What to send me so the first cut is close

Most of what slows an edit down is decided before I open the files. It comes down to what arrived.

What it's for

Where it runs and how long it has to be shape the edit more than the footage does. A ninety-second homepage film and a fifteen-second social cut open differently, so if you need both, say so at the start. If you don't know the length yet, say that too.

Two things usually get left out of briefs: whether it has to work with no sound, as most feeds and trade show screens do, and which languages you need. Both are cheap to plan and awkward to add later.

Send everything

It's tempting to send only the takes you liked. The parts I need are often the ones you'd cut: the second before someone speaks, the pause where they look down, the boring b-roll that saves a transition. Send the whole card. I don't mind the volume.

Originals, not exports

Send the files as they came off the camera, not a compressed copy or something that's been through WhatsApp. Every export throws away data, and it shows once a shot is graded, slowed down or cropped vertical. If a compressed copy is all there is, that's workable. Just tell me early.

Audio and cameras

If anyone wore a lav mic or there was a boom, that audio is usually a separate file. Send it, because dialogue is what viewers forgive least. If more than one camera was running, send all of them untrimmed. I sync them by their overlapping sound, and trimmed clips turn that into a manual job.

Brand things

• A vector logo: SVG, AI or EPS, not a PNG pulled off the website.
• Fonts and colors, or the brand guide if there is one.
• Two or three references, with a sentence on what you like in each. A style you don't want is just as useful.

Music and stock are mine

You don't need to find or buy a track. I work from paid premium libraries, so the searching and the license are on my side. A direction is enough: "calm, no vocals, nothing corporate" works. If you've already bought a track you love, send the license, because it may not cover the social versions.

Missing shots don't need to hold anything up either. I license stock from the same libraries, so tell me what's missing rather than waiting until it exists.

One person signs off

One name with final say, or a group that sends its notes together. Five people replying separately, each to a different version, is what adds days.

Send the rest and the first cut will be close enough to talk about properly.