THE CHALLENGE

Three editors. Large volumes of archive. Interviews. B-roll. A constantly evolving documentary structure.

Keeping the editorial pipeline organised without slowing down the creative process was critical. Aside from keeping a strict structure, I adapted and created systems based on the editors' pain points during post.
eg. Hate listening to long radio podcasts to find a soundbite about a prison escape? No problem, the Assistant Editors auto-transcribe every archive piece then search the transcript for relevant terms. Then any usable sound bites are copied over to a Quote List with metadata. Then editors hop onto the Quote List and grab any sound bites they need for their edit based on story points/topics/characters. Not only did it save editors HOURS of reviewing footage/audio but this system allowed the editors to focus on story - the most important part of any documentary.

MY ROLE

• Managed editorial workflows

• Organised and tracked incoming assets

• Assisted editors with technical problem-solving

• Coordinated turnovers

• Maintained project consistency

• Supported story editors and the wider post team

THE GOAL

Make searchability the core of the workflow. This was implemented in the tracking docs, metadata, transcripts, archive and b-roll using keywords and story points.
Make the post pipeline invisible because when the workflow works properly, editors can focus on the story.

WHAT I LEARNED

Forming a solid workflow and project foundation will allow you time to focus on the story without sweating the small stuff down the line. Also, don't underestimate the power of colour-coded clips. They are friends you never thought you needed.