Honestly? Hiring an editor is where i keep tripping. Last two i tried both started fine then quietly got slower and sloppier once the novelty wore off, and one of them sat on a batch for a week with no reply right when i needed it out the door.
i dont care about a fancy reel. i care that someone hits a deadline twice in a row and doesnt vanish. so what do you actually check before you hand a stranger your raw files? paid test, references you can message, watching how they handle the first small job? most people overthink the portfolio and underthink reliability, and reliability is the part that actually costs you.
As someone who has hired a few editors, the thing that predicts reliability is how they behave on the boring first job, not the flashy test. I give a small paid task with a tight but fair deadline and i watch two things. Do they ask clarifying questions up front, and do they tell me early when they are going to be late. The ones who go silent when theyre behind are the ones who sink you later. Skills you can teach, that communication habit you basically cannot.
got burned the same way. now i never send the full batch first, just one or two files and see what comes back and how fast. also pay through something with a record, not a favour, because the second money gets informal the deadlines get informal too
This, a hundred times. Half my job is already chasing people who went quiet, i am not adding an editor to that list. I put it in writing before we start, i do not need you to be perfect, i need you to tell me the day something slips, not the day it was due. The ones who cant manage that are usually fine right up until the one week you actually need them.
yes exactly this. also one thing people forget, before you send any raw file, watermark it or send only a part. i give new editor a short low value clip first, never my best material. if they disappear with it is not a disaster. trust come after few jobs, not before.
Piggybacking on the watermark point because people skip it and then regret it. Your raw files are the one asset nobody can hand back once it leaks. I keep a separate drive of low res proxies with a mark burned in, editors work from those, and the masters never leave my box until the cut is approved. Slows the workflow a touch, saves you the day a disgruntled freelancer decides your library is now his too. Watched it happen to two producers i know.
This is the actual answer and everyone skips it. The moment money is a favour the work becomes a favour too, and favours slip. Paper trail or dont bother. And ask for one real reference you can message, not a screenshot of praise. Screenshots are free.
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