been doing paid work for a few months now and the flying and client side of things feels pretty sorted but my post processing is all over the place. like i dont have a consistent system, every job i'm kind of starting fresh and figuring out where files go, what i'm color grading to, how long I spend on each clip, etc. it's taking me way longer than it should and i end up redoing things a lot.

someone mentioned LUTs to me a while back and i've been using a few but im not always sure if im applying them right or if theyre even appropriate for what the client wants. most of my work is real estate and some construction progress stuff. the construction client in particular just wants clean footage, nothing cinematic, just clear and well exposed so they can see what's happening on site.

do most of you have like a set folder structure or a project template you work from, or is it more just vibes and experience after a while. genuinely curious how people who do this regularly actually manage the files and the delivery side of things because right now it feels kind of chaotic on my end.

yeah the workflow thing took me probably a solid year of paid work before it clicked. what helped me most was just forcing myself to set up the same folder structure every single time even when i was in a rush ? client name, job date, then subfolders for raw footage, exports, and client delivery. sounds boring but when you're looking for a file six months later for a repeat client you'll thank yourself.

for the LUT stuff on construction jobs honestly i'd skip anything stylized and just do basic exposure and color correction in premiere or resolve, whatever you're using. those clients really do just want it to look like what their eyes would see, maybe slightly punchy but nothing that looks graded. save the LUTs for the real estate stuff where you want that warm golden look that agents love for some reason.

one thing that saved me a ton of time was building out a resolve project template with my standard timeline settings, export presets already configured for different delivery formats, and a few node trees saved for common scenarios. takes like an hour to set up once and then you're just duplicating it each job.

im in a similar boat honestly, just started getting consistent work and the editing side feels like it takes three times longer than it should. i've been trying to get faster at resolve but the learning curve is real. one thing i did start doing is keeping a notes doc for each client with what they liked and didnt like from previous jobs so i'm not guessing every time. small thing but it helps with repeat clients at least.