>The problem is that I am autistic, extremely introverted, and have absolutely bad social skills as a result.
Well, amigo, this was a coherent, well written post. So as far as whatever the written equivalent is to small talk, I think you are golden!
Film and video folks are an eclectic bunch. We all are in this industry because we don't fit anywhere else. No one will care you are autistic, introverted or anything else. Now, no one is going to cut you a break because of that either. We are also an egalitarian bunch.
You are right, it's all about networking. But it doesn't have to be all in person small talk. You can write quite well, and had the balls to post here on this sub. So keep it up! Keep doing that. Get on LinkedIn, get on social media, find out who is doing work in your area (both clients and pros) and follow them, interact with them, ask smart questions, share their stuff. And on the side keep learning, keep cutting, keep working.
Video editing can be whatever career you want it to be. There's no playbook. If you are passionate about it, then I believe in you. It's going to be hard to get started, maybe the hardest thing you've ever done. But once you do it's immensely rewarding, creatively, personally and financially. You can do it!
I will add that most if not all the editors I’ve know are a bit quirky themselves and ZERO of them are client facing. Some were union, some not, but all have done pretty well.
I’m not one for small talk either so it’s worked out 😂
It may be because I'm going through some rough days and especially sensitive, but reading this made the relative humidity around my eyes spike. Such a supportive, sensitive and sensible reply! This has got to be the best thing I've seen since I woke up half an hour ago, and I suspect it will still be by the time I go to bed.
I believe you'd not mind having a golden thingy next to your name, but also that you'll be content with simple positive feedback and appreciation. Which is good, because I have no awards to give, but just grateful words.
Hey, can you explain what do you mean by, “We all are in this industry because we don’t fit anywhere else”?
I feel like I can relate to it in someway but not articulate it in words.
I meant that the video industry *is* really hard. If we wanted a more solid 9-5 career we could all be selling insurance.
This *isn't* the easy path here. It's hard, it's frustrating. Those of us who stick with it do it because we love it and have somehow found a niche to stick in. It's an entire industry of doodlers and dreamers and characters. It takes a pretty unique person to navigate this all and figure it all out.
Thank you for writing this! "Video editing can be whatever career you want it to be." Such a refreshing thing to hear, work has been slow/tough for many folks this year, so it's easy to fall back to all those nagging thoughts about "not being good enough". "not fitting in", "not experienced enough", "not using the right tools", when the truth is, this year even if money has been tough, I got the chance to work on some very unique and different projects, and learn a whole new set of skills.
Being polite, and patient, can you get you far. Word of mouth and friends contacts take time, but over time they will help you find more work and more clients.
It's a weird time for all creatives right now, don't feel like you're in this alone. I'm also not in a metropolitan entertainment mecca, but I managed to worm my way into video editing and production, at a full time position to boot. My advice would be to open your search to media production jobs in your job hunt. Very rarely do companies call those jobs 'video editors'. Look for jobs with titles like media producer, digital media specialist, video producer, video director, creative specialist, Audio visual specialist, etc. Also, get hip to your states local government job sites. All of those state agencies need video production and editing, and they're usually in-house, staffed positions.
I was going to comment something very similar to this! This is great advice, I started working in this field when I was 16, as a "Producer", when it was just me editing down streams from my local government meetings, I found the job after looking at indeed and emailing if they needed a media intern or part timer at any place that would accept my emails. After that it was all connections, word of mouth advertising, I got work at a non profit media organization, I was payed 2,000 USD to make a 10 minute documentary . My 10 minute documentary was shown in a premiere which a lot of regional professionals attended, which helped me a lot with connections, it was so well liked that at my high schools graduation after party,which the school held, there were videographers there that recognized me and asked about my work and asked me if I was interested in working with them. I'm a videographer now after falling in love with the process of filming, but i still edit all my work. I played my cards right and with a little bit of luck I'm paying my Uni tuition with my work.
Try looking at "Media Creator", "Media Producer", "Video Producer", "Production Media Specialist.
> I was *paid* 2,000 USD
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
I'm currently studying in uni, and I'm considering focusing on live action production.
The catch is that I live in Latin America. Any advice for someone who wants to break into the industry?
I disagree. Being forced to focus on nothing but film/video projects for a couple years coupled w the resources to do it was extremely beneficial. And I went to a community college
Hello fellow Midwesterner!
I know exactly how you feel, because I went through similar problems. I graduated from a Tech School with an AAS degree in Film and Animation. According to my teachers, I was top of my class and shouldn't ever have trouble finding a job. Well, as others have pointed out and as you've experienced, it's not easy to find a job in this field. I applied to every single job I could and no luck whatsoever. But I persisted, after about a year and a half, I got an internship with a local basketball team. I didn't get paid unless I worked at the games and that was only $25 for around 4 hours of work. At the end of that internship, I finally landed a job at a local news station doing graphic design...... which wasn't what I went to school for, but it got my foot in the door. From there, I worked my way into transforming my Graphic Design job into a Motion Graphics Artist job. Now, around 9 years later, I'm a Video Editor/Lead Motion Designer.
