Guide
Time per ad calculator: 3 hours of work, 7 days of waiting in a worked example
Updated
Your time per ad is the hours of work on each step plus the days the ad waits between steps. In the example below, 3 hours of work take 7 days from script to approved ad.
In short
- Your time per ad is the hours of work on each step plus the days you wait between steps.
- In the example below, about 3 hours of work take a week from script to approved ad.
- Each round of changes means waiting for the editor again, then waiting for approval again.
- In Cutroom the edit comes back about a minute after you upload your clip, so there is no editor to wait for.
- No editing tool speeds up approvals. That depends on who signs off.
- For the Cutroom edit to come back after upload
- About 1 min
- Longest clip you can upload
- 3 min
- Ads you need for each winning ad
- 13 to 20
How to calculate time per ad
Your time per ad is the hours of work on each step plus the days the ad waits between steps. The example below adds them up.
- In the example, the work adds up to about 3 hours: 30 minutes of script, 20 of filming, 2 hours of editing and 10 of approval.
- The waiting adds up to 7 days: 2 until filming, 3 until the editor starts and 2 until someone approves.
- Each round of changes adds more. In this example, that is 4 more days: 2 for the editor and 2 for approval.
Example: time for one ad, step by step
Example inputs, not benchmarks. Your own hours and days will differ.
| Step | Work | Waiting after it | With Cutroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Script | 30 minutes | 2 days until filming | The same |
| Filming | 20 minutes | 3 days until the editor starts | No wait: you upload the clip yourself |
| Editing | 2 hours | 2 days until approval | The edit comes back about a minute after upload |
| Approval | 10 minutes | None | The same |
| Total | About 3 hours | 7 days | The 3-day wait for the editor is gone |
Step: Script
- Work
- 30 minutes
- Waiting after it
- 2 days until filming
- With Cutroom
- The same
Step: Filming
- Work
- 20 minutes
- Waiting after it
- 3 days until the editor starts
- With Cutroom
- No wait: you upload the clip yourself
Step: Editing
- Work
- 2 hours
- Waiting after it
- 2 days until approval
- With Cutroom
- The edit comes back about a minute after upload
Step: Approval
- Work
- 10 minutes
- Waiting after it
- None
- With Cutroom
- The same
Step: Total
- Work
- About 3 hours
- Waiting after it
- 7 days
- With Cutroom
- The 3-day wait for the editor is gone
Why do changes take so long?
One round of changes sends the ad back to the editor, and then back to whoever approves it.
- Each round means waiting for the editor again, then waiting for approval again.
- In the example above, that adds about 4 days for every round.
- When you edit the ad yourself, a change takes minutes, because you do not wait for anyone to start.
- In Cutroom you make the change and export again, which costs 14 credits for a 40-second ad.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
How can you make ads faster?
You save the most time by cutting out waiting, for example by editing the ads yourself instead of waiting for an editor.
- If you film 4 ads on 4 different days, you wait for 4 filming dates. If you film all 4 in one sitting, you wait for one.
- If you edit the ads yourself, nobody waits for an editor. In the example, that removes the 3-day wait.
How does speed help you find a winning ad?
You need 13 to 20 ads for each winner. Only about 5 to 8% of ads win, according to Motion's analysis of 550,000+ Meta ads.
The faster you make ads, the sooner you reach that number.
How long 13 to 20 ads take to make
| New ads a month | Time to make 13 to 20 ads |
|---|---|
| 2 | 7 to 10 months |
| 4 | 4 to 5 months |
| 16, if you film 4 scripts each week | 1 to 2 months |
New ads a month: 2
- Time to make 13 to 20 ads
- 7 to 10 months
New ads a month: 4
- Time to make 13 to 20 ads
- 4 to 5 months
New ads a month: 16, if you film 4 scripts each week
- Time to make 13 to 20 ads
- 1 to 2 months
Where Cutroom fits
With Cutroom you do not wait for an editor: the edit comes back about a minute after you upload.
- To change the ad, you edit the words. Fix a misheard word and the caption follows.
- Highlight a phrase and a b-roll clip goes over exactly those words.
- The style you pick before you upload sets the pace. On Punch and Native you can slow it from a word Cutroom took out.
- Each clip costs 100 credits to edit, and export costs 20 credits per minute of video.
- Cutroom does not shorten approvals, and it only makes 9:16 videos.
Which waits Cutroom takes out
| Wait | Taken out? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Waiting for an editor to start | Yes | You upload the clip and the edit comes back in about a minute |
| Waiting for the editor during changes | Yes | You make the change yourself and export again |
| Waiting for a filming date | No | You can film several scripts in one sitting and upload each clip |
| Waiting for approval | No | That depends on who signs off |
Wait: Waiting for an editor to start
- Taken out?
- Yes
- How
- You upload the clip and the edit comes back in about a minute
Wait: Waiting for the editor during changes
- Taken out?
- Yes
- How
- You make the change yourself and export again
Wait: Waiting for a filming date
- Taken out?
- No
- How
- You can film several scripts in one sitting and upload each clip
Wait: Waiting for approval
- Taken out?
- No
- How
- That depends on who signs off
Questions people ask
- How long does it take to make a video ad?
- In the example on this page, about 3 hours of work and a week end to end. With Cutroom the edit comes back about a minute after upload, so filming and approval decide the rest.
- How do I calculate time per ad?
- Add up the hours of work and the days of waiting for every step, from script to approval. Count each round of changes as two more waits: one for the editor, one for approval.
- What takes the most time when making an ad?
- Waiting, mostly for a filming date, for the editor and for approvals. In the example on this page, the work is about 3 hours and the waiting is 7 days.
- Does editing the ad yourself save time?
- Yes. It removes the wait for an editor and turns each change into minutes of work. In Cutroom, exporting a 40-second ad again costs 14 credits.
- Will a faster tool fix slow approvals?
- No. Approvals depend on how many people sign off and how quickly they answer.
Film your next scripts in one sitting and get each edit back in about a minute. Your first video is free.