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Career as Video Editor?

R

rei101

macrumors 6502a
Dec 24, 2011
976
1
The thing with video editing is that 80% of what is needed anybody can do it. Anybody has a computer powerful enough and software are easy and people have more access and understanding of video than 10 years ago. You can even edit in your cellphone!

Today you need to manage certain skills.
2D animation is a must, be awesome in after effects.
Learn xml because 80% of the job you are going to find are web related.
Learn Photoshop and photography, illumination too.
Audio.... at least the basics: EQ, normalize, compression, noise elimination. Learn Protools or any other simple audio software like Apple Soundtrack, but learn it well.

Then, take project management training, keep learning about how to manage an office financially. You need to learn how the money works. Because many people out there will take advantage of you, it will happen and you may end up working several months for free.

Do not get into partnerships or investors and never be naive! Do not trust anybody because you will lose money. Read "Rich Dad Poor Dad".

Again... do not be naive, never, ever! people will make you work for free. Be on top of the situation, master the situations.
 
DustinB85

DustinB85

macrumors newbie
Nov 24, 2011
26
0
Not to hijack this thread, I was actually about to start another one similar but I figure I would just ask here. I personally have been getting into video production and editing over the course of the last three years. I know that is not a long time especially since I do it as a hobby. I work at a bank and do mortgages for a careers which I love (the money is isn't bad either :) so I'm not looking to make a career per say in video editing/production. I have however gotten pretty deep into it and have started to have a decent amount of people approaching me asking me to do videos for them. They always offer to pay or ask me what I charge but I never know what is fair or what to say. I only started this because I enjoyed it and my real job lets me buy all the toys to do so. I do have a built Mac Pro work stations with any and all software you can think of, Adobe suite, FCPX & friends, DaVinci etc etc etc.plus I shoot on a Canon DSLR and have a few L lenses, mice and other equipment to get the job done well enough. I don't think I am great by any stretch of the imagination but I am getting enough requests where I do need to start charging since it is my time and my money invested.

What is fair/going rate for an editor that knows Adobe Ppro/FCPX well? I am still somewhat in the early stages of learning After Effects/Motion but I am picking it up quickly. I honestly have no real clue what people charge out there. Any input is great. Thank you guys.
 
LethalWolfe

LethalWolfe

macrumors G3
Jan 11, 2002
9,370
124
Los Angeles
rei101 said:
The thing with video editing is that 80% of what is needed anybody can do it. Anybody has a computer powerful enough and software are easy and people have more access and understanding of video than 10 years ago. You can even edit in your cellphone!
Click to expand...

People can buy ingredients at the grocery store and prepare meals at home yet their is still a career for people that want to prepare meals for others. Guitars are readily from the local music store or pawn shop yet professional musicians still exist. The vast majority of the first world is literate yet people still make a living as journalists, writers and copy editors.


Amateurs, hobbyists and/or young professional having unprecedented access to gear & software shouldn't threaten experienced editors any more than people having access to hammers and saws should threaten experienced carpenters.



DustinB85 said:
What is fair/going rate for an editor that knows Adobe Ppro/FCPX well? I am still somewhat in the early stages of learning After Effects/Motion but I am picking it up quickly. I honestly have no real clue what people charge out there. Any input is great. Thank you guys.
Click to expand...

This is a very common question that has no real answer. Location plays a huge part in this equation as an editor in rural Oklahoma isn't going to be able to charge as much as an editor in LA or NYC even if they have similar skill sets and work on similar types of projects. Even in LA or NYC some projects will pay $25/hr while others will pay $200/hr. There's not hard and fast rule.

You might want to call around to video businesses in your area and see what their rates are to get an idea.
 
Z

zyr123

macrumors 6502
May 31, 2009
478
47
Career as Video Editor?

Just to update you all. I got into city tech in brooklyn. They have a pretty good film school. right now i'm on a gap year in israel.
 
Last edited:
gdeusthewhizkid

gdeusthewhizkid

macrumors 6502a
Nov 14, 2008
752
41
NY|NJ
wow guys thanks.

