Blog · 23 posts

Running a studio

The business side of a production company: what to charge, how long things take, the hours behind each video, the team, the clients and the processes that hold it together.

Team settings with the invite field and role menu, each member’s role and the approval permissions grid with a Freelancer column

Running a studio

How to hire a freelance video editor for your production company

Where studios find editors, what to look for in a reel besides taste, how to run a paid test with the same footage for everyone, and what to agree in writing before the first job.

Samuel Silva · Oct 21, 2026 · 7 min read

Team’s day in Metrics: each person’s timer sessions on one clock, colored by client, with the day’s total hours

Running a studio

Utilization rate for a video agency: how to calculate it and what to aim for

Utilization is client hours divided by available hours. What counts on each side for a video team, a worked example, starting targets by role, and why 100% leaves no room for the next revision round.

Samuel Silva · Oct 20, 2026 · 8 min read

A team member’s hours in the period, day by day, and where the time went by task and phase

Running a studio

Video production budget template, with a worked example

A line-by-line cost template for video projects, grouped by phase, and a filled example that adds up. Why the edit, the revision rounds and the contingency should come from your past jobs.

Samuel Silva · Oct 20, 2026 · 9 min read

Upload window with the task detected from the code in the file name
Task code with its numbered versions and a compare button

Running a studio

A video file naming convention that ends final_FINAL_v3

final_FINAL_v3_approved.mp4 is what you get when nobody agreed on a name. A naming pattern for video production companies, with examples, that holds from the timeline to the delivery email.

Samuel Silva · Oct 19, 2026 · 7 min read

Task panel with the description, the script slot, the internal deadline, the client due date and the assignee

Running a studio

How to hand a job to a freelance editor without a two-hour call

A one-page job sheet you can copy, plus what to send with it, how versions come back, how notes reach the editor, what they shouldn't do, the first week and how to close the job.

Samuel Silva · Oct 16, 2026 · 8 min read

Task table grouped by client, with each video’s code, version, phase, hours worked, estimated and remaining, deadline and status

Running a studio

A video production tracker spreadsheet, column by column

The 13 columns a video production tracker needs, a filled example you can paste into Google Sheets, dropdowns and overdue highlighting, and the signs that the spreadsheet has stopped keeping up.

Samuel Silva · Oct 15, 2026 · 8 min read

Open task with the time logged, each person’s hours, the deadlines and the phase

Running a studio

Time tracking for video editors, without hating the timer

End-of-day timesheets miss the calls, the exports and half the revision rounds. How editors and small post teams can time each task, decide what counts and read the numbers without it feeling like surveillance.

Samuel Silva · Oct 14, 2026 · 8 min read

Workflow settings with the Status, Phases and Blockers tabs and the board’s columns, from Backlog to Delivered
Automation preset menu with Video Production, Agency and Simple

Running a studio

How to build an in-house video team

When an in-house video team beats hiring a production company, who to hire first, how requests from other departments become briefed tasks, who signs off inside the company and how to report what the team delivers.

Samuel Silva · Oct 13, 2026 · 7 min read

Comments per day in Metrics, from the client and the team, with how many are still open
Hours logged on the task against a 16-hour estimate, with each person’s share

Running a studio

Scope creep in video production: change request or new work?

A vertical cut, a Spanish version, one more interview. How to tell a change request from new work, how to write scope so the answer is obvious, and what to send the client instead of a no.

Samuel Silva · Oct 12, 2026 · 8 min read

Workspace automations grouped under Timer and Script, each rule with its trigger, its action and an on/off switch
Approval workflow permissions: which roles can approve internally, send to the client and request changes

Running a studio

How to write a video production SOP

A video production SOP that fits on two pages: the stages and what done means in each, one owner per stage, the handoffs that break, what to automate, how to keep it current, and an outline to copy.

Samuel Silva · Oct 11, 2026 · 7 min read

Task activity history with the uploaded version, the send to the client and resolved comments

Running a studio

How long to keep raw footage, and the rest of a video job

Camera originals, project files, masters, review cuts, delivered files and releases each need their own retention period. A rule of thumb for each, where to store them, the 3-2-1 rule and what keeping costs.

Samuel Silva · Oct 9, 2026 · 8 min read

Home list of what needs attention, with the Will be late filter and videos projected to land a day after the promised date
Deadline health in Metrics: slack between internal and final deadlines, with tasks that have slack, are running out of it or have none left

Running a studio

How to tell a client a project is delayed

Tell the client the day your internal deadline slips, while there's still time to adjust. What the message needs, two emails to copy (when the delay is yours and when it isn't) and what makes a delay worse.

Samuel Silva · Oct 9, 2026 · 8 min read

Client portal Metrics tab with deliveries over time, minutes delivered and the client’s average review time

Running a studio

Monthly client report template for video production teams

A one-page monthly report for a recurring video client: what you delivered, what's waiting on whom, dates kept, how reviews went and what you need next month. An outline to copy and a filled-in example.

Samuel Silva · Oct 7, 2026 · 7 min read

Team capacity in Metrics: each person’s active tasks, next deadline and tasks that are overdue or with the client

Running a studio

How long does it take to edit a video? How to work it out

Rules of thumb run from 20 minutes to over 10 hours of editing per finished minute. What drives editing time, how to estimate a video stage by stage, and how to measure what your own team can take on.

Samuel Silva · Oct 7, 2026 · 8 min read

Form to request access to a private video, with name, email and message
Recent activity on the link with who opened the video and how many times

Running a studio

Should you give clients the raw footage?

Clients ask for the raw footage to re-edit, to keep an archive or because they're switching studios. What it's worth, five ways to answer, what raw should mean, what never goes, and a clause to copy.

Samuel Silva · Oct 5, 2026 · 8 min read

Task time with each person’s hours and how much of the estimate is used

Running a studio

How much to charge for video editing and production

A rate table knows nothing about your rent, your team or how many rounds your clients ask for. How to price video work from your own hours and costs, with a worked example.

Samuel Silva · Oct 3, 2026 · 7 min read

Board with videos grouped by what they are waiting on: no blocker, client review, client delivery
Voice comment pinned to 00:30 of the video, with Reply and Resolve

Running a studio

Remote video collaboration tips for video teams

When the editor, the producer and the client work from different places, a ten-second question turns into a day of waiting. How to review without calls, move big files once and run the week from a written status.

Samuel Silva · Sep 30, 2026 · 7 min read

Task table grouped by client, with each video’s phase, hours worked, estimated and remaining, deadline and status

Running a studio

How to start a video production company

Going from freelancer to a small studio: pick a niche and a recurring client before buying gear, price from your own hours, run every job through the same process and keep cash ahead of costs.

Samuel Silva · Sep 29, 2026 · 7 min read

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