Re: my longform workflow

I agree that different projects call for a different approach.

Here are a few recent examples:

1. Product promo - raw footage included scripted interview segments, narrated videos of the product in action, and some marketing script.
- First I laid everything I have out on a timeline
- Next I cut out obvious unusable material
- Next I cut picture to the marketing scriptage - in this case I made an attempt for final look and feel
- Next I cut the interviews and narrated videos for content
- Final pass polishes, adds effects

2. Marketing piece for Nursing Research as a career
I shot hours of interviews and classroom and lab scenarios
Having already gotten approval on a script based upon what I shot, again I laid everything on one timeline, then cut each segment separately, but only for cleaning up extraneous shots. Then, like Grinner said, I let the content tell its own story. This took days and days to get it to my liking.

Then I took my laptop and a rendered AVI down to the client's office and we further refined the rough edit. While at the client's office we re-shot one of the interviews, and pretty much used this material verbatim, because we had the luxury of figuring out exactly what we needed based upon the original material.

So each project is a little different. Going for final polish on an initial edit certainly takes more time, but sometimes it is called for.

I do not work with clients in the edit bay too often. Usually when I do, they are content with me saying "let's just put this in as a placeholder - you don't have to sit and watch me make this pretty."

But when you are working alone, sooner or later you have to sit and make it pretty.

This is just the type of thread I enjoy.

Mike Cohen