Estimating videotaping and editing times? at DVinfo.net

Ming Dong · April 11th, 2005, 01:03 PM

Are there some (very) general guidelines for estimating the amount of time it will take to shoot or edit video for DVD? For instance, 40 to 1? (40 minutes to shoot/edit for 1 minute of finished video)

TIA

Eric James · April 11th, 2005, 02:13 PM

In General it's 15 to 1 for shooting on DV. People tend to film much more than they need with DV.

As for editing, your looking at 1 hour per finished minute. So 60 to 1.
(ex. 5 min promo video will take 5 hrs to edit)

Over all 75:1

My 2 c,
Eric James

p.s. this is way less than it would take if you were planning to do any CC, or audio sweetening.

Eric James · April 11th, 2005, 02:21 PM

Just noticed I forgot to mention the DVD aspect. Depending on your computer you can have anywhere from 1:1 to 200:1 encoding time. Takes on average about 30-45 minute to author the DVD with a desent set of menu's/special features. If you have just a raw DVD with only one track it only takes many 2 mins at the most. Then you must build the DVD which should be a 1:3 process or so. Then you need to burn the disk etc.

My over all guess would be 85:1 Because for DVD stuff you don't spend much more time per finished minute as you do in editing.

My 3 c,
Eric James

Devlyn Hukowich · April 11th, 2005, 02:21 PM

Mostly it depends on what the production is, your speed as an editor and the equipment.
You never have enough time and it always takes longer than you think.
You have to separate the shooting from the editing.
Shooting ratios vary with production type also. A straight drama might shoot 20:1, Action/thriller 30:1, documentary 200:1 (lots of stock footage also so this can be deceving), commercial 60:1.
Editing also varies, Drama is quick, action scenes take longer and documentaties have so much more material to manage they are even longer.
DVD authoring.
Also not a simple process depending on the complexity of the final product you want. Could take a day, could take a month (lets hope not).
Basically what I am trying to tell you is there are too many variables to give very good numbers and at some point you must consider the stage finished and move on to the next stage.

Set separate deadlines for each segment, shooting, editing, and authoring. Then execute to those deadlines with the understanding that you will need to extend the editing and authoring deadlines. Not much you can do about shooting, too expensive to move them.
This will make it easier but you still won't have enough time, or coverage.
Just remember the triangle.
Good, fast, cheap.... pick any two.

April 11th, 2005, 01:03 PM	#1
Ming Dong Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Silicon Valley Posts: 92	Estimating shooting and editing times? Are there some (very) general guidelines for estimating the amount of time it will take to shoot or edit video for DVD? For instance, 40 to 1? (40 minutes to shoot/edit for 1 minute of finished video) TIA

April 11th, 2005, 02:21 PM	#4
Devlyn Hukowich Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Toronto, ON Canada Posts: 40	Rough times Mostly it depends on what the production is, your speed as an editor and the equipment. You never have enough time and it always takes longer than you think. You have to separate the shooting from the editing. Shooting ratios vary with production type also. A straight drama might shoot 20:1, Action/thriller 30:1, documentary 200:1 (lots of stock footage also so this can be deceving), commercial 60:1. Editing also varies, Drama is quick, action scenes take longer and documentaties have so much more material to manage they are even longer. DVD authoring. Also not a simple process depending on the complexity of the final product you want. Could take a day, could take a month (lets hope not). Basically what I am trying to tell you is there are too many variables to give very good numbers and at some point you must consider the stage finished and move on to the next stage. Set separate deadlines for each segment, shooting, editing, and authoring. Then execute to those deadlines with the understanding that you will need to extend the editing and authoring deadlines. Not much you can do about shooting, too expensive to move them. This will make it easier but you still won't have enough time, or coverage. Just remember the triangle. Good, fast, cheap.... pick any two. __________________ Devlyn Hukowich TwoBit Digital Inc. Video and Computer Geek P4 3.06GHz, 2GB RAM, Matrox RT.x100, dual head display

April 11th, 2005, 02:13 PM	#2
Eric James Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 126	In General it's 15 to 1 for shooting on DV. People tend to film much more than they need with DV. As for editing, your looking at 1 hour per finished minute. So 60 to 1. (ex. 5 min promo video will take 5 hrs to edit) Over all 75:1 My 2 c, Eric James p.s. this is way less than it would take if you were planning to do any CC, or audio sweetening.