How much time do you spend on a wedding video?

[Mariano Eckerstrand]

I am just getting into the market and I am wondering how much time you spend on a package? I normally edit commercial or narrative videos. With weddings it seems you have a lot of footage that is just from the camera running.

For your most popular package, when you capture and edit how much time do you put into it until you have a finished product? Also, what its the total time with shooting. If you can list the package and the time that would be appreciated and how many a month you normally do.

This information will be really helpful. Thanks in advance!

[David Chandler-Gick]

After capture and to final DVD, easily 30-40 hours and up to 100.

[Patrick Moreau]

Use the search function at the top of this page, this has been discussed many many times in length.

Keep in mind when getting estimates from other people that an editor's effeciency and overall quality are equally important to know. What they actually include in the package is another huge thing to consider. 20 hours for a high quality but smaller sized project is very reasonable, in my opinion, and 100 hours seems to be the higher end, although I would personally like to see whats included in a 100 hour edit.

[Jason Robinson]

Originally Posted by Patrick Moreau

Use the search function at the top of this page, this has been discussed many many times in length.

Keep in mind when getting estimates from other people that an editor's effeciency and overall quality are equally important to know. What they actually include in the package is another huge thing to consider. 20 hours for a high quality but smaller sized project is very reasonable, in my opinion, and 100 hours seems to be the higher end, although I would personally like to see whats included in a 100 hour edit.

I had a real crappy reception (lights dimmed way too low) so I had to spend about 10-20 hours on just the reception.... tweakign color settings, changing brightness / contrast, choosing only the best shots, etc. I ended up going with a B&W effect so I could bump up the contrast and use the "night shot" footage. I also had to use a lot of photo stills which I took after abandoning the dv camera.

All this to say that the better the footage, the easier it is to edit. I currently sit between 2-4 hours of editing per finished minute of footage. Average is about 2 hours. This includes all the prep, recording, organizing, color correction, audio editing, DVD mastering, etc.

jason

[Glen Elliott]

I've gotten my time down from 60+ to around 40. NOT including capture.
Ultimately I feel I can probably shave it down to about 30-35 and still maintain current production value.

Changing the way you SHOOT is the best way to help post-production workflow/efficiency.

[Peter Jefferson]

as long as it takes...

when i first started out, i would easilyhit the 80hr mark... but this is for like 10hrs worth of raw footage across 2 cameras.

But what Glen says is the most prominant aspect behind all this.. if u shoot efficiently and effectivley, editing shouldnt take that long. i know average a full edit every 10 days or so... from 8hrs raw footage across 2 cameras... bout 30hours in total when im knuckling down.. most of the time though i onlyhave sporadic moments of pure edit time.. if i can dedicate at least 2 days a week to an edit, im doing alright.. the rest of the time im doing consults training and other stuff...

the biggest issue isnt the edit itself, its multicamming with a good pace, colour balancing 2 cameras to perfection, as well as logging clips/reviewing footage... as the review process can go on for quite a bit..
another thing which really gets my goat is clients who dont bother with giving me music, so i spend stupid amounts of time online tryin to source the songs they want..

[Vito DeFilippo]

Originally Posted by Peter Jefferson

another thing which really gets my goat is clients who dont bother with giving me music, so i spend stupid amounts of time online tryin to source the songs they want..

We won't even capture the footage until we receive all music and photos needed from the client. I got tired of being stuck in your situation too many times...

[Peter Jefferson]

ive recently amended our contract because of this Vito
Perfect example.. only recently a client who got married in Feb sent me her music, got it yesterday... then had the audacity to complain that 5 months had already come to pass...

[Bruce Paul]

Originally Posted by Glen Elliott

I've gotten my time down from 60+ to around 40. NOT including capture.
Ultimately I feel I can probably shave it down to about 30-35 and still maintain current production value.

Changing the way you SHOOT is the best way to help post-production workflow/efficiency.

Hi Glen -

I've looked lots at your samples and as I've said before am duly impressed - I can't figure out how you do a three minute segment in that short a time let alone a final product.

Anyway (obeisance over) - How do you come up with the "themes" you use?

[Lars Barlow]

Over the last 2 years I have watched this forum with wonder. I have always been at odds with the time it should take to shoot a wedding and how long it takes me. I have looked at a lot of different sample footage and I have really wondered how it could take someone 40+ hours to do this.

Maybe I need to see a bit more sample work from some of you. Either way I have some ideas that might make things easier for everyone, especially the new guy. Mind you all, what I am about to say is not possible for everyone but I think it would be a good idea to at least try this and just consider it a mental excercise.

Here we go:
Arrive at the wedding about 1 hour before the people arrive. Look around the place and try to get a clear image of the place in your head so that when you close your eyes it is still there. Now with your eyes closed you need to begin to imagine the people. Start with the most important, the Bride. Then imagine the groom. See every detail of what they are wearing. See the lights in your head. See the color.
Here comes the tricky part. In your head fast foreward through the whole night but do it with a perspective change. Look at everything through the viewfinder. See everything play out it fast foreward.
Now we have a blueprint of the entire video in your head.
The next step is very important. If you can put everything from the viewfinder into your head as it goes on tape you will reduce your editing time down to less than 5 hours! I promise. I know this is unheard of in this forum but it is possible.
There is a little trickiness here too. The more cameras you have the more video you have to imagine/know in your head. So here is the blasphemy part - REDUCE the amount of camera you are using! Less can be much more if you can blueprint. I know most of you usually capture something like 20 hours of raw footage but how much of it is any good? Honestly there is only so much that can happen at a wedding at one time and if you plan ahead you can really get it all with no more that 1 camera 2 if you MUST you more.
The next step is my favorite. It is fun for me but may be hard for you but this is where the mental excercise comes in. On the Drive home edit all your footage in you head. Do as much editing in your head as you can. In your head you can edit faster than any NLE ever made. You have the ability to render everything in your head in full res in real time. You even have the ability to add titlework or special effects in their without rendering. Once you have a finished product in your head save it to disk so you can recall it in the morning.
The next step is to capture only as much as you really need. You already have the finished version in your head so don't waste time looking over footage you already know is no good. If you kept track of your viewfinders during the shoot (in your head) you should know what footage is good and what isn't. Go get the good stuff and start editing.
Also, don't wait a week to start editing. Do it the next morning if you can. The more time you wait the further your master file will degrade.

