There was a restaurant owner in a town I can't name who sent me a folder of phone clips and asked for "a quick cinematic edit." Here is the difference: a video edit works with footage that already exists, and a video production creates that footage from scratch, shoot and all.
One is post. One is the whole pipeline. That distinction decides your timeline, your budget, and whether you need a crew. Most confusion at the start of a project comes from blending the two into one vague word: "video." So let me pull them apart.
What is a video edit?
A video edit is post-production work performed on footage you provide. The editor takes raw clips, audio, and any assets you hand over, then assembles them into a finished piece. Nothing new is filmed. The editor's job is selection, sequencing, pacing, color, sound, graphics, and export.
This is the post-production stage of the pipeline, and a freelance editor can do a lot inside it. Cut a 40-minute interview down to a tight three. Color-grade clips so they match. Add captions, lower-thirds, a logo animation, and a music bed. Stabilize shaky shots, clean up audio, sync multiple camera angles. Reframe a horizontal video into vertical for Reels.
What an editor cannot do is invent footage that was never shot. If you needed a wide establishing shot of your storefront and nobody filmed one, no amount of editing produces it. We can sometimes patch gaps with stock, B-roll you own, or motion graphics. That is a workaround, not a substitute.
The cleanest projects we take are edits where the client shot more than they thought they needed. Extra angles, extra takes, a few seconds of room tone. Overshooting is cheap insurance. Undershooting is a wall you hit in post.
What is a video production?
A video production is the full process of creating a video from scratch, including the shoot. It covers pre-production (planning, scripting, shot lists, scheduling, location scouting), production (the actual filming, with whatever crew, lighting, and audio gear the shoot requires), and then the edit on top.
Production is where a director, a camera operator, a sound recordist, and lighting come in. Even a one-person shoot is still a production if someone shows up with a camera and creates footage to a plan. The defining trait is that the raw material does not exist yet, so somebody has to make it.
This is the larger commitment. You are paying for people's time on set, equipment, travel, and the coordination it takes to get the right shots once, because a reshoot means scheduling everyone again. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, film and video editors and camera operators are tracked as distinct roles for a reason: filming and editing are separate skills, often separate people, and a full production usually needs both.
How do I know which one I need?
Start with one question: does the footage exist yet? If yes, you need an edit. If no, you need a production. Everything else follows from that.
Here is how the two compare across the things that actually shape a quote.
| Factor | Video edit | Video production |
|---|---|---|
| Footage | You provide it | We create it |
| Crew on set | None | Director, camera, audio, lighting as needed |
| Typical timeline | 3 to 10 business days | 2 to 6 weeks |
| What you pay for | Editor's time in post | Crew, gear, location, travel, plus the edit |
| Rough cost range | $300 to $2,500 per video | $3,000 to $25,000+ |
| Best for | Repurposing, social cuts, recap videos | Brand films, ads, product launches |
| Biggest risk | Gaps in footage you can't fill | Going over scope on shoot day |
Those price ranges are broad on purpose. A 30-second social cut from clean footage sits near the bottom of the edit range. A multi-location brand film with talent and a two-day shoot sits at the top of the production range or beyond. Your number lands somewhere inside based on length, complexity, and how much filming the project demands.
A practical tell: if you find yourself describing shots you wish you had, you are describing a production. If you are describing what to do with shots you already captured, you are describing an edit.
What does a freelance editor need from me?
A freelance editor working an edit-only project needs the footage and a clear idea of the outcome. The more specific you are up front, the less back-and-forth eats your timeline.
Bring these to the first conversation:
- All the raw footage, not a pre-trimmed selection. Editors work better with everything and cut down than with a tight set and no options.
- The final length and format. A 60-second vertical Reel and a three-minute horizontal explainer are different edits from the same clips.
- Where it will live. Instagram, a website hero, a trade-show loop, YouTube. Each has different specs.
- Any brand assets. Logo files, fonts, color codes, an existing music license if you have one.
- A reference video or two. Showing me a style is worth more than describing it.
- Who approves it. One decision-maker keeps revision rounds sane.
Missing footage is the one thing a brief can't fix. If the moment wasn't filmed, it isn't in the folder, and we plan around that gap rather than pretend it closes.
Can an edit ever become a production mid-project?
Yes, and it is the most common scope surprise. You hand over footage for an edit, we get into it, and it becomes clear the piece needs a shot that doesn't exist. A clean product close-up. A founder saying one line to camera. An establishing shot of the space.
At that point the project picks up a small production component. Sometimes that is a quick pickup shoot you can do yourself with guidance. Sometimes it needs someone with a camera on location. Either way it changes the quote and the timeline, so we flag it early instead of absorbing it silently.
This is why I push clients to decide the footage question before we agree on a price. An edit quoted as an edit, then quietly turned into a production, is how projects blow past budget and trust gets thin. Naming the scope on day one keeps everyone honest.
If you are not sure which one your project is, that is a normal place to start. Send what you have, describe what you want, and we will tell you plainly whether it is an edit, a production, or an edit with a small shoot bolted on. You can start that conversation at https://subsecondstudio.com.
Frequently asked questions
Is a video edit cheaper than a video production?
Usually, yes. An edit is one person's time in post, so it tends to run $300 to $2,500 per video depending on length and complexity. A production adds crew, gear, location, and shoot time on top of the edit, which is why it starts around $3,000 and climbs from there. You pay for filming and editing in a production. You pay for editing only in an edit.
Can a freelance editor fix bad footage?
To a point. An editor can color-correct, stabilize, clean up audio, reframe, and hide weak moments with pacing and graphics. What an editor cannot do is create a shot that was never filmed or rescue footage that is badly out of focus or unusable. Editing improves what exists. It does not replace what is missing.
How long does a video edit take compared to a production?
A straightforward edit from clean footage typically takes 3 to 10 business days, including a revision round. A full production runs 2 to 6 weeks because it adds planning, scheduling, the shoot itself, and then the edit. The filming stage and the coordination around it are what stretch a production timeline well past an edit-only project.
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