough cut of The Color Purple like 4 days after wrap.
 
Have you seen work they've done previously? They don't sound like a real production company, just a couple people who thought they could make quick money without understanding how production works. It sounds like you already know your answer, and if you've tried to talk to them and haven't been able to don't wait to talk. Leave. An intern isn't the editor, and it sounds like they're leaving you alone in the editing bay. Walk before it gets any worse. These things don't happen with legitimate companies.

Or this is all some kind of joke. Maybe you think you're working on a reality show about some guy getting his car stolen when really you're on a reality show about how far people can be pushed if you promise them industry experience.
 
Im not wholly familiar with the terms of internship in the US but, Im assuming - no pay for experience? In that case RUN.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top