How to save money on video editing services

Video editing is a time-consuming process that gets charged by the hour and a significant portion of the video-editing process is spent selecting the video clips to be included in the final edited master video. Sometimes a client hands an editor hundreds of video clips (hours worth of video) to assemble and cut down into ONE 60-second video, a video which needs to tell a story or illustrate a point. They’ll provide a script, a presenter’s video, or a voiceover to use as a guide in deciding what shots to use and in what order, but that’s it. As the editor works on the edit, there are always some doubts in their mind as to whether a video clip is THE shot the client wanted, or is it being used effectively. These doubts can often lead to uninformed decisions made by the editor, and lead to more revisions and more time spent than necessary.

However, you can help reduce the amount of time your editor spends on sifting through video clips/files, editing and making revisions by providing your editor three (3) pieces of information:

1. The name of the video file

2. What part of the video to use; at what point in time does it begin and when does it end. These are known as the IN and OUT points

3. What order to use it in, at what point in the video, or over what phrase.

You don’t necessarily have to do this for the entire video. You could just do it for the points or parts you feel particularly strongly about or have a very clear vision for.

Your editor will still need to make certain adjustments to those pieces of video you’ve indicated. However, you will have taken much of the guesswork out of the process. You will have also conveyed a much clearer vision of your video. You may not end up with the best video possible at the start, but you will end up with (at the very least) the framework for the video you wanted.

Why not the “best” video possible? Well, while you may have a clear vision of what you want your video to look like, an experienced and talented editor can craft a better video. He can (and will) assemble and edit all of the clips you provided in a more artistic and compelling way, using better timing, cutting styles and effects that you may not be aware of. However, don’t let that discourage you from providing your input and trying to save some money.

A GREAT video editor can take your input, follow your vision and combine it with his experience, talent, and knowledge to produce something you’ll genuinely love. You just have to be flexible and find an editor you can trust.