Divide And Conquer -- If you are editing anything that is longer than 10 minutes (or 30 minutes in 16mm), you will have to split up your movie into 'reels'. In the world of film, the 'reel' size is equivalent to how many feet of film can easily be handled and worked with at any one time. These reels are usually 1000 ft. long. It is roughly equivalent to either 10 minutes for 35mm shows, and 30 minutes for 16mm shows.

Be careful to choose where you place the breaks between reels. You don't want to have to change reels where a music cue may go, or in the middle of a scene (if possible).

Ask your negative cutter what size reels they want to work in, and use that as your guideline for dividing your show.

As a matter of habit, and to facilitate the ease of editing a long show, I generally build my program, early in the editing process, in no longer than 10 minute segments (or 30 minutes for 16mm shows).

Time-Stamping Your Reels -- Each reel that you divide your show into should have it's very own start timecode.

Reel One = 1:00:00:00
Reel Two = 2:00:00:00
Reel Three = 3:00:00:00
Reel Four = 4:00:00:00
...Etc.

This will help you, the negative cutter and the sound mixer all keep track of each segment of your film.

Checking For Dupes (Using Dupe Lists to save you both time and money) -- When editing on film, in order to use any portion of a shot more than once, you must order a duplicate (dupe) of that shot from your lab. This entails making a copy of both the negative and the print. You would keep a running log of all dupes ordered, and keep both pieces of negative (the original and its copy) for your final cut. Dupes can be very expensive, and if you have a lot of them, the cost can add up quickly.

When editing on a non-linear editing system, it is easy to use the same shot more than once: you just cut it in. If you don't check for dupes and have them made before cutting your negative (when your editing is complete), this can cause problems. Horrible, nasty, expensive problems.

* Check your list to see if you can make any trims that will minimize the amount of dupes needed, AND won't effect the integrity of your cut.

* If any trims were made, export new EDLs and remake the Dupe Lists.

Ordering The Dupe Negative --

* Order the dupes from your lab, supplying them with your final Dupe Lists.

* Make sure that they print the original key numbers through to the dupe negative.

* NOTE: You must have all dupes completed before you advance to cutting negative.

Dealing With Opticals --

* Order your opticals from your vendor, supplying them with:

1. The Optical Lists
2. A video tape of JUST the opticals they will create
* Once the opticals are finished:
1. Transfer them to video tape via the telecine process; this can usually be done all at once with a minimum of charge.
2. Digitize the opticals and, in your final cut, replace the shots that made up the optical with the newly created optical.
3. Generate new EDLs.
4. NOTE: You must have all opticals completed, digitized, and cut in before you make your Cut Lists and advance to cutting the negative.

* Your negative cutter will need the following:

1. A Pull List
2. A Cut List
3. A video tape of your film; this tape is your final piece of insurance that the negative cutter will use to prevent miscuts (NOTE: The negative cutter may have specific requirements for this video tape. Ask them what their specs are before the tape is made and it will save you a lot of hassle, time, and money)

Making A Print -- After your negative is cut, have your lab make your first Answer Print. This is the print that you will use both as a reference for mixing your sound, and to start the process of 'timing' your film.

NOTE: 'Timing' your film has nothing to do with time itself. It is a process (with your colorist at the lab) that enables you to make some adjustments to the brightness, contrast and color/hue of each shot in your movie. You may have to go through two or more timing sessions before your film looks the way you want it to look.