How long does production usually take for you?
- Derek16438
- Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 8:43 am
- Location: In the abyss of dismembered dreams ...
- Otohiko
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2003 8:32 pm
Funny, that was the very first thing I asked in my very first post on the .org forums. Somehow the response back then was a lot less than 3 pages
When I started off, it was about 3 hours of pure editing (not counting preparing footage, figuring out technical bugs, exporting, compression etc.) per 1 minute of video. These days I'm usually looking at somewhere around 7-10 hours per 1 minute of video. Still very modest by most standards.
I've long realized that unless the video is an MEP segment, I HAVE to have it done in the space of a few days, else my motivation starts evaporating and the original vision/inspiration for the video itself fades.

When I started off, it was about 3 hours of pure editing (not counting preparing footage, figuring out technical bugs, exporting, compression etc.) per 1 minute of video. These days I'm usually looking at somewhere around 7-10 hours per 1 minute of video. Still very modest by most standards.
I've long realized that unless the video is an MEP segment, I HAVE to have it done in the space of a few days, else my motivation starts evaporating and the original vision/inspiration for the video itself fades.
The Birds are using humanity in order to throw something terrifying at this green pig. And then what happens to us all later, that’s simply not important to them…
- Douggie
- CHEESECAKE!
- Joined: Sun Mar 19, 2006 5:14 am
- Contact:
I actually have no idea how people really spread out every stage of making their video, but I have the feeling that people spread their editing throughout weeks or month.
I'm somewhat of a weird case: I edit a video mostly in less then two weeks, but I spend about 60-100 hours in that period (sometimes in 4 days like in AMV Technique Beat). Once I "feel" the video, I just can't stop editing until everything is done.
Everything else can take ages with me. There are several concepts in my head, which I try to work out before editing. In some cases, like my latest video, it might take one-and-a-half year before I actually start editing. This is mostly because I want the components to be complete, I have to be sure about the music, the video source, the effects used, etc. And once I have all that and feel it's all connecting, I finally start editing.
After the editing, I mostly send it out to cons and let it rest for a while. Once I feel I have distanced myself enough from the video, I look at it again with a fresh head, so I can see more clearly what works and what not. And then I change some things. This might take a few iterations though
And finally, when I'm content, it probably takes a lot of time to create a banner and write the info about it, before I actually release it. Now you know why I'm so slow in releasing videos (and yeah, this is actually covering up the fact that I'm lazy).
So for the people who are skipping the upper part:
editing: less than 2 weeks
everything else: months
I'm somewhat of a weird case: I edit a video mostly in less then two weeks, but I spend about 60-100 hours in that period (sometimes in 4 days like in AMV Technique Beat). Once I "feel" the video, I just can't stop editing until everything is done.
Everything else can take ages with me. There are several concepts in my head, which I try to work out before editing. In some cases, like my latest video, it might take one-and-a-half year before I actually start editing. This is mostly because I want the components to be complete, I have to be sure about the music, the video source, the effects used, etc. And once I have all that and feel it's all connecting, I finally start editing.
After the editing, I mostly send it out to cons and let it rest for a while. Once I feel I have distanced myself enough from the video, I look at it again with a fresh head, so I can see more clearly what works and what not. And then I change some things. This might take a few iterations though
And finally, when I'm content, it probably takes a lot of time to create a banner and write the info about it, before I actually release it. Now you know why I'm so slow in releasing videos (and yeah, this is actually covering up the fact that I'm lazy).
So for the people who are skipping the upper part:
editing: less than 2 weeks
everything else: months
- JudgeHolden
- Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:49 am
- Status: Looking at you through your window!
- Location: The great white north (Minneapolis)
- WesW
- Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 6:32 pm
- Location: Florence, Al.
To borrow Otohiko's term, about 24 hrs. of pure editing on average, though it can range from about 12 to over 50 depending upon the complexity of the vid.
Editor of Classic Rock Productions - "Old-school editing for old-school Rock"
- » AceMan
- Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2005 8:41 am
- Location: Poland
- Contact:
My case is very similar to Douggie's :)
Usually it's like this:
step 1. An idea pops out
step 2. 6 months - 1 year of planning, rethinking things over and over, etc.
step 3. If I'm sure I want to make it and got enough skills to make it, I get to step 4
step 4. Another few months of getting the audio/video source, pre-cutting some important scenes, one more time rethinking everything and stuff like this
step 5. 1-2 months of editing (about 4 hours a day with many few-days-breaks)
When I did my first videos, I needed about 2 months of planning and 2 days/2 weeks to complete all things. But times have changed, I put more effort into every vid nowadays, I have a lot of other things to do and... I became even more lazy that I was before ;)
Usually it's like this:
step 1. An idea pops out
step 2. 6 months - 1 year of planning, rethinking things over and over, etc.
step 3. If I'm sure I want to make it and got enough skills to make it, I get to step 4
step 4. Another few months of getting the audio/video source, pre-cutting some important scenes, one more time rethinking everything and stuff like this
step 5. 1-2 months of editing (about 4 hours a day with many few-days-breaks)
When I did my first videos, I needed about 2 months of planning and 2 days/2 weeks to complete all things. But times have changed, I put more effort into every vid nowadays, I have a lot of other things to do and... I became even more lazy that I was before ;)
I rly liek Pokemanz and so should you.