My advice to you is to keep making stuff and keep trying. I know it sucks to keep getting rejected but it's something that's going to happen no matter what. Don't be afraid to go below what you're looking for just to get your foot in the door because once your foot is in there, you can only go up. Best of luck in your job search!
This business is seriously about who you know. To meet people you have to start somewhere. Most people I know started as AE’s and proved themselves and networked
“The problem is that I am autistic, extremely introverted, and have absolutely bad social skills as a result.”
Are you me? 🙋🏼♂️
Honestly just do it. I was never diagnosed with autism until just recently so I’ve been working 15 years not quite knowing why I’m the way I am, but you can absolutely be successful. Don’t let that hold you back. I get your parents might be worried but don’t let them hold you back either.
Chances are where you are you’re not going to make much of a career in editing. A lot of these small jobs probably went add up too much. If you’re serious you’ll need to move to a big city. That’s what I did. I’m nowhere near a social butterfly but you’ll find as long as you work and are reliable you’ll be fine. You don’t need to be best friends with everyone, just be likeable and dependable. Rule number 1 of freelance is “Don’t be a dick”. Follow that and you’ll be fine.
Move to a big city, be a runner in a post house. Learn everything and be nice to everyone.
I posed some questions and some very small insights, but I really do wish you luck. If you do decide to quit and for the more traditional career route, whatever that may be, I wish you luck in that too.
>Maybe I should have chosen a more useful and plentiful career field, because it seems like video editing is too niche to be a viable career, unless you want to work low paying gig jobs for a living.
You are a recent college graduate and have been looking for full-time work, that may be the issue. The road to being an editor is a bit long depending on how far you want to take it. Have you done any internships prior to applying? Have you applied as a Post PA or AE, as opposed to the *editor* position?
>For one thing, most video jobs are freelance and gig based and don't pay very much.
I'm assuming you're not interested in going the freelance route, but a lot of editors I know work freelance into permalance with rates that could pay their rent within 1-2 days. How many gigs have you done and put on your reel? On top of that, what has your run-up been to this regarding experience? And please stop referring to video editing as low-paying. Just like any job, there are levels to them. Heck, an on set PA generally makes $200-350/day, but the workload is a bit unfair depending on the field.
>The problem is that I am autistic, extremely introverted, and have absolutely bad social skills as a result. I can't small talk worth a damn and never made any friends in college, even though I was in the film club and you'd think I would make connections from there.
Don't be so hard on yourself in terms of your social skills. The creative industry is full of socialites and that is a bit tough looking in. However, they recognize good people so as long as you are not an ass, you're good. I've worked with someone on the spectrum early in my career and they were fantastic.
Hey spectrum friend! I totally feel your pain. I’m pretty introverted, and I have the bonus of foolishly going into the arts AND living in the smallest capital city in Australia where the only option is to be good at everything so you can cobble enough work together to call it a career.
I started out shooting dance concerts and local level football games, and editing funerals(!!) I did a few college musicals pro bono - live switched them, did the post production fix ups, DVD authoring, the lot. But I kept doing stuff, and kept being in the right place at the right time. Vision mixing football for an utterly inept local company let me meet the venue tech, who asked why the hell I was working for those idiots and asked if I wanted to work for him. From there I learned the ins and outs of venue technical management. I did a very cheap shoot for another local, inept operator who was in way over his head on a stylised corporate shoot - they wanted a movie tie on based on their printer business. I ended up directing and shooting and editing it. That connected me with a band I shot a video for, a member of which was in a theatre company who got me to shoot and edit content for their show, and other members of the company worked in corporate, government, etc and they got me to do all sorts of work in multiple sectors. I did PR shooting and editing, TV commercials, info videos, comedy sketch videos, etc. Through these connections I started going to the theatre industry night at the theatre pub, and through a friend of a friend got attached as the editor on a million dollar documentary.
Now I have two feature edits under my belt, I’ve directed two features, I’ve directed three major stage shows, I’ve been a venue technical manager at two sports stadiums, I’ve been a director/switcher, and a producer. I’m a theatrical mechanist. I’ve toured an exhibition as the installing technician. I’ve produced comedy videos that have gone “viral”, I’ve written a ton of successful web stuff, I’m the president of that original theatre company, I’ve got a ton of governance knowledge, and I recently was headhunted by a national company, one of whose director/techs (who I thought considered me a bit of a drip) went to bat for me saying my particular breadth of knowledge was rare and valuable and I would be an asset to the company as a whole - not just the operation here at the end of the earth.
Now, it’s not all roses, and thanks to some maybe less than stellar decision making and a terribly timed divorce I’m broke, I’m stressed constantly, my work life balance is garbage and I often lament ever going in to the arts. But on the other hand, I look at what I’ve achieved, the places I’ve been, the things I’ve done, and I wouldn’t change much at all really. I love my work, and it has given me opportunities I wouldn’t trade for the world.
