3 answers
Jack
Student
Canton, Georgia
1
Question
Asked
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I looking to be a film and video editor
I have 5 questions about this job
1. What is the best place to start practicing
2. What are some programs to have/avoid
3. Wat are good schools to go to
4. What is the best way to practice
5. What is your favorite part of the job
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3 answers
John Sklba
Content Creator Creature
5
Answers
Arlington, Tennessee
Updated
John’s Answer
1. What is the best place to start practicing
With whatever idea motivates you to edit. Want to make anime music videos, top ten dunks from your favorite NBA player, a video about your friends, whatever, just do it. Editing is a journey filled with many edits along the way.
2. What are some programs to have/avoid
In this field, the more you know, the more value you have. Software, hardware, 3D animation, all of it feeds into things editors might do or end up doing along the road. I'm a fan of Adobe Premiere. Others swear by Avid. Blackmagic's Divinci has a lot of editors who champion it. It doesn't matter which one you use, so long as you are using one. If all you have access to is Windows Movie Maker, use windows movie maker. Remember the objective is to edit content to share with others. It doesn't matter how you do it, just that you do it.
3. Wat are good schools to go to
I'm of the opinion school is not necessary to make a living in this field. I don't have a degree in editing and yet that is my primary source of income. Networking and some skills matter far more than a piece of paper you went into debt for. There's so much free information about editing out there, paying for that information is almost unnecessary. Now it might give you access to the technology you wouldn't have otherwise, but the knowledge on how to push the buttons in the software is freely out there.
4. What is the best way to practice
Sit down and do it. Make something. Go talk with people who are making something and offer to edit it.
5. What is your favorite part of the job
My editing life is rather unique to most editors I would imagine, so take that into mind. I have freedom of my time so long as I can get the work done. Bored at 2 am, let's edit. Wanna go to the cheese festival on a Wednesday at 3 pm, not a problem. If I drive a single day in a week, that's a lot for me. You can't get that freedom in a lot of situations, and I cherish it immensely.
Start downloading video and making edits.
Network with people trying to make content you can edit.
Learn an editing software in and and out.
Turn off the volume of a movies or show, and watch the edits. See how they ebb and flow. Compare shows like an animated action cartoon and a police drama to see how the edits compare and contrast.
Make notes when you see a bad edit and come up with a solution for how you would fix it. Fixing problems is a big part of an editors job.
With whatever idea motivates you to edit. Want to make anime music videos, top ten dunks from your favorite NBA player, a video about your friends, whatever, just do it. Editing is a journey filled with many edits along the way.
2. What are some programs to have/avoid
In this field, the more you know, the more value you have. Software, hardware, 3D animation, all of it feeds into things editors might do or end up doing along the road. I'm a fan of Adobe Premiere. Others swear by Avid. Blackmagic's Divinci has a lot of editors who champion it. It doesn't matter which one you use, so long as you are using one. If all you have access to is Windows Movie Maker, use windows movie maker. Remember the objective is to edit content to share with others. It doesn't matter how you do it, just that you do it.
3. Wat are good schools to go to
I'm of the opinion school is not necessary to make a living in this field. I don't have a degree in editing and yet that is my primary source of income. Networking and some skills matter far more than a piece of paper you went into debt for. There's so much free information about editing out there, paying for that information is almost unnecessary. Now it might give you access to the technology you wouldn't have otherwise, but the knowledge on how to push the buttons in the software is freely out there.
4. What is the best way to practice
Sit down and do it. Make something. Go talk with people who are making something and offer to edit it.
5. What is your favorite part of the job
My editing life is rather unique to most editors I would imagine, so take that into mind. I have freedom of my time so long as I can get the work done. Bored at 2 am, let's edit. Wanna go to the cheese festival on a Wednesday at 3 pm, not a problem. If I drive a single day in a week, that's a lot for me. You can't get that freedom in a lot of situations, and I cherish it immensely.
John recommends the following next steps:
Laura Weinberg
Television Editor
2
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Laura’s Answer
Hi there!
You can start practicing on iMovie or any editing program on your phone. Just shoot some footage & practice cutting it together.
Avid and Premiere are the most widely used professionally in the US.
There are lots of great schools for film/TV programs: Boston University, NYU, USC, UCLA and many more.
My favorite parts of the job are:
Sitting by myself for hours & hours and trying to figure out how to make the footage tell the story in the best way.
Putting all the pieces together; problem-solving.
Complaining to other editors about the footage I have but still trying to make it work.
You can start practicing on iMovie or any editing program on your phone. Just shoot some footage & practice cutting it together.
Avid and Premiere are the most widely used professionally in the US.
There are lots of great schools for film/TV programs: Boston University, NYU, USC, UCLA and many more.
My favorite parts of the job are:
Sitting by myself for hours & hours and trying to figure out how to make the footage tell the story in the best way.
Putting all the pieces together; problem-solving.
Complaining to other editors about the footage I have but still trying to make it work.
Thank you for sharing your perspective.
Jack
Gurpreet Lally
CareerVillage.org TeamCommunity Manager at CareerVillage
43
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Gurpreet’s Answer, CareerVillage.org Team
Although I'm not a film editor, I did do some research and will take a stab at answering some of your questions!
1. A great place to start is to learn. Some places to start are Lynda.com or watching YouTube videos about Adobe Premier Pro (or whatever software you're interested in). There are also free online courses or MOOCs (ex: Coursera) out there. Along with learning, practice what you learn. Open up the software and play around with the features or edit simple videos.
2, The one's that I've seen recommended the most on CareerVillage include Adobe Premier Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Avid. It seems like Adobe products are popular when it comes to editing and widely used so getting familiar with them would be a good idea.
3. Good schools include American Film Institute (AFI), USC, NYU, UCLA, and Chapman. This is not ranked in any way or a complete list but most of the schools that have a good film program are in LA because that is where all the major studios are located.
I'd suggest looking through the questions tagged film on CareerVillage because past students have asked some really fascinating questions you might also be interested in https://www.careervillage.org/questions/tagged/film
1. A great place to start is to learn. Some places to start are Lynda.com or watching YouTube videos about Adobe Premier Pro (or whatever software you're interested in). There are also free online courses or MOOCs (ex: Coursera) out there. Along with learning, practice what you learn. Open up the software and play around with the features or edit simple videos.
2, The one's that I've seen recommended the most on CareerVillage include Adobe Premier Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Avid. It seems like Adobe products are popular when it comes to editing and widely used so getting familiar with them would be a good idea.
3. Good schools include American Film Institute (AFI), USC, NYU, UCLA, and Chapman. This is not ranked in any way or a complete list but most of the schools that have a good film program are in LA because that is where all the major studios are located.
I'd suggest looking through the questions tagged film on CareerVillage because past students have asked some really fascinating questions you might also be interested in https://www.careervillage.org/questions/tagged/film
I appreciate this, thank you for the advice.
Jack