Documentary Post-Production — Finishing & Editorial Eye (52 min)

Documentary Post-Production — Finishing & Editorial Eye (52 min) We have a 52-minute documentary that needs a professional finishing pass — and a real editor's judgment applied to it. WHAT THIS IS A documentary about a discovery in human physiology, produced by our institute. It was originally cut by a videographer as a 30-minute film. We have since shot four new segments — direct-to-camera pieces with our founder, and one two-person conversation — and our in-house editor has spliced these into the original in DaVinci Resolve, bringing it to 52 minutes. WHAT WE NEED Seam matching — priority. The four new segments were shot at a different time from the original footage. Audio levels, room tone, color temperature, and exposure do not match the surrounding material. Making these transitions invisible is the most important technical part of this job. Audio — second priority. Overall cleanup, level consistency, noise reduction, clear dialogue throughout. If budget forces a trade-off, audio matters more to us than visual polish. Color — a consistent grade across the full film. Titles and lower thirds — clean, professional, minimal. We will provide names and credentials. Make it a better film. This is not a polish-only job. We want you watching it as an editor, not a technician — and telling us what would make it stronger. Pacing. Where it drags. Where a cut lands wrong. Where a moment needs room to breathe or should be trimmed. Where the structure could serve the story better. Anything you would do differently. Stock footage. Some of the stock imagery in the film is weak — pensive people, generic city crowds, shots that literally illustrate what the narration is saying. Tell us which shots you would replace, which you would simply cut, and where a stronger choice would be footage that does not match the narration literally. Where you can source better alternatives, do — if that involves additional licensing fees, give us the estimate before purchasing. Where a stock shot is doing no real work, we would rather cut it than replace it. Tell us what you see, and where you can, do it. If a change is beyond scope, put it in writing so we can decide. TONE AND CATEGORY This is not a wellness or self-improvement film, and it should not be finished like one. No ambient uplift music, no soft dreamy grading, no glowing-brain or DNA-helix graphics. That visual language is exactly what our audience has already tuned out. At the same time, do not make it cold or clinical. What this film documents genuinely changes people's lives, and the finishing should carry that weight rather than flatten it. The distinction is treatment, not content. Big claim, straight delivery. Think serious documentary — the way a good film handles an extraordinary finding. Music and grade are subject to our approval. WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE A DaVinci Resolve project archive containing the assembled 52-minute timeline plus media. Important: the original 30-minute documentary exists only as a flat export. We do not have its source files. You can grade and treat it as a whole, but you cannot adjust individual clips within it. The four new segments have full camera-original files and are fully editable. REQUIREMENTS DaVinci Resolve Documentary or long-form editing experience — please link relevant work, not a general showreel Available to start on or before August 24th 2026. Completion by August 31st 2026 BUDGET $1,000 fixed for the full job. TO APPLY Link two examples of documentary or long-form work you have finished. In one or two sentences, tell us what you would look at first on a project like this.