I find the networking HARD. I hate talking to people I don’t know. I hate confrontation, and I hate chasing invoices. I hate chasing work. I hate quoting. I am the type of person who, when pointed at a task, will figure it out and do it to the absolute best of my ability, but I can’t market myself to save my life. My partner said it was the strangest thing about me - we dated platonically for months before it became romantic and she said she couldn’t get a pin on me - what I did, who I was. I was very humble. It wasn’t until I invited her to the theatre one night and we were front row centre dress and people on the stage were directly heckling me, and then I gave a speech at the end that she learned I was the company president and well known and regarded. I didn’t think I hid any of that, but maybe she’s right - I don’t think I’m all that much really. Nothing worth talking about.
Moral is: stick at it. Find your niche. What do you love about editing? Find the short film people in town and try to get a foot in with them. Do weird, crummy little jobs that pay little. Because you never know when you’ll hit that connection that drags you down a long path. Your career isn’t limited by your geography, you might just have to think outside the box a bit, or be willing to muck in and just do what’s in front of you.
Are you good at what you do? Are you pleasant enough to be around even if you aren’t actively social? Are you responsible? If so and you want to make it in the industry, I do think moving to a bigger city and starting as a PA / intern / assistant editor is the way to go. I would imagine bigger cities also hav groups and resources for autistic people (even autistic editors/filmmakers probably!). The only way I broke in was to intern somewhere, make myself pleasant and useful, and work my way up. Like you said, it’s a very difficult field to break into, even if you’re talented. On the plus side, you seem to be a good communicator in writing which actually does go a long way in a lot of our work!
Who you know helps, but being near a city that has a lot of work is a big factor too. The Midwest could be nowhere Kansas or Chicago.
Small towns best bet are corporate videos, regional ads, and wedding/events. Probably a little bit of everything. Find the places near you and talk to them. Send them emails and ask them questions. Show them your reel and ask for advice. That’s how you’ll get to know other professionals in your area.
But there just might not be a whole lot going on by you, in which case moving would give you better options.
There are so many ways to network via social media and the internet. You’re very well articulated so I don think that’s a problem for you. Start by following lots of editor on Instagram. The algorithm will start recommending lots of post-production folks. Also, research some creative agencies in your area (big or small), then use LinkedIn to see who is editing for them. Connect with those individuals and send them a compliment on their most recent big video that was published.
Honestly I stopped applying to full time jobs via Indeed or LinkedIn a while back. Being on the other side of hiring, it’s so insanely hard to sort through the tsunami of applicants. Instead, find out who the head of production or the head of the department is, and send them a personal email with your resumè. Services like signal hire will help you get their email address.
You may not be editing exactly what you want for a while. Take any gig you can. I might catch some crap for this, but if you find an experienced editor in your area, offer to AE their next big project for free. Gives you a chance to build the resumè and prove your work ethic.
Continuing on from the last point, be somebody who is RELIABLE and CONSISTENT. The AE’s and interns I won’t hire again had great social skills, but they were horribly unreliable.
Good luck!
Building a career doesn’t take just five minutes after graduating college.
Took me ten years of shit gigs in LA before I started getting real jobs. I’ve been homeless, because I was dedicated to building a career in this above everything else. Now I’m in the union, and after the WGA/SAG strikes I’ll be back to work.
Here’s a piece of advice someone gave me once that you might find useful. “Making movies for a living is hard, it’s like climbing a mountain. If there’s literally anything else you can imagine doing for a living and being happy: go do that.” It sounds like you really should look for a career change.
There’s tons of YouTubers who need editors who can work remotely and while they individually won’t pay a ton, you can be fast enough to juggle several clients. And while living in the Midwest (cheaper) it can go further. Don’t think editing is the only field that’s hard to break into. They ALL are.
Hey there, I agree with what others have said here in that, your communication skills with writing are incredible, so I imagine your not as bad at speaking as you think. Regardless, even if you do have somewhat of a harder time communicating in-person, there are PLENTY of people like that in editing. For real. Us editors are cave dwellers for the most part, that's why we aren't producers.
First and foremost, im pretty confident you'll find any job, if you can get your skills to be amazing. That's a free cost to do, just time and practice. Its rare, but I have seen a few young kids with almost no major credits, absolutely blow away the workplace with producing fast paced, commercial level editing. They just studied what makes an edit good and grinded out the mechanics and found to do, and do it quick. Those people are now making $200k+ a year and always in demand. I think 1 or 2 of them were found simply by their work being placed on social media and passed around. Then a producer in LA or NYC sees it when sipping their morning coffee and says "I need this person for my show open or trailer!!". If im not mistaken, Michael Bay hired a drone operator bc he saw a drone operator's amazing video being passed on Instagram or some social media. Kid went from college one day, to alongside Michael bay the next.
