Why does video editing take so long?

Often video editors ask for at least 2 hours of post-processing time per hour of video recorded. Why does the editing process take so long? In this video, I'll show you some behind-the-scenes footage of what video editing looks like in Adobe Premiere and explain why you want to allow plenty of time for editing video and audio so it sounds clear and looks good.

Beyond the details I explain in the video, there are also a bunch of other things that take time:

• moving the video & audio files from the camera to a computer or alternative storage device
• renaming files so we can keep track of them easily
• creating new adobe files
• formatting and exporting slides so they match the video format
• editing audio files so sound levels are consistent
• editing out video/audio content that is distracting, inappropriate, off-topic, etc.
• dividing the video into sections that are usable to clients (usually people don't just want a whole, unedited video - they want just the parts where they are teaching or saying something useful)
• exporting the videos with the appropriate settings
• sharing the videos in a way clients can view them (often this means uploading them to Dropbox or YouTube, since video files are too large to be emailed)

So before you ask someone to help you film or edit something, remember that you'll also need help beyond the time it takes to set up equipment and record. Filming and video editing require a lot of skill, time, and patience!