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Editing Rates

Reels

We strive to create a demo reel that markets you as appropriately, accurately, and professionally as possible. We can provide you with a DVD with custom menus you'll be proud to show off to industry professionals as well as a standard QuickTime file you can upload to your website or to casting sites.

Don't have a lot or any footage? We can also shoot scenes for you. Bring in your own copy or use one of ours. We have professional camera, sound, and lighting equipment to produce footage high quality footage that demonstrates your abilities and conveys who you are as an actor.

Don't forget to check out our samples!

Please visit my dedicated demo reel site at www.reelcutting.com for more information.

Films/Trailers

We love storytelling. It's fun. Cinematic storytelling? Even more fun.

Rates

• $50/hr for editing
• $5/DVD duplicate
• $135/hr for shooting a scene with one of our professional actors
• $190/hr for a 2 person scene with you and a friend. We will get the coverage that both of you can use for your reels.
• equipment
• Panasonic HD 24p camera
• Professional grade sound mixer for clean audio
• Versatile lighting kits so, well, so we can see you

A few things to keep in mind:

Reel Length

Three minutes is probably the longest you should go with your reel, if not shorter. I can certainly create a longer cut for you if you wish, but in my experience the faster a reel is, the more engaging it is for the viewer. My philosophy on length leans toward leaving the casting director/agent/manager/viewer wanting more . . . and a 1 or 2 minute reel with the absolute best snippets of your footage will tend to do that more effectively than something longer.

From the perspective of the casting director/agent/etc., the harsh reality is that they don't always have the time, patience, or attention span to sit through a long reel or a reel with unnecessary footage, especially if they're sifting through several of them. Get their attention and they’ll by running to call you. Bore them and you’ll be forgotten, or worse yet, be marked as boring!

Reel Editing Time

To give you an idea of how much the entire session may cost, cutting a 2 minute reel can require anywhere from 2 to 6 hours, sometimes more.

No editing session is the same as I cater to each client’s individual requirements, but there are general things to keep in mind when it comes to editing time.

The more footage you have, the more time will be required to edit it. If your footage is "raw" (i.e. dailies or otherwise uncut material), it will require more time to edit the scene together since I will be piecing together a scene/story from scratch. If your footage is a "final cut" (i.e. already cut together for something like a film or tv show), then it takes less time to edit since I will just be paring down the footage for time and tweaking the scene so it showcases you and downplays everyone else. As much as I love Meryl Streep and her work, if you have a scene with her and you want it for your reel, I will edit the piece as much as possible to make you the focus. This is your reel, not hers . . . I have a feeling she doesn’t need one anyway.

Also, if you already have an idea of what you want (e.g. flow, which scenes/portions of scenes you want) and at what timecode markers you want the cuts to be, then that will decrease editing time. If you are at a stage where you just want to play with your footage and have more of a collaborative process with me, then that’s great, too. I do more than just push the buttons on the computer. I’m a resource for you and I am more than happy to advise you on which cuts or scenes best portray you and your craft. Just keep in mind that collaborating, tweaking, and “playing” with your reel takes time . . . but rest assured that we’ll have a well thought out product at the end of the process. Additionally, the more "bells and whistles" you want edited in (e.g. music, title sequences, etc.) the more editing time and fine-tuning will be required.

DVD Authoring

Having a DVD of your reel is a great supplement to your headshots and business cards. Factor in about an hour to create a bare bones DVD for your completed reel. Your DVD will include your reel with a personalized, professional menu similar to what you would find on that movie DVD you just got from NetFlix. Any DVD "bonus features" ( e.g. a photo section) you’d like added will increase DVD authoring time.

Shooting an Intro/Bio

Some individuals choose to include a short intro/bio of themselves in their reels. I have professional camera, sound, and lighting equipment available to shoot this for you. A short snippet will take at least an hour for me to setup and shoot. If you want multiple angles or anything along those lines, it will take longer.

A caveat about intros/bios: I don’t really suggest them unless you don’t have a lot of footage for your reel. Industry folks generally want to see what you’ve done, not how much you can talk about yourself. If you do include an intro/bio, keep it short and sweet . . . enough to say “hi” and get your audience interested and intrigued.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. If you are putting together a hosting reel then you should showcase yourself in this context. If you don’t have a lot of hosting footage then we supplement your reel with footage we shoot of you being, well, you.

Filming rates are the same as my editing rates.