How to do a paper edit for a documentary

To do a paper edit for a documentary, get every interview transcribed with timecode, read them all and mark the strongest lines, group those selects into the beats of your story, put them in order under section headings, then time and read the result aloud before handing it to the editor as a sequence. Here's each step the way documentary teams actually do it.

1. Get every interview transcribed, with timecode

A paper edit is only as good as the transcripts under it. Each line needs a timecode, or the editor has to hunt for it.

• Premiere Pro transcribes clips for free in the Text panel (Speech to Text), with word timing.
• PaperEdit transcribes interview videos on your own computer, free, and reads the camera's timecode as it goes.
• Services like Rev or Otter work too. Export with timestamps on; here's how to get Rev and Otter transcripts into Premiere.

Keep the transcript's timecode tied to the camera file's start timecode, or "14:22:31" in the document won't match "14:22:31" in the source monitor.

2. Read everything once before marking anything

The first read is for the whole picture: who's strong on camera, which stories come up more than once, where the emotional peaks are. Resist highlighting on page one. Interviewees often say the best version of an idea the third time they say it.

3. Mark your selects

On the second read, highlight every line that could be in the film. Be generous: it's easier to cut a select later than to find one again. For each, note the interview and timecode. This is your selects list (see interview selects in Premiere if the editor is pulling them on a timeline instead).

4. Find the structure

Lay the selects out and look for the shape of the film:

• Themes that several people speak to.
• Characters whose arc carries the film.
• Turning points: the moment the news arrives, the decision, the loss.

Write those as section headings in capitals, like COLD OPEN, THE LETTER, LAST RUN. Most feature documentaries end up with somewhere between five and fifteen.

5. Put the lines in order

Under each heading, put the selects in the order they should play. Cut each one down to the words you need; a line that starts with "So, um, I think what happened was" can usually start at "what happened". Where the story needs something the interviews don't say, write a placeholder: NARRATION, ARCHIVE, B-ROLL OF THE HARBOUR.

Notes for the editor go beside the line, not in it: which shot, which take, what to lose if it runs long.

6. Time it

A rough rule is about 150 spoken words a minute. Count the words in the paper edit and you'll know if you have a 12-minute short or a 90-minute feature before anyone cuts. If the paper edit is twice as long as the film, cut on paper now; it's far cheaper than cutting a timeline later.

7. Read it aloud

Read the paper edit out loud, or have someone read it to you, as a radio cut. Lines that read well don't always play well. You'll hear the repetitions, the missing context and the jumps.

8. Hand it to the editor as a sequence

Traditionally the editor rebuilds the paper edit by hand, line by line, from the timecodes. That's slow and error-prone. Instead, paste the paper edit into PaperEdit with the transcripts and download a sequence for Premiere Pro, Resolve, Final Cut Pro or Avid, with every line cut in order and your headings as markers. Or build the paper edit in PaperEdit from the start: the producer highlights lines in the transcripts from a link, and the editor downloads the sequence when it's sent.

The paper edit template has the columns this process needs and pastes straight into PaperEdit.

FAQ

How long does a documentary paper edit take? Plan on reading every transcript twice, then a few days of structuring. For a feature with 15 to 25 hours of interviews, a first paper edit typically takes one to two weeks of a producer's or director's time.

Should the paper edit include b-roll? Note it, don't build it. A line like "B-ROLL: harbour at dawn" tells the editor what you're picturing. The paper edit is about the spoken story; pictures are worked out in the cut.

How detailed should the timecodes be? Start and end of each line, to the frame if your transcripts give it, or to the second if not. A tool that matches quotes to the transcript can also find lines from the words alone.

Can the producer and the editor work on the paper edit together? Yes. In PaperEdit the producer builds it from a link without an account or the footage, the editor sees each change, and the producer presses Send when it's ready.

What's the difference between a paper edit and a radio cut? A paper edit is on paper; a radio cut is the same order cut as sound only, to hear it. Many teams make the paper edit, then a radio cut from it, then the picture cut.