This is a great thread. I don't know how i bumped into this thread. But I live in the new york and new jersey area and it is hard to make a living in the entertainment industry as a whole. I was a music producer extensively for a long time since 99 and as of this year transitioned into photography, videography, and video editing. I've made a few bucks but nothing major. I also am a certified IT Professional and that is shaky as well. Coming from my experience it's hard to make money in both fields for me right now but Im thankful that I do have these talents because there's people that can't find a job period. Im thankful for IT because it keeps enough money in my pocket where I can afford new computer or a refurbished Mac Pro and do the upgrades myself. Teach myself Lightroom5, Aperture 3, and FCPx. But I love being creative even though the money isn't great. Im thankful to have a creative outlet...
 
gdeusthewhizkid

gdeusthewhizkid

macrumors 6502a
Nov 14, 2008
752
41
NY|NJ
rei101 said:
The thing with video editing is that 80% of what is needed anybody can do it. Anybody has a computer powerful enough and software are easy and people have more access and understanding of video than 10 years ago. You can even edit in your cellphone!

Today you need to manage certain skills.
2D animation is a must, be awesome in after effects.
Learn xml because 80% of the job you are going to find are web related.
Learn Photoshop and photography, illumination too.
Audio.... at least the basics: EQ, normalize, compression, noise elimination. Learn Protools or any other simple audio software like Apple Soundtrack, but learn it well.

Then, take project management training, keep learning about how to manage an office financially. You need to learn how the money works. Because many people out there will take advantage of you, it will happen and you may end up working several months for free.

Do not get into partnerships or investors and never be naive! Do not trust anybody because you will lose money. Read "Rich Dad Poor Dad".

Again... do not be naive, never, ever! people will make you work for free. Be on top of the situation, master the situations.
Click to expand...

your response is great.. I will get that book on my iPad right now...
 
Z

zyr123

macrumors 6502
May 31, 2009
478
47
Currently uploading the video for my school that will be played on israel night back in the USA. I'll post it once its uploaded, basically israel night is when all parents and students from the NJ and NY area, come to hear representatives from israel who come to talk about the schools.
 
C

Chaos123x

macrumors 68000
Jul 8, 2008
1,698
34
Sorry for dredging up a old thread but I must tell you that yes this industry has changed a lot in the last few years. The tables have turned, in its all about chewing you and up and spitting you out.

Now days no one wants to hire experienced workers and pay them a decent wage. Seems like everyone just wants to hire people in there early 20s and pay them well below 40K a year. By the time you have think you have the experience to make more money nobody will hire you, when they can pay some kid a lot less. Lots of companies just have interns do all the work for free anyway.

It's a great job to have while living at home at your parents but I would no longer consider it to be a real long term career. If you want to make good money you still can doing corporate videos but those are gigs are becoming less and less availible as companies do it in house.

Seems like having a lot of experience is now detrimental to your chances of getting a job. So yeah your best bet is to keep it as hobby while making money somewhere else to fund your hobby. I mean your never going to be the next JJ Abrams when your just cutting wedding videos anway, your better off doing a job that pays halfway decent and using the money to make some kick ass short films that might one day get you into the upper echelon of the biz. I'd say that working your way up or paying your dues is a fantasy most of the time, you're never done paying your dues.

But also be aware that what you work on is very important as well. Say you have 20 years of experience editing TV commercials, local TV shows and you want to get a gig editing a reality TV show? Probably not going to happen because they consider that as no experience at all. ZERO! Nothing at all. If you wanted to do that you should of started as a assistant editor on a similar program years before than.

Quiz: Who's more likely to get a job on a TV show? A guy who has shot, edited and produced countless commercial videos and corporate projects? Or a young person that got the producer coffee for the last 6 months but doesn't even know how to edit very well?


The coffee person wins evertime because they have more experience working on those types of shows the producer makes. Technical skills don't really matter because you need to know your exact job. On bigger shows the jobs are so segmented that the producer can't even tell you what they want, they have no idea how to even describe what they want because they never shot anything or edited anything ever (they got coffee for somebody else years earlier). So somebody with lots of technical skills won't be able to do the job not because they can't it's because nobody will be there to tell them what they want. They want somebody that knows exactly how they work and also has the skills to do the job.