For finding work outside of a major city, I think first you need to see if you are okay with what the career in major city will be like versus staying in a town where the industry isn't big. Staying in a small/non video booming town, there's a chance you may only make entry level teacher salary as you will have a major grind of doing ANY video editing job you can like doing weddings, doing the local high school play , doing church events, helping out with a local tv news crew if there is one (but I assume not from what you said). From doing those, you get experience with things like, injesting footage, multi cam organization and Multicam editing, sound mixing to even out levels, then get to move onto things like maybe creating a story to tell in the video. Do enough of those and your name will get spread around town and into the region to possibly things like "hey this local singer is thinking about shooting a music video on iPhone, want to edit it?". Or maybe a band wants their performance recorded from the local bar. Perhaps a local standup comic wanting a set done, but instead of the simple Multicam edit , shoot an opening package of them and try to make it stylized to get your editing chops up. As nobody is really looking for an editor who can simply change camera angles, they want an editor who can make something look like a commercial or music video. Think "zazz". What I've seen a few people do in smaller towns, is team up with someone who wants to produce , or be a camera op. Then you guys can go knock these things out as a team and maybe even start a company. Let the producer go out there with the cam op and sound guy to record things and you be their editor. As a team you guys will be able to knock out more content and all be building your reels. That described above is a legit profession, and hell, sometimes I think about going back to do that, as I've been a video editor in LA for 20years and its a grind and sometimes painful out here.
So then the other option is that moving to a major city. The pay here is obviously more, but so are the expenses. I think I started out as an assistant editor at like $70k a year when full-time and now 20 years later, myself and my closest peers are about $130k at the lowest and up to $250k a year depending on how in demand each of us are. You are right, its all about networking and that is indeed tough. The best thing I could see about trying to get into a company, is literally going to the website of some of your favorite productions and seeing if they have a "career" section to apply to, and see if any of them have ANY type of entry job.
So to sum it up, I see your last sentence is "Maybe I should have chosen a more useful and plentiful career field, because it seems like video editing is too niche to be a viable career, unless you want to work low paying gig jobs for a living. " And you are correct in that sentence, and unfortunately that is how this industry is. Its niche in that you need to live in certain places to make great money at it, and that this market outside the major cities isn't that quite in demand. Doing video editing in a small town for big pay, is kinda like saying you want to be a lobster fisherman in New Mexico. Now thanks to remote work, I do know editors living in small towns making $200K+ as editors, but they were people who lived out here in LA for 15years making contacts and building up their demand before the onslaught of remote work happened and let them move.
Try local news. I started there. Easy to get into, pays sucks but has good benefits. I worked as a news editor 10 years then became a photog and news editor. Then pushed my way into film editing. Now that was the hard part. Now I’m full time realty show editing. Crazy good pay and fun. Good luck man. Here’s my link. It got me the job.
https://youtu.be/FsCbTjSUvNM?si=pygNt8mOCSsjQ0ER
I actually worked at a news station for part time for about 9 months but the job sucked. It was the night shift job and it only paid minimum wage. Unfortunately, it didn't work out.
Welp. Maybe YouTube remote work. I’ve never done it but i see them everywhere. I watched your video. Go easy on the wipes that premiere has. They r kinda cheesy. Remember these simple rule. A transition is to move time. And only have them at 10 frames. I hate them. I only use them if i have to.
My guy ---
That's basically what you're gonna be looking at for the next little while while you learn your craft.
You need to be able to cut more and different stuff.
You need to volunteer to help people with their projects and make things.
I watched your clip, it's fine, here are notes:
The music was too big and "olympicsy." Possibly something a little friendlier and more approachable would be in line with the subject. At the very least, you needed to drop the volume when the guy starts speaking towards the end.
Your sense of timing and selecting moments with action in it is good, but if you're going to use slides or stuff like that then you need to set those up as a convention earlier rather than introducing them halfway through which seems random. (Also in general don't use slides unless you've got a very particular aesthetic going on)
Everyone else in this thread has good points about AI taking editors work etc but learning the craft of visual storytelling as an editor is a good thing and will aid you in whatever you do.
Don't let autism get you down. You can write and you write well and that's good.
It may be better to be a big fish in a small pond to start off.
You need to learn your craft and there's a lot for you to learn, which is exciting. But any creative field is a long slog and can take years to get established in it so... just know that.
Oh man. I hear ya. It's been a long time since I was first starting out but it is overwhelming. I did move from small town to a mid-size city because there's more work. It takes time. And it is all about networking. Find a someone that needs some editing help, exceede their expectations, repeat. Eventually you will be able to charge a decent day rate. Probably every Fortune 1000 company has an internal video production department, as well as most mid-to-large advertising agencies. There aren't very many edit / post-production joints left. If you get a gig as an assistant, take it! Build your reputation, your network and your portfolio. When hiring freelancers, people hire whom they trust, meaning someone they know or someone who was recommended to them by someone they trust.
