Producing a rushes log

What is a rushes log?

A rushes log is a form of video logging. Video logging is a process in which video footage is watched and labeled according to its content.


Why should you use a rushes log?

You should use a rushes log because overall it saves time in the editing process. Finding a particular shot by searching through hours of video during editing is very time consuming, as well as using expensive editing equipment and using up the editors time. Producing a rushes log means that you can you go through the source video material, label it according to its content and then store it until it needs to be used. This makes the video material easy to access and is available during editing, therefore making the editing process more efficient.

Software based logging systems allow clips to be imported directly into a computer based editing system (AVID). This makes a huge difference in the timescale of editing, this is because instead of logging the clip, importing it and then importing the clip onto an editing system you can simply log the clip and import it onto the editing system from the log.

Furthermore, after you have produced a rushes log it gives the ability for the director to look over all the rushes with the crew to analyze what happened. This means that the rushes can be checked an due to them being organized and easy available the analysis is not time consuming. It would be if you did not have a rushes log, then you would be searching through hours of footage to find a clip only to analyse and move on to the next.


What would a log look like? 

A video shot log is a written record of the shots on a tape or disk. The shot log can be made either before or after the shooting process however would be easier if it was made during the shoot, this is because it will be easier to log as you go down so you do not miss anything out and will save you time later.

A shot log consists of how many takes the clip took, the duration of the clip, the description of the clip, the audio and further comments. As you can see, the shot log is created in detail so each clip can easily be identified when needed in the editing process.




In the video above it gives a simple tutorial on how to create a shot list. As you can from watching the clip, each shot that he takes down is written in detail so the editor knows exactly what the clip consists of.