Post-Production : What is your editing style by Timothy Miller

Thank you for this. I've been working with editors on my documentary, different ones over the years, would you recommend anything different for a documentary? There's so much footage. I feel like most of this would still be ideal way to go about it once I have the rough cut but how do you keep track of your best footage when there's not necessarily takes but long interviews and a lot of B-Roll. Each editor I've had seems to keep track a different way. I definitely want to get to #4!! :)

Well I've done quite some editing in my time and actually enjoy editing dialog scenes.

But I've always thought that the first and most important thing is organization. I always organize the footage first into day bins together with the audio.

Then synced the footage with the audio, then once synced sort the footage into scene bins.

Then assemble the rough cut of every scene with regards to reviewing all the footage and notes. Then recut and recut until you get a good cut and have picture lock.

Then move on to first editing dialog and cleaning it, next foley sound and background.

Then scoring the project with music, colorgrading, then finally the final sound mix, final review and we're done. We're going through this on my feature right now.

I've always found it interesting how much you can change the story by reediting it in a different way just by changing the order of the shots or using a different take.

The only problem is when you have no coverage and can't cut.

My editing style, for want of a better term, is based on early rehearsals in which the actors read the script aloud and I listen very closely to the way they phrase my words. If a particular line does not work, I either rewrite it on the spot or cut it altogether. On several occasions the actor's reading has proven to add nuances that I could not have predicted in a thousand years.

Having worked in both genres of film post production, documentary as well as scripted drama, I can appreciate your questions regarding the daunting task of creating a cohesive, dynamic approach to realizing your vision for your type of film production. Starting from your final point about lengthy interview footage, I strongly recommend doing a typed version of the full interviews, or at least a detailed synopsis, with subjects headed by topic, and using time codes from the picture content as markers, so that you can quickly and easily scan down to any section that you might need. I know this sounds like a time consuming and work intensive extra step to the process, but in the long run it will save you days of frustration, searching for things that you thought you remembered, but don't know exactly where it was. Also, having it all right in front of you in text can help you organize your thoughts and 'tell the story' that you want to tell.

The same can be said about the other miscellaneous footage. Having your footage catalogued with accurate, detailed descriptions that relate to the picture by time code will help you quickly access anything you wish to find.

Lastly, remember that, in the editing room your purpose is to TELL THE STORY. Every scene is a small story in itself, but in turn lends itself to the bigger story that you intend to tell. Treat it that way, with each scene having a beginning, a middle and an end. Decide what sections from your dailies most lend themselves to whatever portion of the story that you are working on. Separate out this material for each scene into separate bins (time codes will always help you to go back to the uncut dailies if you need it). Then concentrate on that one scene, one piece at a time.

When all the scenes are in first cut, then it is time to assemble the whole thing and see how it is holding up en masse. That is when you can begin to make those tough decisions about what to lose, and what might need extra work or additional material.

Best wishes on your project!

Thank you!

I am so grateful to have such an amazing community to add extra insight, this furthers the fundamentals and helps aspiring video editors learn skills especially organization!

I can not recall how many edits I've botched by forgetting the time codes and I thank you forRandy Jon Morgan & Vital Butinar!

early rehearsal also is a great method to include, thank you Robert D. Carver.

Xochi Blymyer they have provided alot of help to make this post more helpful than I could have imagined. but to help you further I include the following:

For docs with long interviews and tons of B‑roll, shift from “scene/take” thinking to a content‑driven workflow.

Transcribe interviews and do a paper edit—build the story in text first.

Create Interview Selects (best bites per subject) and B‑roll Melt Reels grouped by theme, not date.

Standardize metadata: consistent keywords and color‑coding so footage is instantly searchable.

Build a radio edit first—if it works as audio, it works as a film. Add visuals last.

Pro tip: Use ISO dates (YYYY‑MM‑DD) for folders and projects to keep everything in order.

I hope this helps you with your journey!!

Though I have pretty much hung up my editing cleats for now, I am always happy to 'weigh in' on any work in progress, if you ever find that yet one more opinion could shed some fresh light on your work.

Again, very wishes. Always.

RJM

I only work on low to no-budget productions (the joy of being stuck in Brisbane, Australia), yes, we have big budget films made here, but the industry only uses the same people (basically they are referred by the last production). So any new upcoming director or film has to work with no budget. This makes editing a mine hunt, looking for the right audio to match the scene. In a lot of cases, the audio and video are captured in the same track, but in a lot of productions, we also use a boom mic or the like. This used to be hard work getting the clean audio to match the film; in the last year, AI has come to the rescue, and it finds the content and matches it. This vastly improves production quality but still lags behind films that have a real budget. But if you're looking to produce on a "No Budget". There are now a lot of tools that help.... this is why Hollywood is freaking out and doing strikes, whilst my 0 budget films will never match real money, they can now at least stand with a level of quality that hasn't been available to budget film makers like me. Unless people are prepared to at least fund some of my expenses for their productions i am stuck producing and directing (And editing) in the backwater of "amateur" productions, but they are getting better by the day with "mostly" cheap AI tools.

Soon, I see a bunch of "mostly ok" productions coming to the likes of Netflix, whilst the real professionals are making incredible art that goes to cinemas, but the gap is closing every day...

I am happy to work on low budget fils to make them the best they can be, but unless they are my creation, I am looking for at least costs covered for credits.