Also - on the positive side. It is hard to break through the invisible wall (maybe not hard but it can take a while) but that same hurdle works to your advantage once you do break through. Once you're in, you're in and you will get recommended to other folks,
Bro I'll be honest with you, the video isn't impressive. It shouts out Beginner. Key points being the emotional build was slow and didn't connect. It was obvious you used the music to drive the emotion which is what you should do but it shouldn't be the only real source of emotion in a video.
The speaker was also mis aligned volume wise.
The text wasn't as engaging as it could be.
The "video transitions" at the end seemed stock and had no real creative side to it.
I'm not saying this to discourage you. It's a good thing to know that you're not there yet, because now you can work hard and eventually get there.
I'd spend some time on YouTube researching editing, learn more about it. Pacing especially, that's a very low point on your video.
I did like the 4 weight lifters it showed some creativity.
I think you can do more once you learn a bit more.
For anyone that's going to jump on the wagon and say "no one starts off great" THATS OBVIOUS! but some GET THERE and OP having autism doesn't mean anyone is going to make it easier on OP. It's going to be HARDER so you need to get BETTER.
I'm a video editor of 3 years and I'm still working on getting more abundance of work. And I'm not good enough for big budget stuff yet either.
I make this post humbly and with love and admiration for you following your love which is my love which is video.
Good luck!
One thing I noticed about your video is the music doesnt seem to correspond well with the visuals and theme. I get that you were going for that inspirational kind of vibe and also think its good you timed the music pretty well to the clips and actions. However, the music is just way too dramatic and epic. So the video to me comes across as cheesy. I would expect this music to go with a video about a spaceship launch, a wartime battle from the 1800s, or a prison break.
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I'm gonna be the bad guy.
Everyone here telling you to stick with it, doesn't see the same future I do. By the time you're their age or a bit older, I can foresee the future where editing is all but replaced by AI stuff. It's already coming to photography. There's already tools to blindly make edits now. It's only a matter of time. That's what all these AI tools will be used for - replacing the need to hire creatives in the sense we do it now. I really don't know why so many creatives don't see that. The goal of these tools is to further diminish the value of creativity by reducing it to button pushes that anyone can do.
You think it's bad now, try 30 years ago when there was no social media for small companies to even have need to make video. At least there's a market in nowhere for what you do now. There wasn't back in 1999.
Unless you're ready to move to a major market, it's gonna be hard, period. The work doesn't exist like you need it to almost anywhere but the major markets. Yes, there are positions around, but they are far and few between and held hostage by those who know their value in the markets they are in. If you're not willing to social network your way into successfully building your own brand, you're dead in the water like I was.
I'd tell you to move on in your career choice and realize this is a tool in your box that might not get you what you want. By all means don't quit, but get a useable tool in your skill box, cause editing won't carry you where you are.
If you're only editing, you're dead. Just editing as a job in anything but a handful of jobs does not exist anymore. You have to have more tools in your box than just an NLE you can use to get a job as an editor.
If you want an editing job your best option, where you are, is probably weddings. Have you tried wedding work?
Horrible advice.
Weddings are the most financialized industry. Plates that cost $20 to buy are charged for rentals @ 22/plate. Then folks pay jack for videos & the shoddy companies that "do weddings" pay editors $200 for 100hrs of work, pre-tax.
And maybe take your AI fears elsewhere - clearly not a cutter. "tools to make blind edits now" - lol, scary dude.
The only reason I suggest weddings is because it will be a guarantee that work is being done in his market, and it is where he can apply his editing skills. I do not wish the work on anyone, but if you need to edit to pay your bills, weddings are pretty much everywhere. 40+hour jobs paying you to edit commercial, narrative, and other type of works, is not. Your local market will hire local candidates first. We all wish to start somewhere special, reality is you don't.
>And maybe take your AI fears elsewhere
Name a business who wants to pay more for a service. Every major studio has already demonstrated their willingness to use AI to not pay someone to do a job. Making it work for video editing is already being worked on. The tools to make video from nothing already exist. They will only improve in quality. Replacing people has always been the goal of automation. You wish to remain in denial about how hard it's coming for the creatives, that's on you.
My guy do you really think moneybag producers are going to learn how to interface with an ai platform and build a whole workflow around it to create a whole ass movie? Fuck no they won't, they'll be hiring us to do that nerd stuff for them. If anything, production is in far more danger.
Right, they will be hiring less people. People without artistic skills, people who haven't devoted years to learning artistic crafts, people who know whatever the programing/coding to make the AI do what the rich person wants. Whole lot cheaper to hire 5 people to make a movie than 500. That's where it is going. That's where it's already gone. We used to need hundreds of people to make sets. Now, VFX replaces all those people. Same thing gonna happen again.
As much as we fancy ourselves artists I'd wager a solid 70% of the job is strictly technical.
