Edit, evolved

We recently submitted a bid for an RFP that asked how much we charged to transcribe interviews. Our reply was that the transcripts were included at no extra cost. They were part of the editing budget.

There was a time when transcribing interviews was a huge deal. We sent boxes of tapes to a transcriber who would type it all out. Considering the tape costs, dubbing, couriers and labour, it was expensive. From those transcripts, we would do a “paper-edit”. The editor would use that paper-edit to do a rough cut.

Today, we import the footage into Adobe Premiere Pro and, within minutes, Adobe produces transcripts. If the customer wants a copy, we export the text into Word and format it the way the customer wants it. It takes minutes and it’s not worth charging for. What a difference!

We even edit differently because of the transcripts. Since they are now a component of the footage, we will edit our rough cut while only looking at the transcripts on the screen. Within Premiere, we can highlight the passages we want and drag them into the sequence. Need to find that one line the person said? A search for specific words will locate the clip in seconds.

The benefit to the production process can’t be understated. It speeds up editing immensely. We will turn out rough cuts in a fraction of the time it used to take ­­— like, next day.

The transcripts aren’t perfect. The software can choke on accents, jargon and names. But, it’s pretty good for something that’s essentially free.

Another area where editing has changed involves the sound mix. While we’re fans of sending our audio files to a proper audio engineer, most projects don’t have the need or budget. In the editing process, music is usually the last component added to the sequence, after all the shots and interviews are finalized. With stock music (which most of us use), there’s a need to make the music fit the sequence. Stock music comes in predetermined lengths (full, :60, :30, :15), so if the sequence is 1:37, the music needs to be edited.

Back in the olden days, we had to cut up the music in Premiere, shortening it by cutting out parts or making it longer by duplicating parts. It could take the better part of a day to get all the music snugged in, especially for us music fussbudgets.

Today, Premiere’s Remix Tool reduces this work to clicking and dragging. Premiere automatically analyzes the track, duplicates or removes sections, and aligns the beats in seconds. Like the transcribing tool, it’s not perfect. If the music must hit a particular spot in the video, like a hard cut, the track can still be off by a second or two. It will require some finessing.  But, overall, it’s a major time-saver.

These two editing innovations are huge benefits to our clients. They reduce edit time immensely. We see it in our projects and our clients see it in their invoices. It’s only a matter of time before Premiere and other programs can turn out rough cuts based on scripts, further reducing costs. But, that’s another article.