Every videographer hits the same wall eventually. The shoots are booked, the calendar is full, and the edits are stacking up behind them. You can say no to new work, you can edit until 2am, or you can hand some of it off.
The worry with handing it off is always the same. Your clients hired you for how your videos feel. If someone else cuts them, will they still feel like yours?
They can. But it doesn't happen by luck. It happens because you gave the editor enough to copy. I'm a videographer too (I run Core Visuals NYC, an event photo and video studio in New York), so this is the list I'd want from my own side.
Start with one job, not the backlog
Don't hand over your biggest, most important delivery first. Pick one job that's typical of what you shoot: a normal event recap, a normal interview piece. Something you'd be fine redoing if it comes back wrong.
That first job is a test in both directions. You see whether the editor gets your style. The editor sees how you shoot, how you name files, and how picky your notes are. After one round, the second job goes much faster.
Show your style. Don't describe it
"Clean, cinematic, not too cheesy" means something different to every editor alive. A video means one thing.
Send two or three finished videos you've made that you're proud of. Ideally the same kind of job as the one you're handing off. Then add a few specifics, because some of your style lives in choices nobody would guess:
- Pacing. Do you cut on the beat, or let shots breathe? How long is your typical b-roll shot?
- Music. Where you get it, what kind you pick, and whether the edit follows the music or the music sits under the talking.
- Color. Your LUT or your grade, if you have one. Even a still frame of a graded shot helps.
- Titles and graphics. Your fonts, your lower-third template, your logo animation. Send the files, not screenshots.
- The open and the end. How your videos start and how they end. A lot of a videographer's signature lives in the first five seconds.
- What you never do. The transitions you hate. The music you'd never use. This list is often more useful than the rest.
If you have a project file from a past job, that's the best reference of all. It answers questions you didn't know to write down.
Send footage the way you'd want it sent to you
Original camera files, not proxies, unless you've agreed on proxies. Audio in its own folder. A short note on which camera is which, what the deadline is, and which moments the client already asked for.
If you shot it, you know where the good stuff is. A two-line note like "the toast at 9:40 is the moment, and the B cam is soft before 8pm" saves the editor an hour of finding it themselves. There's a longer list in my post on how to send footage to a remote editor.
Agree on how the handoff works
Get these settled before the first job, in writing:
Whose name is on it. If you deliver under your brand, the editor stays invisible. I work this way by default. I deliver the cut to you, never to your client, and I don't contact your client.
Who talks to the client. You do. Notes come from your client to you, and you pass them on. It keeps your relationship intact and keeps the editor from getting two sets of notes that disagree.
What you get back. Just the exports, or the project file too? If you might need to make a tiny change yourself at midnight, ask for the project file and agree on the software up front. I edit in DaVinci Resolve. If you work in Premiere Pro, tell me up front and we'll plan the handoff.
Can the editor show the work? Most subcontract work never appears in the editor's portfolio. Say what you expect. My default is no.
The date. First cut date, your review window, the final date. Work backwards from what you promised the client, and leave yourself a day.
Give notes like you would to yourself
Your first-round notes teach the editor more than anything you write in advance. Be specific: "this shot is too long" is good, "trim the toast to the line about her sister" is better. Timecodes help. If you can leave notes right on a review link, do that.
And say what worked. If the editor nailed the opening, tell them. They'll do more of it.
What it costs to hand off
I charge by time, which tends to suit videographers better than a per-video package. Your jobs vary, and you already know what a day of editing gets you.
- $400 a day (eight hours). Most single event recaps and interview pieces.
- $1,800 a week (five days). For a busy season, or a backlog of a dozen jobs. Works out to $45 an hour.
- $50 an hour. For small jobs and quick changes.
If you charge your client for the edit, the math is simple. You know your edit fee, you know the day rate, and you can see the margin before you send anything. Day and week work starts once the invoice is taken care of.
When it's time
If you're turning down shoots because of the edit, or your delivery dates keep slipping, it's time to try handing one off. One job. See how it comes back.
More on how I work with other videographers, on the editing for videographers page. The three rates are on pricing.