Working hours with editing

R

rc444

Well-known member
If you are an editor, are you allowed to give a curfew as to when you stop working?

I'm wanting to be an editor, I'll put in a good solid 10 hour day, but not if I have to work beyond 1 am.

I enjoy learning about editing at film school, but the prospect of working late into the night puts me off editing. I'm worried this may happen in the film industry.

Obviously, there are deadlines, but, my question is, do editors have to right to say "no, I refuse to work late into the small hours?"
 
If you get into the Union, you will be in luck. Union rules stipulate that you cannot work long hours. You must be allowed an 8 hour turnaround. Meaning you must be given time to drive home, sleep, and drive back to work. Even if you are non-union, you can demand this. So, if you start early enough in the AM, you can make it so you won't work past 1AM.
 
Sure them's the 'union rules' but good luck telling that to a producer you want to work for again when it's crunch time. If you want a 9 to 5 gig with fair hours you do not want to be in the movie business.

Noah
 
I've found 8 hours is my limit. After that the work begins to suffer. Anyway, I mainly work at home so I set my own hours. One of the great things about editing mainly promos and trailers is that I can do a lot of the work in short bursts so I'll rarely edit more than 6 hours at a time. The bulk of my work gets done in the afternoon. I guess my advice is become your own boss as soon as you can.
 
A lot of it depends on what you want to work on. I've worked on TV shows where 12hr shifts were the norm and I've worked jobs (like my current one) where I rarely do more than my scheduled 40hrs a week.

Long hours isn't just for editors though. As Noah points out, if long hours, lots of stress, and never making as much money as you think you should are big turn offs then the entertainment industry probably isn't going to be a very enjoyable place for your.


-A
 
The eight hour turnaround helps but the penalty isn't much compared to completion bonds plus it's not 8 hours of sleep it's 8 hours clock out to clock in. If you have a 1/2 - 3/4 hr commute your getting less than five hours sleep when all is said and done.
A normal day in post is 12 hrs and they don't usually go beyond 16. But the final mix on Jurasic Park 2 went three days straight at the end to make the deadline. I find you actually get more done if you get enough sleep, but producers often don't see it that way. I have to echo Noah, if you want regular hours the film biz isn't for you. Actually the arts are mostly out. Theatre has often longer hours and the pay sucks.
 
rc444 said:
do editors have to right to say "no, I refuse to work late into the small hours?"
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It sounds like you're just starting out. It's difficult if not impossible to make demands when you're just starting out. Think about it - there are countless numbers of young people that can edit and are willing to do whatever it takes to get their foot in the door. Doing whatever it takes means pulling an all nighter if that's what it takes to get the project out the door. Since editorial skills take some time to develop, employers tend to look at the hunger or passion of young editors when evaluating them. The skills will come with time. It's hard to convince a potential employer that your passionate about your craft when you say, "by the way I can't work past 10pm because it's past my bedtime".

All that said, the quality and the speed of the work drop off dramatically after 12 hours. Most rationale people can understand that. Trouble is there are far too many irrational people in this business. It's throwing money away to consistently work an editor on 16 hr shifts. On the upside - once you've established yourself as a polished editor you have more control over the clients you work for. Meaning you can say no to the idiot producer that has no clue on budgeting time. Saying no can be quite liberating.
 
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