I work as a "video producer" with about 15 years experience in video editing, five years professionally. I do a lot of freelance work as a video editor, director, and producer, and a lot of that comes from the video games industry, cutting promos, interview clips, and so on.
I think there's a misunderstanding a video editor is just the guy who pieces the finished footage together. That's part of it, but it often feels more like I'm a cartoonist choosing the best moments to tell the story. I've been able to tell entirely new stories by editing together old video clips.
Editors are not just the guys who piece everything together for the writer and director. In my experience working on my own projects, I've found that editing is where the story really comes together. That's where you have final say. I can excise entire characters or loop in dialog to change the meaning of things. Just look at reality television for an example of how powerful a good editor can be. Almost none of what you're looking at on those shows actually ever happened.
The job itself is about a 10 for satisfaction, but monetarily, it's becoming more and more of a part time thing. The fact is that just about anybody can handle the software these days and you don't get hired on your technical prowess alone anymore. You need a really killer reel to find enough work to do this full time.
Film is my first love. Whether I'm putting together a short film project or cutting someone else's video, it's the art, the science of film that gets me going. I've been doing this for a long time. I used to do this with a camcorder and two VCRs back before high speed editing was made available to the general public. In fact, I'd trace this back to when I made flipbooks as a kid. I'd be doing this whether or not it paid.
If I could go back and do something differently, I think I would have approached this with a little more focus, or else I might have chosen not to do it professionally in the first place but to keep doing it as a hobby. You really need to work hard to make a living in this field.
One piece of advice I can give is this: don't deal with nitpicky clients. If they have three dozen notes for you on the first draft, they're going to have three dozen notes for you on the second draft, too, and on the third, and the fourth. Some clients refuse to be made happy or they're not sure what they want in the first place, and you can't afford to play around until they get it right.
I’ve had some strange clients, too. I've been asked to cut together a promo clip for a DVD on how to dance with your cat. The pay was fairly low, but the real reason I had to turn it down was that I couldn't watch the footage without laughing. Though, some clients just give me hours and hours of dull, boring footage that I can hardly do anything at all with. The challenge of just staying away while scanning that stuff is a real chore.
I keep doing this job because I love film. That's what keeps me going. Sometimes when I talk to someone who sees what goes into my work and really appreciates it on the level of a cinephile, I'm glad to have carved out my little niche in the world of movies and video.
Deadlines can be stressful, but this is a big part of who I am and what I love, so there's really no worry over the stress or balancing it with my life.
I never know what amount of money I'm making on video editing projects alone. One year it might be thirty thousand for a few major projects, the next it could be five grand which I supplement with other video work, writing and photography gigs.
As for vacation, I take a week off now and then. As a freelancer you don't really have vacation time, you have "work slowing down time."
Especially today, certification in the newest software can't hurt, but as long as you have a good demo reel, I find not many employers or clients really care what sort of degrees, plaques and certificates you have hanging on your office wall.
In five years, I’d like to be writing, producing and directing feature films. I have one I'm putting together on Kickstarter about an eco-friendly superhero, but you never know how those things will pan out, so in the meantime I'm happy clipping footage together and expressing myself with my own short films now and then.
This is a true story as told to DiversityJobs.com where you can find helpful career interviews and job search advice in your desired industry. Visit to find a career interview in your field today.JustJobs.com is ajob search engine that finds job listings from company career pages, other job boards, newspapers and associations. With one search, they help you find the job with your name on it.Video editor job image from Shutterstock
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Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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