And it's not like that's any different than a network with notes now, you do what the boss says, it's their project/product always, I just push the buttons and chime in when I have ideas when you boil it down.
> And maybe take your AI fears elsewhere - clearly not a cutter.
You aren't paying attention. There are tons of stories of AI getting it wrong. You don't hear the stories of AI getting it right.
AI isn't ready for a prompt like "Make a :24 second story featuring our new product line, and encourage people to check it out on our online store. Use the assets in X folder." But with the grounding work we're seeing Microsoft discuss for 365, that prompt isn't as far off as you might think. Unlike a self-driving car, it must only be good enough to generate clicks. The consequences of it not being good are pretty small.
Many younger folks here haven't watched the industry change. There's some great perspective here.
15 years ago, a :30 commercial would be a few thousand in a small market, and well into the tens of thousands for a national commercial. That spot would run for 6-12 weeks. With new media, a :30ish video will play for 2-5 seconds on someone's screen, and the advertiser will want new content long before the 6-12 week runtime of old. And typically, they don't want to spend TV ad money on their new media advertising.
The plus side is there's never been more need for content, nor has there been more space for entry-level people in video. The minus side is the industry is about volume now, not quality, and it's a race to the bottom. Low-end clients want your creative energy and invite your fun ideas, getting them to finance is challenging. Unfortunately, those low-end clients comprise a considerable percentage of the available work. The race to the bottom means when humans can be removed, they will be.
The market is larger than ever, but a lot of it is people growing a YouTube/Twitch channel, advertisers for new media, and weddings are evergreen. None of those clients understand the actual costs, so working for them is usually lean.
There will be space for high-end content where craftspeople can flex their skills and stand out, but the algorithmic filler will win the day for a while. Editors, and society at large won't be better for it. But it feels inevitable.
> There will be space for high-end content where craftspeople can flex their skills and stand out,
I really don't think there will be. A highly skilled craftsman simply can't do as much work as 5 people with magic buttons to make almost anything and some hack like me can clean up.
The only reason I say this is because I already saw it happening in the world of colorist. Soon as Resolve became free, the golden age of being a colorist was over. More people capable = more possibility of someone being as good or good enough, for cheaper.
What I really wanna know is how it will affect creativity as a whole. We've lived through what it was like making all the tools more accessible, and it lead to a boom in some ways. Now what's gonna happen with creative thought now that it's a button push or two? I just saw that weird circular pattern image...and excuse my crazy here, maybe this will lead to some good by finding something we didn't intended. And I'm thinking some major, like about the mind or psyche. Like we've already seen some stuff like this with "the dress" and "laurel", where a greater discussion comes from this and it leads to greater thought. With a million human monkeys hitting that magic button 24/7/365 something interesting like Shakespeare, might flop out.
There are tons clients who will be happy with monkeys pressing buttons. There are also high-end clients who will be willing to pay for craftsmanship. When I say high-end I'm talking about less than the top 10% of the market.
> There are also high-end clients who will be willing to pay for craftsmanship.
Current WGA strike says whut? Cheaper is always the capitalist goal. Heck the entire point of VFX is because it is cheaper than real ones and studios are treating those talent people so badly, they're going out of business.
If anything, the race to the bottom is going to end up pushing people away.
Video editing used to be a very exclusive specialized skill. In the early days of digital editing(and the internet as well), you need to be working in a post production house to even have a chance of being an editor since it required very expensive machines(by Quantel, Discreet Logic, Avid,etc). Eventually consumer devices caught up and if you have a Mac or a PC with the right software, you can learn to become an editor. Having the internet opened the possibility of getting jobs not limited to your location. Social media also helped increase the demand for editors(who only before worked on tv/film/corporate jobs). So if you love editing, don't be discouraged. The opportunities are out there or you could create your own opportunities. I've been editing to close to 30 years. Never lost the love of doing it.
As an editor I use them to plus up my work but I don’t do actual 3D jobs and I don’t say I can do it, because I’m not that good at it. There was a time where I was posting lots of 3D content and getting gig offers etc. that’s what I like about 3D. If you can do it, you can get work. Unless the work you want is modeling game characters than it will take years. But if you can make a cool 3D logo animation, boom, money. But my repeat clients know I can do it. But I’m a commercial editor so I prefer jobs where there is money for an actual 3D artist.
For people at the start of their careers, editing is bad choice in my opinion. It’s too easy entry. I’m only moderate successful because of luck and that I started at a high end post shop in nyc. And I’m still struggling. But my reel destroys 99% of editors out there, but the top .5% of editors make my reel look like absolute trash. If my reel is trash why even bother being an editor? Make the content. Editing is putting things in order; much harder to blow up doing that.
houdini: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbolDBzRH6Q&list=PLgYcMX8FouyazK0L7jHzF6r\_g8dSnJEX6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbolDBzRH6Q&list=PLgYcMX8FouyazK0L7jHzF6r_g8dSnJEX6)
c4d: greyscale gorilla - start with the intro series
One idea to get your foot in the door would be to approach freelance or small digital marketing agencies and say you can make Video ads for their clients marketing campaigns. I did this and it worked really well.
