[John 187]

Hey last August I shot my first short film in HD on mini-dv tapes. The shoot didn't go as well as I like, but all the script was shot and I think it can be salvaged. I was looking for an editor most of late last year (I was looking for someone to work for free.) In Jan found someone. He spent the past five months working on it, swearing to me that he was almost finished with the film and then told he hasn't been working on it at all and has been in hospital most of the time(I have no idea why he did this).

My question is what to do next. I'm thinking about getting the film edited professional. It will be a ten minute short film. What should I be excepting to pay? money very tight at the minute. Or should I try to get it done for free again? (I'm very hesitant about doing this after what happen.) Any advice or thoughts I really would welcome them. Thank you.

[Fionn]

asking people to do stuff for free always has it's own problems. the other thing is, even if you do get someone to edit, you may not be happy with the edit and it's not like you can tell them they're not getting paid!! editing can be subjective like lots of other creative stuff.
Would you not attempt it yourself - as a film maker it'd give you good experience, eh?
I'd imagine it'd be spendy to get it done professionally.

[John 187]

I love to do it myself but not sure if I can. I understand to transfer mini dv tapes their a machine for it, but don't know anyone who has one or how much they cost. I also have a regular laptop and understand it will take a big hard drive which I don't have. I don't know really were to turn next with this project. Thanks for your advice.

[ScumLord]

Originally Posted by Fionn

asking people to do stuff for free always has it's own problems. the other thing is, even if you do get someone to edit, you may not be happy with the edit and it's not like you can tell them they're not getting paid!! editing can be subjective like lots of other creative stuff.

A professional editor should have systems in place to help avoid these kind of issues. They have viewings at crucial stages so everyone can see where it's going and make final changes. They would probably also demand money in stages, something like a 3rd up front, a 3rd after the first viewing and a 3rd on completion


Editing isn't that hard these days, it can be done cheaply but your obviously going to miss out on the experience of a professional editor who can not only achieve certain looks quite easily but can do it quickly and to a budget/deadline.

You have nothing to lose by giving it a go though. You can get your hands on a trial version of Adobe premiere pro and see how you get on. If it works, great. If it doesn't, you've lost nothing more than your time and can maybe look at a professional editor after that.

[John 187]

Thanks for you reply, one of my problems is that I rented the camera and I don't know how to get the mini dv tapes onto laptop to began the editing process. How do you transfer mini dv tapes onto laptop? and does the fact it was shot in HD make's harder?

[briano.de.rhino]

U put the mini dv tape back into the camera and plug it into the computer via a firewire cable(you must have a firewire cable AND a firewire port on the computer...not a laptop...most laptops cant handle movie editing let alond HD editing) Then you will have the footage copied onto your computer.
Then you could use windows moviemaker to test out if you have what it takes to edit movies.Doesnt take much to get the hang of. But bear in mind, I use a 2300 euro desktop for editing HD movies and even then with effects piled on and special effects you cant view the footage in real time.

My advice is go find a friend who can use windows moviemaker or adobe premiere who will sit with you for a few hours as you piece your footage together. Presuming you borrow a mini dv camera from someone to capture the footage first.

[ScumLord]

Originally Posted by John 187

Thanks for you reply, one of my problems is that I rented the camera and I don't know how to get the mini dv tapes onto laptop to began the editing process. How do you transfer mini dv tapes onto laptop? and does the fact it was shot in HD make's harder?

This is the kind of cable you need to record off a camera. Firewire ports aren't nearly as popular as USB though so your computer may not have the port. If you've already returned the camera there are companies that will convert tapes into digital.

The only problem with editing HD is that the files are so much bigger so you need more power to deal with the larger files.

[John 187]

Thanks for you advice guys.