Three schedules you can adapt
These are illustrative project shapes. They assume crew availability, agreed scope and prompt consolidated feedback. They describe elapsed working time, including planned review gaps; they are not estimates of billable editing hours.
| Project | A workable starting window | What must already be true |
|---|---|---|
| Edit an existing presentation into one simple film | 5–10 working days | Usable footage, slides, rights and required corrections supplied; one approver; no new filming. |
| One-location interview and process film | 3–4 weeks | One filming day; contributors and location available; modest graphics; two booked review points. |
| Multi-location campaign with several contributors and versions | 6–8 weeks or longer | Separate access dates, story development and stakeholder approvals planned; animation or specialist work estimated separately. |
A one-minute advert can fall in the third row. A twenty-minute recorded talk can fall in the first. Finished runtime tells you much less than source volume, production complexity and the number of decisions still unresolved.
A four-week example, worked backwards
Imagine a manufacturer commissioning a two-minute process film and two short extracts for an exhibition. This is an invented planning scenario, not a description of a client commission.
- Week 4, Thursday: playback test and handover. Test the approved film on the display or hosting system. Keep Friday clear for the launch rather than last-minute creative changes.
- Week 4, Monday to Wednesday: finish and final checks. Complete the agreed corrections, sound balance, colour, captions and exports. Check the short extracts as separate films, including their opening and final frame.
- Week 3, Friday: consolidated second review. One person returns time-coded notes. At this point the message and structure should already be approved; a new storyline changes the plan.
- Week 3, Monday to Thursday: first review and revisions. Stakeholders watch the first cut early in the week. The producer receives one agreed response before revising it.
- Week 2: filming, media handling and first edit. Film early enough to copy and check recordings, review interviews and assemble a first cut. Do not schedule the shoot on Friday and assume a considered edit will be ready on Monday.
- Week 1: lock the production inputs. Agree the audience, claims, filming access, contributor times, shot priorities, logos and deliverables. Confirm who can approve technical statements.
Writing the schedule in reverse exposes the last responsible date for each input. Once agreed, issue it chronologically to everyone involved. The video brief guide helps collect the information needed before those dates can be trusted.
The delay that extra editors cannot fix
If the only customer who can explain a result is unavailable for three weeks, editing capacity is irrelevant until that interview exists. The same applies to an unfinished product, an unapproved claim or a location awaiting permission. These dependencies form the route that controls the earliest possible delivery.
Record each one with an owner and a latest decision date. “Client to supply assets” is too loose; “marketing manager supplies approved logo files and the product-name list by Tuesday” is actionable. Ask reviewers to reserve actual time, particularly where legal, technical and brand approval come from different people.
Review rounds also need a boundary. Correcting a job title is a different task from replacing the central message after the first edit. Agree how a change affects cost and delivery before making it, rather than silently consuming the final testing window.
If the deadline is already close
Reduce the number of unresolved decisions first. Use an available spokesperson, one controllable location and a single primary deliverable. Supply approved brand files and factual wording before filming. A short launch film can sometimes be delivered before a larger set of versions, provided that staged delivery is agreed from the outset.
Keep audio checks, secure copying and factual review in the schedule. Removing them creates the possibility of delivering an unusable film on time. If access or essential evidence cannot be secured, change the launch scope or the date.
When asking us about a deadline, send the launch date, the date approved files must be handed over, available filming dates, planned outputs and who will review them. We can then assess the actual production schedule rather than promise a turnaround from runtime alone.
