FOR SHORT-FORM VIDEO EDITORS
The clip is short. The work behind it isn’t. Account for shared footage review, each edit, platform versions and feedback before you name a price.
THE METHOD
Count shared work once, not once per clip. Multiply original edit time by clip count. Add only the extra versions, then the time reserved for each batch feedback round.
Hours = setup + review + clips × edit + clips × (versions − 1) × extra-version time + rounds × batch-revision time
Convert minutes to hours before adding. Break-even here means covering your chosen labor floor and entered direct costs; include overhead in those assumptions if you need it. It does not model taxes or every business expense.
Markup quote = cost × (1 + percentage). Margin quote = cost ÷ (1 − percentage). Per-clip price is a batch equivalent, not a promise that a single clip takes the same effort.
Spend 1 hour setting up and 2 reviewing the episode. Ten edits at 30 minutes, two extra versions at 6 minutes each, and two 60-minute batch revision rounds total 12 hours.
At a USD 50 labor floor plus USD 40 costs, the floor is USD 640. A 25% markup makes a USD 800 quote, or USD 80 per clip. These are arithmetic assumptions, not suggested rates.
Six clips, 45 minutes each, one original version, 1 hour setup, 30 minutes review and one 90-minute batch feedback round total 7.5 hours. At a USD 480 offer with USD 30 direct costs, effective hourly is USD 60.
One more 90-minute round increases the work to 9 hours and reduces effective hourly to USD 50. Clarify whether that round means consolidated notes or a new creative direction.
Before sharing the estimate, name who selects the moments, how captions and audio are handled, which versions differ, and what counts as one round of feedback. The client export omits your internal labor floor, costs, margin and earnings. Review the preview before sharing; the internal export contains private economics. This is a planning utility, not a legal contract or tax guide.
First-person editor discussions describe footage sorting and audio work and platform versions and repeated feedback. These anecdotes informed the scope inputs; they do not establish industry prices or typical workloads.
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