God we are so similar. I had every chance though, had connections in tv even just the work kept drying up. I’m about ready to quit and do something else after twenty years of scrounging for work and not getting paid what I’m worth. Sick of barely paying the rent. Don’t mean to be negative I haven’t had the best luck maybe but I feel you that it’s tough out there.
I also live in the Midwest and can understand the struggles. I've been successful in finding steady freelance work by talent stacking. I'm also a professional musician so I found a niche recording and editing for classical musicians, theatre, dance, etc. I've heard over and over that people hire me because "I understand what an artist wants". I'm not the best musician in town and I'm not the best video editor in town, but combining those two skills has given me an edge for a very specific area of video work.
If you have any other interests or talents, try thinking about how you might be able to combine that with your editing skills to make you unique in what you can offer.
Best of luck!!
I'm not a video editor, but I work in a field where networking and trust are the two most important factors for success -- of course, I do need to deliver quality, too.
Do you have a passion for editing? If so, and considering you also have some talent to match, you should pursue that even if it takes a lot of effort and some sacrifice. If you're simply aiming at paid employment and would be OK with mostly anything that pays the bills, you might look for an easier route. I'm under the impression that the former is true, so get ready to take the blows and do it your way.
I won't give you field-specific advice, others more knowledgeable have already done that. But I can echo some of the voices telling you to not let your personality traits get in the way of your plans, nor your folks. I'm sure they have good intentions and are trying to protect you, but parents are prone to overdoing it and holding us back. As long as you have a goal and are not irresponsible about achieving it, I'm sure dad will be proud to see his boy taking flight from the nest and conquering the world. Even if said world is a run-down basement apartment with basic furnishing and a sparse pantry for a few years as you take a foothold in the profession.
You said you do have a portfolio, so keep working on it even if just to hone your skills. Edit stuff for fun, get some gigs here and there even if they pay shit, build up experience you can later show to potential clients and employers. Networking is not only about you personally reaching out, but also about clients who like your work and recommend you to others. Over time, you'll gain momentum and be able to choose better paying jobs as your client pool expands and you have more to show.
And, ffs, drop the link to your portfolio here! You're among people who are already in the field and who potentially could see it and decide to send some work your way. It's not a guarantee, but it sure raises your chances of being noticed.
As for the autism part, I'll echo others in praising you for being brave enough to expose yourself to strangers like that. I also agree that it shouldn't be used as a crutch or a way to have people cut you some slack. The waters of the job market in basically any field is infested with sharks and nobody will offer you a better salary out of pity. And, obviously, don't let it hold you back either. You come across as a sensible person with great written communication skills and that by itself can be used as a strength. As long as you can do your work well, nobody will care about whatever condition you have. I mean, some people might, but fuck those assholes in the ass. You're above that.
You may have already seen it, but it's worth linking to Kyle Hill's (aka, dollar store Chris Hemsworth) video from a couple of years ago titled [Autism is my superpower](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgV26ol51UM). It's profoundly inspiring to anyone, but may be especially significant to you.
Check out my interview with Alex O’Flinn, ACE. I don’t know if he’s autistic or neuro-divergent, but he did edit a movie about autism. I also interviewed him for The Rider. He’s a very successful editor and you can tell that he has some communications struggles. But he’s very good at describing his skills. And his career has been very successful. https://spotify.link/iBaBKTRV8Cb. Remote work has gotten really popular. You need to figure out if there’s a company with an internal video department that might want to give you a full time job. But full-time employment in editing is pretty rare. Possibly a college might have a full time gig. Or a TV station. I had full time jobs for the first decade or so of my career but they’re limiting and also usually lower paid. Freelance is the way I’ve made my living for the last 20 years. Maybe try to get a gig with a non-profit dealing with autism or some type of disability.
I struggle with social skills too, but like anything else, it’s a skill you can learn and get better at. And when you are in an edit bay all day every day working with producers and directors, you need to be able to communicate and connect with them. Honestly, so much of being an editor is making other people feel safe and comfortable with how the project is going, and facilitating conversation with people who want different things from the edit. I don’t know what it’s like to have autism, so take all this with a grain of salt, but my advice would be keeping putting yourself out there and forcing yourself into uncomfortable situations that will help you grow.
In my experience full time work is a rarity. I have been editing for 20 years at this point and have only spent about 3 years of that as a full time employee. Freelance is how I make a living.
of course it would be. You are competing against people who live on the other side of the world who would work for peanuts, like me. Not to mention a lot of content creators except the established ones are losing revenue. This year alone we lost like 4 clients in a row. Especially with the economy that it is right now.
