Getting the Most from Your Editing Session

At VideOccasions, editing is arranged by appointment. Appointments may be made by calling us at 425-641-4811. When your project is edited at VideOccasions you'll work side by side with a professional editor in one of our editing suites. You're the Producer, so you provide "on the spot" artistic input. Sometimes clients say "Well, you're the professional. You make the decision." This isn't a very good idea; our editor's job is to advise and help you in the creation of your project, assuring that your project looks and sounds exactly as you've imagined it. Ultimately you've got to make the decisions, after listing to your editor's advice. The Editing Process You call to make an appointment to come in and work with our editor. Organization is the key to a successful video editing session, so you'll be asked to do three things before your appointment: Consider your budget Log your materials Make edit decisions

• To speed up the editing process we'll ask you to bring in your materials to be edited several days before your appointment, if possible, so we can capture the material into our computer. Video materials are transferred to the computer in real time, so we don't want you to waste time sitting around while we capture a couple of hours of tape. If your project includes photos, it takes us time to scan the pictures, too, a little over a minute per photo.

• As to how you work with your editor, you have two choices: You can come in and sit with your editor and help assemble the project; or if you prefer you may leave your materials and detailed instructions, and let the editor work alone. Your project will receive the same attention to detail it would get it you were here helping. Once the work is completed you'll be asked to come in and review it before it's transferred to DVD, flash drive or hard drive.

• Included in your planning should be a consideration of how you are going to handle the relationship between pictures and music, and between pictures and narration if you plan on incorporating either into your finished tape.

• For the most part, editing is about making decisions: what parts of your video tapes to use, what still pictures and slides to include in your project, as well as what titles and subtitles to create, and what music to use in the background. Only you can make these decisions.

  Imagine what you might get if you said to a waiter "You choose; you're the professional." Yet we hear this when we ask clients what music they want to use with their video, or in what order to place the pictures for a photo montage.

  We are the professionals, and we can advise you, based on our experience. But ultimately the choice must be yours. It's your work: we're just here to help you realize the vision in your imagination.

Editing is billed at $80 per hour.

If for any reason you are unable to keep your appointment, VideOccasions appreciates notification of the cancellation at least 24 hours prior to your appointment.

Remember: editing is a collaborative process. Our goal is to help you produce a finished DVD or tape, within the constraints of your budget, of which you and we can be proud.

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Last modified 3/3/2020