So beware of working on projects for free for "experience" sure that experience might help you hone your skills and make you really good at what you do, but the experience means absolutely nothing on a resume if it's not the type of project your looking to get a job in. So don't waste your time helping out scumbags with there projects for free for "experience" and try to get gigs where you might get a credit on a recognizable show or movie. Otherwise use your talents on your own projects.

I would not recommend going to school for it anymore either the price of school these days is not worth it. I see kids with over 100k of debt just to make 40k a year (probably a lot less) does not make sense. Plus your chances of even landing a job is slim to none.

That being said I love the work and can't imagine doing anything else for a job, but if you can find satisfaction in any other line of work I would recommend doing that. I'm in too deep to quit now.
 
Last edited:
AroundTheFur922

AroundTheFur922

macrumors member
Jan 30, 2013
78
17
NJ
Chaos123x said:
Sorry for dredging up a old thread but I must tell you that yes this industry has changed a lot in the last few years. The tables have turned, in its all about chewing you and up and spitting you out.

Now days no one wants to hire experienced workers and pay them a decent wage. Seems like everyone just wants to hire people in there early 20s and pay them well below 40K a year. By the time you have think you have the experience to make more money nobody will hire you, when they can pay some kid a lot less. Lots of companies just have interns do all the work for free anyway.

It's a great job to have while living at home at your parents but I would no longer consider it to be a real long term career. If you want to make good money you still can doing corporate videos but those are gigs are becoming less and less availible as companies do it in house.

Seems like having a lot of experience is now detrimental to your chances of getting a job. So yeah your best bet is to keep it as hobby while making money somewhere else to fund your hobby. I mean your never going to be the next JJ Abrams when your just cutting wedding videos anway, your better off doing a job that pays halfway decent and using the money to make some kick ass short films that might one day get you into the upper echelon of the biz. I'd say that working your way up or paying your dues is a fantasy most of the time, you're never done paying your dues.

But also be aware that what you work on is very important as well. Say you have 20 years of experience editing TV commercials, local TV shows and you want to get a gig editing a reality TV show? Probably not going to happen because they consider that as no experience at all. ZERO! Nothing at all. If you wanted to do that you should of started as a assistant editor on a similar program years before than.

Quiz: Who's more likely to get a job on a TV show? A guy who has shot, edited and produced countless commercial videos and corporate projects? Or a young person that got the producer coffee for the last 6 months but doesn't even know how to edit very well?


The coffee person wins evertime because they have more experience working on those types of shows the producer makes. Technical skills don't really matter because you need to know your exact job. On bigger shows the jobs are so segmented that the producer can't even tell you what they want, they have no idea how to even describe what they want because they never shot anything or edited anything ever (they got coffee for somebody else years earlier). So somebody with lots of technical skills won't be able to do the job not because they can't it's because nobody will be there to tell them what they want. They want somebody that knows exactly how they work and also has the skills to do the job.

So beware of working on projects for free for "experience" sure that experience might help you hone your skills and make you really good at what you do, but the experience means absolutely nothing on a resume if it's not the type of project your looking to get a job in. So don't waste your time helping out scumbags with there projects for free for "experience" and try to get gigs where you might get a credit on a recognizable show or movie. Otherwise use your talents on your own projects.

I would not recommend going to school for it anymore either the price of school these days is not worth it. I see kids with over 100k of debt just to make 40k a year (probably a lot less) does not make sense. Plus your chances of even landing a job is slim to none.

That being said I love the work and can't imagine doing anything else for a job, but if you can find satisfaction in any other line of work I would recommend doing that. I'm in too deep to quit now.
Click to expand...

As someone who's a year away from getting an Associate's in Media Studies/Video Production, that has to be the most depressing thing I've ever read.
 
H

handsome pete

macrumors 68000
Aug 15, 2008
1,725
259
AroundTheFur922 said:
As someone who's a year away from getting an Associate's in Media Studies/Video Production, that has to be the most depressing thing I've ever read.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't take it to heart. Everyone has different experiences in the industry. It's competitive, but on the bright side, it's never been easier and more affordable to just go out and create something than it is now. I wouldn't put too much stock into a random post you read on some tech website message board, though I suppose you could say that about my post as well. Regardless, good luck.
 
