Sheet AM-G-02 · Rev. C · 2026Guide
How a commercial shoot works
From booking, a typical ArchesMedia job reaches the shoot in 2 to 4 weeks, and the first cut arrives 1 to 2 weeks after it, with two rounds of revisions included.
01AM-G-02
The short answer.
A typical job reaches the shoot two to four weeks after it is booked. The first cut arrives one to two weeks after the shoot. Two rounds of revisions are included.
These are typical timings for work produced through ArchesMedia in Dallas-Fort Worth. A job with casting, several locations or many deliverables can take longer.
02AM-G-02
The steps.
- 01 · The brief
- Send what you are making, where it shoots, when, and the list of finished pieces you need.
- 02 · The estimate
- A line-item estimate, priced against the rate card, with the crew, the gear, the post and the days each on their own line. Overtime is written in before the shoot.
- 03 · Prep · 2 to 4 weeks
- From booking, prep usually takes two to four weeks: the crew, the gear, the locations and permits, and talent where the job needs it.
- 04 · The shoot
- A full day is ten hours on set, and Joey Arcisz is the director of photography on the day.
- 05 · First cut · 1 to 2 weeks
- The first cut usually arrives one to two weeks after the shoot.
- 06 · Revisions · 2 rounds
- Two rounds of revisions are included. Edit time past the second round is billed.
- 07 · Delivery
- The finished pieces are delivered in the formats on the deliverables list.
03AM-G-02
What keeps it on schedule.
- Send the deliverables with the brief
- The list of finished pieces sets the crew, the days and the edit, so it belongs at the start.
- Gather feedback into each round
- Two rounds are included, so one set of notes per round, from everyone who has a say, keeps the edit inside them.
NextAM-G-02
Get a real number.
Sources
- First-party. The timings and the revision rounds are Joey Arcisz's figures, given in writing on October 11, 2026.
- First-party. The ten-hour day and the overtime rule are from the rate card on joeyarcisz.com, as of October 2026. Rate card.
Published 2026-10-11 · Updated 2026-10-11
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Joey Arcisz · Dallas, TexasProduction / Licensing