What Rapid Edit and Delivery Costs and What Moves the Price

Most editing quotes start from a day rate, and that is the sensible place to begin. A rapid edit is different because the clock is part of the product. When a package must be cut, checked and delivered while a story is still live, an editor and a delivery slot are held for you, and those hours cannot be sold twice. That is the first thing a quote reflects.

The second is that speed removes the slack a normal job relies on. There is no overnight to fix an audio problem and no second pass if a caption runs long. So the editor works with fewer retries, which means the footage coming in has to be usable and the brief has to be clear before the first cut starts.

I advise newsrooms on workflow, and the pattern is consistent: the price follows how much of the work is predictable. Predictable jobs cost less per minute of finished programme.

Four things account for most of the difference between one quote and another. The first is the finished running time, because a ninety-second package and a six-minute package need different amounts of selection and sound work. The second is the volume and condition of the rushes: a single clean camera card is quick to log, while mixed phone clips and multiple formats take longer.

The third is turnaround. A package needed within the hour is priced above one needed by the evening bulletin, because it displaces other work and calls for an editor on standby. The fourth is the number of versions. One master is simple; a master plus a shortened cut, a version without presenter and a web format adds real hours.

None of these is unusual, and none is hidden. We would sooner list them in the written quotation line by line so you can see which choice moves which number.

• Finished running time
• Volume and condition of the rushes
• How soon it must be on air
• Number of versions required

Captioning is often treated as an afterthought and then becomes the thing that makes a deadline tight. Timed captions need a clean transcript, a read-through for names and place names, and a check that lines break sensibly on screen. If you supply a script or a shot list with spellings, that stage shrinks and so does its charge.

Delivery formats matter in the same way. Broadcasters ask for specific wrappers, frame rates, loudness levels and file naming, and a mismatch means a re-export that costs time as well as money. Telling us the receiving station's specification at the start lets Tom, our senior editor, build the export once.

If you need the same piece in several formats, say so early. Preparing them together in a single pass is cheaper than returning to the project later, because the edit is already open and the checks are fresh.

A written quotation for rapid edit work normally covers the editing time against the agreed running time, a set number of revision rounds, captioning to the agreed standard, and delivery of the files in the formats you name. It also states the turnaround window we are holding for you, so both sides know what was agreed.

It does not usually cover extra shooting, lengthy archive searches, music licensing, or translation of captions into another language. Those can be added, but they are separate lines so that the core figure stays honest.

Prices are in pounds sterling, and the quotation confirms them in writing before any work begins. After the work, an invoice follows and is paid by bank transfer, in line with our payment and refund terms.

• Editing against the agreed running time
• A set number of revision rounds
• Captioning and file delivery in named formats

Changes are the usual reason a final invoice differs from the quote. A late change of angle, new footage arriving after the cut is locked, or a request for extra versions all add editing hours. We flag these as they arise rather than at the end, so you can decide whether they are worth it.

Rushes that arrive without notes also cost more than they appear to. If an editor must watch everything to find the usable thirty seconds, that viewing time is billable. A short log from the shooter, even a handful of timecodes, saves more than most people expect.

Approval delays count as well. If a package waits for sign-off while the editor is held, the hold still has a cost. Naming one decision-maker who can approve quickly is a simple way to keep the job on its quoted track.

• Late changes of angle or structure
• New footage after the cut is locked
• Extra versions requested late

Send the enquiry through the contact page with the plain facts: the story or programme type, the rough running time, how much footage there is and in what form, the deadline, and the formats the broadcaster wants. A few lines is enough. We reply with questions if something is missing, then issue a written quotation.

If your need is recurring, such as a regular short package each week, tell us. Repeated work with a settled template and known specification is easier to plan, and the quote can reflect that predictability.

Ask what happens if the brief changes. A good answer is specific: which changes are absorbed, which are charged, and at what rate. You should be able to read that in the quotation before you agree to anything.