How long does it take to shoot the average major motion picture, vs time spent in editing and post production?

Answer 1

An average movie takes about 2-3 months in actual production (filming). During this time, the Director and Editor usually work together to start putting the pieces together into a rough cut of the film as they are filmed, basically to insure that each scene looks the way they want it to and that it came out well and matches with the rest of the film.

Post production is commonly the longest phase of creating a movie, especially if it has a lot of special effects. It typically takes upward of six months, and movies like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings can actually spend over a year in post. Post production also involves adding music, and usually calling back some actors for quick additions that help the flow of the movie. Editing is putting all of the pieces together, and is really what post production is all about. The length of time in editing depends largely on the pieces the editor is given and how much experience they've had in the field.

Production and Post Production lengths vary depending on how much work was done in pre-production as well. Obviously if a lot of pre-production work was done, the process flows more smoothly.

Answer 2

Somewhere in the vicinity of a month to a month and a half.