Z

zyr123

macrumors 6502
May 31, 2009
478
47
Any sva alumni who are editors on here? I just got in via transfer. Any suggestions for me? Teachers to take a class with etc.
 
B

boch82

macrumors 6502
Apr 14, 2008
328
24
handsome pete said:
I wouldn't take it to heart. Everyone has different experiences in the industry. It's competitive, but on the bright side, it's never been easier and more affordable to just go out and create something than it is now. I wouldn't put too much stock into a random post you read on some tech website message board, though I suppose you could say that about my post as well. Regardless, good luck.
Click to expand...

Moral of that entire story is you need to be a well rounded editor. Starting out dont pigeon hole yourself into only one aspect.

You need to be able to cut promos, a reality show, a talk show. And you need to be flexible to do that on any system.

As a seasoned editor who is now on the corporate side of the industry, I can tell you, there is a ton of work out there. Build your network early and there should be no problems making a good living as an editor.
 
K

Kurri

macrumors 6502
Mar 6, 2009
401
126
I would seriously look into Video Symphony. I went to Symphony and feel it is a great way to get the experience you need for editing. You wont have papers, but all hands on training and you walk away with a demo reel. I think the program is 2 years if I remember right. They have housing which I recommend because the industry is all about contacts contacts contacts. Hustling for the next job. Where are you located? In California?

Here is something you probably know, but should be discussed :) Freelance is hard work! If you want to do films, its 99% all freelance. When that movie ends, you are looking for another job. On another subject, I have a friend who has been on Bones for 11 seasons, so if TV interests you, it can be easier if you get on a successful show. But be prepared to not have a job for a month or so, so save your money. Its frustrating at times. I was freelance for about 5 years until a company approached me and asked if I would be the video editor for them. I am no longer freelance, which I enjoy due to the fact the pay is steady & the hours are more normal.

If you are looking to do special effects in film, and you know that is what you want to do, then you need to become an expert in After Effects (and Motion - some smaller productions use Motion so it would be good to know both). In major films, special effects are done by a different editor than the one who edits the film. In smaller projects, the editor can be tasked to do it all. So knowing both is a great idea. Video Symphony is great because you learn on Avid, but also on FCP.

Thought I would throw my 2 cents in. Best of luck and feel free to message me with any questions you might have.
 
joema2

joema2

macrumors 68000
Sep 3, 2013
1,645
863
AroundTheFur922 said:
As someone who's a year away from getting an Associate's in Media Studies/Video Production, that has to be the most depressing thing I've ever read.
Click to expand...

That was one viewpoint. Anyone considering a career in video editing should read several key books:

When The Shooting Stops, The Cutting Begins -- Ralph RossnBlum: http://amzn.com/B00ADOFT5O

Timeline 2, -- John Buck: http://amzn.com/B005ISB094

Plus there are several related podcasts. Some of these are old but have extensive interviews with editors discussing their career paths. These will give a more diverse, balanced perspective.

The Edit Bay by Shane Ross: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-edit-bay/id306519484?mt=2

Command Edit: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/command-edit/id995040116?mt=2

Film Editing podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/film-editing-podcast/id118745346?mt=2
 
R

rei101

macrumors 6502a
Dec 24, 2011
976
1
Now me...

I am a project manager, post production manager and probably a video editor.

I say probably because I know how to edit and very well actually but I do not sell my self as such.

Go to school to learn about video formats, some history, how to behave in an studio and all that.

Then, learn about media management, how to organize the media. In any career you do learn first how to be organize. Learn to trouble shot. I have an intern seating beside me that always have problems with the software and I always tell him: google the solution, learn to find the answers. You need to learn to troubleshot your tools.

Then, the best exercise is to start to make promos and trailers. Learn to create an story. You need to develop criteria when editing, how to cut conversations, what take is the right one, how to cheat the viewer.

And learn Avid and Premiere, not many people are using Final Cut X. Production houses are using either Premiere or Avid.

And if you want to use effects, that is not video editing, that is motion graphic s and is an entirely different world. You have to start graphic design no matter what, if you do not study graphic design do not ever mention the words After Effects because you are going to be mediocre at it.

Actually, I can actually suggest you to learn graphic design and start to work on video editing by yourself, because with graphic design you will gain a load of knowledge that will improve your videos big time.
 
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