What an Editor Needs From You Before Starting

The list of things that must arrive before an edit begins, and what each missing item actually costs in time.

Editing projects rarely stall on the editing. They stall waiting for a font, a logo in the right format, confirmation of who approves, or a decision about which of three versions of the script is current. Each of these is a small item that costs a full day when it arrives late, because the editor moves to another project and has to return.

The footage itself is the obvious item and the least frequently the problem. What matters is that it arrives complete, in its original form rather than as compressed exports, with any separate audio recordings included, and organised well enough that the editor can tell what is what. A folder of files named by camera default is workable; a folder of files renamed by someone who did not log them is worse than the default.

The script or transcript is the item that most changes the speed of the first assembly. For interview based work, a transcript with timecodes lets an editor build the structure by reading rather than by scrubbing, which for a day of interviews is the difference between two days and four. Where no transcript exists, generating one and correcting it is usually the first task and should be priced as such.

Brand assets are the most common cause of a stalled finish. The logo in vector form rather than a screenshot, the actual font files with their licence, the colour values, and the current brand guideline. A logo supplied as a low resolution image with a white box behind it cannot be used, and discovering this at the graphics stage rather than at handover wastes a cycle.

Music needs to be settled before the offline is approved rather than after. A track selected during the edit shapes the pacing, and swapping it afterwards means re-cutting. If the client has a preferred track, the licence should be confirmed at the same moment, because a film cut to a track that cannot be cleared is a film that will be re-cut.

The approval structure is the item clients least expect to be asked for and the one that most affects the schedule. Who reviews, in what order, how long they have, and who resolves a disagreement between two of them. Mirzaei et al. (2025) argue that project methodologies should be customised to the specific project rather than applied uniformly, and the number of people who can say no determines how much formality an editing project needs.

The deliverable list belongs in the brief rather than at the end. Which formats, which aspect ratios, which durations, which languages, whether silent versions are needed, whether subtitles are burned in or supplied separately. This changes decisions the editor makes early, particularly about where text sits in frame, and retrofitting it means repositioning graphics across every version.

Rights and consents should be confirmed rather than assumed. Releases for the people on camera, permission for the location, and clarity about whether any of the material was shot by a previous supplier under a contract that limits reuse. A studio that edits material the client does not have the right to use becomes part of the problem.

For multilingual delivery the terminology glossary is the small item with a large effect. Product names, technical terms, job titles and anything that must be spelled or translated consistently. Zheng et al. (2022) found that adding subtitles to audio visual material assists comprehension, and comprehension depends on the subtitle being correct: automatic transcription reliably mangles exactly these terms.

The practical form this should take is a single handover document rather than a series of emails, listing what has been supplied, what is outstanding and who owns each outstanding item with a date. Sarasvuo et al. (2023) found that buyer perceptions of fit and attractiveness shape how corporate service offerings are evaluated in B2B services, and a supplier who asks for this clearly at the start reads as organised rather than demanding, which is the correct impression.

References

Mirzaei, M., Mabin, V. J., & Zwikael, O. (2025). Customising hybrid project management methodologies. Production Planning & Control, 36(9), 1188–1205. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2024.2349231

Zheng, Y., Ye, X., & Hsiao, J. H. (2022). Does adding video and subtitles to an audio lesson facilitate its comprehension? Learning and Instruction, 77, Article 101542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2021.101542

Sarasvuo, S., Liljander, V., & Haahtela, K. (2023). Buyer perceptions of corporate brand extension attractiveness and fit in B2B services. Industrial Marketing Management, 115, 69–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2023.09.006