Re: Tips for interviewing a new editor

Hi Adam,

This is a tough one because everyone soooooo different in what they expect from an employment agreement - on both sides of the table. So other than the obvious questions about skills, style and techniques, my suggestion is to spend some time and focus on how you expect the relationship to work.

For example, are you a very "hands off" type of person who wants to defer to a professional editor and let him/her make lots of creative decisions? Or are you deeply involved in creative direction? How will your approach to a project affect how they work? Are you both OK with that?

You mention that you hope to keep them busy for 30 hours per week. If they'll be paid by the hour, make sure that you are prepared to set deliverable goals in terms what kind of productivity you need him/her to achieve. If you'll be paying based on a final project deliverable, flesh out how you'll handle changes and re-edits. Is there a limit to the number of revision you'll expect performed without incurring additional costs?

In general, try to determine potential flash points (i.e., creativity, time/effort & money) and make sure that you are on the same page.

I hope this helps!

Production is fun - but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!