That is about it. I think if you all try this excercise you will find that you use less time editing and more time creating which is really what this is all about.

I honestly have never spent more than 20 hours on a wedding video. And I include all the shooting and DVD burning in that. I usually shoot for about 10 hours total. It can be done. You just have to use your built in editing software.

[Joe Allen Rosenberger]

Well, some folks think just because one spends a ton of time editing a wedding video, that it will be a masterpiece or better than others. This is far from true.

An experienced editor who know's their tools well, very current, creative on the fly, and has a concept prior to reaching the edit bay can make a huge difference in the edit time.

I have seen other videographers who post on their websites info page that they spend over 100 hours on a final video. This is way too much time to spend unless you are inexperienced....not to mention, what are the rates they charging the client...chances are they are not in the high end price range and even if they are....this is too much time.

I think about 30 to 40 hrs is problably average for the companies who are experienced and produce nice work. This also depends if your package includes a photo montage or extras like it.

Certain things while editing take time no matter how fast one is, so imo. to complete a wedding dvd (producing a higher quality product) in less than 20 or so hours is doable of course....but I would like to see the final piece to be one of the judges of that.


No question about it....pre planning your shoot for the edit will save time.

[Peter Jefferson]

"has a concept prior to reaching the edit bay can make a huge difference in the edit time."

This is the fundamental element surrounding ANY production.

[Joe Allen Rosenberger]

Well, many are lacking the "fundamentals", thats why i wrote it....for the ones who are aimless, but its always fun to hear what you have to say Pete... ;)
I love 97.3354% of your comments.....now, thats an inside joke sorta.....get it??

Originally Posted by Peter Jefferson

"has a concept prior to reaching the edit bay can make a huge difference in the edit time."

This is the fundamental element surrounding ANY production.

[Richard Zlamany]

I know editors that can edit in 2hrs not including transfer time. Their edits are cookie cutter edits with all the videos looking the same. Their videographers only capture 120 minutes of a wedding including the reception. These guys shoot clean with no wasted tape.

I was shocked when I heard their time frame.

For me it is 24 to 40 hrs depending on whose footage I am editing. That includes DVD design.

[Peter Jefferson]

"Also, don't wait a week to start editing. Do it the next morning if you can. The more time you wait the further your master file will degrade."

I have to say that in many situations, this is an improbability. Fact remains, if one gives themselves 10 open days for each project and shoots 60 odd weddings a year, then this is more than an improbability.
In a real world situation, this is VERY difficult to pull off... sure it would be nice to be able to start editing imediately, but 99.9% of teh time, it wont happen..

as for footage degrading, i also have to disagree. IMO, by the time an edit comes to pass, the footage shot (lets say 8 weeks ago) remains the same. However, by then the editor in question will have more than likely learnt a new trick or 3...

as for cookie cutter work and 120 minutes full day footage. all i can say is that im glad i didnt hire them as staff or for my own wedding.
Content is king, and as a business owner, content is one of the prominant elements within a production.
Those 2 hours might be raw, and 90% usable,and can be edited super fast, but lets face it. Anyone can hack a wedding together and neat enough, can be called decent.
For GOOD work, i would expect nothing less than 20 hours in an edit for every 5 hours captured.
Now, what im saying her eisnt gospel and i dont ever pretend to be a preacher, however different cultures require different needs, and with this, one must note thei differences.
As an example, a serb or macedonian wedding woudl use anythgn from 12 to 15 hours raw footage. Why? Becuase THATS what the client wants
catholic or anglican, 2 cameras, between 6 to 8 hours with the full day covered. Church and reception only, no more than 3 hours
Ive done weddings where the work has been a no brainer and where other work has taken 3 times more than normal. Everyone is different and EVERY SINGLE ONE of my own clients have been different. All these differences are refelcted within post production time and the product itself.

If people want a hack job, go for it, there IS a market for the basic macca's like productivity of this nature. But when your talking about longform edits which run for 3 hours across 2 discs, shortform for 30 minutes, slideshows and the authoring of DVD's then some methods mentioned just wouldnt cut it.. not in the australian or mid euripean market anyway.

Joe, that comment you made about concepts was pretty much the point of how one should base their production work (IMO) :) No matter what that wrk may be.
This is why i touted that lil comment about fundamentals of this line of work as not many people have a conceptual idea as to what theyre tryin to achieve.
In many cases, a producer doesnt KNOW what theyre tryin to achieve, and more often than not, a production house doesnt have a particualr style which they can call their own.
However, once they DO establish their concept, their productivity increases 10 fold
But too many people are focused on the job at hand as opposed to working out the direction in which theyre wanting their product to go.
Im trully glad you understood my post mate.. lol Im glad SOMEONE did!!