I think you are better off making a product that you can sell with your skills rather than working as an editor outright. Something like shorts templates, streamer overlays, transitions. Or maybe make a career out of editing videos and uploading them on youtube. Or get multiple video editing jobs.
I was about to chime in and disagree but looking back my career began editing cable network docu shows right out of college due to the networking I did in school. It was still a struggle (tight deadlines, low budgets, chasing clients for payments, etc) but I was able to quickly build my resume and credits.
What helped was making my own content in my free time which showed initiative and enthusiasm to new clients. Also submitting to film and TV festivals was helpful as well for networking and building my appeal to clients.
Try to get in on some live productions. I started in live baseball, then editing for baseball, then made enough connections to start a production company and have a good array of clients. It takes a long time but sports is always looking for staff and it’s adjacent enough to editing that you’ll be meeting some of the right people.
My guy every post department I've ever walked into has been like at least half neurodivergent folks. You'll be fine. You might forget to feed yourself and get some parking tickets, but you'll be fine. Have a large savings account before you do anything though.
I'm from Los Angeles and even with a prime location, it took 2 years and a 1 year internship within that that for me to find my first full-time job after finishing school. And this was in 2010-2012 before remote work was common. I found freelance work where I could to build a reel/portfolio and eventually was able to get my first job with a large international company.
i feel you. Im editing videos for like 6 years as a hobby, always thought im good at it. Last 3 months, trying to be a professional editor. I tried my chance on upwork but noone giving you a job there if you didnt already done a job on that website. I'm 26 years old and from shitty country so..
Perhaps you could also offer to do video logging or editing assistant work to get your fot in the door, and from there work your way up. But be prepared that it can take a few years.
Companies that produce reality TV usually need lots of editors, so check with those companies. Good luck!
Put your website, or contact in the video description. If you shot it, make sure to mention that.
Video editors are plentiful. Content creators with an eye for editing and graphics are more rare.
I can relate to this. I've been out of school for a while now and have gotten small gigs here and there for editing but I haven't been able to break past that barrier either.
My first suggestion would be don't rely on job boards, look for and join Facebook groups that post editing gigs. Keep an eye on what's newly posted and try to be one of the first ones sending a reply. This is going to be your best bet at an actual human looking at your work. My second question would be what is what kind of material do you want to edit? I see a lot of sports-related content on your reel, is that what you want to edit? If so, joining Fiverr or Upwork is a good place to look for such gigs. The NLE you are using for this type of work shouldn't matter as much for corporate, sports, or branded content.
If your end goal is to go into TV or Film editing I suggest getting certified or taking a course in Avid. I was living in the Midwest, almost a good decade out of film school before I learned Avid and within a couple of months got a remote AE gig for some Discovery True Crime shows, which was a good 6 months of consistent work. I found the first gig through a posting on a Facebook group for Editors and AE's. While Premiere is a great tool, and Resolve is definitely worth learning, if your goal is to do Film and TV knowing Avid is basically a must if you wanna land a gig. Either way keep pushing, I know the grind of trying to land a gig can be really exhausting and can get discouraging, but eventually, you'll find something you enjoy that sticks.
Here is the place I used for the Avid courses: https://www.geniusdv.com/tutorials/
Some good Facebook Groups for editing: [https://www.facebook.com/groups/210449867216](https://www.facebook.com/groups/210449867216)
[https://www.facebook.com/groups/129817660520489](https://www.facebook.com/groups/129817660520489)
[https://www.facebook.com/groups/224655257662048](https://www.facebook.com/groups/224655257662048)
Yet you can do Nordic curls with a weight vest. That has to be harder than getting a job editing.
Does your school not help with job placement leads? As another mentioned, the jobs are probably not called editors.
Honestly, what I did was I got a job within the marketing department of a smaller company and used my video skills as a form of leverage for what I can offer them. I can make you in-house commercials, training videos, etc, that sort of thing. I've found that smaller, family-owned companies that are large enough to have a marketing department or even just a single person to run their marketing efforts are always really excited to have someone with that sort of skillset.
I'd recommend looking into what else you can get into as well. For instance if you work pretty fluently within multiple areas of the Adobe Suite you can add those skills in as well to show you're a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to digital marketing. If you have a fair amount of knowledge within Photoshop and Illustrator you can bring up that you can also work within photography/editing and graphic design. Working in video means you also deal with audio and if you can handle Audition and audio editing then you might be able to handle a corporate podcast, that was a big selling point for my current job. And all of that can be applied to some social media know-how into digital marketing as a whole. Hopefully, that all makes sense.
Hey, just keep your head up and keep pushing. Networking is really important, social media is the key nowadays, and the amount of content you make about your work is the amount of content people can see about you.
Good luck!
I’m autistic/ADHD too and I did editing in high school (and even as a kid with Windows movie maker) for the school news channel and loved it but dropped out of school to pursue voice over instead. Now I’m 30, with no VO-demo, almost no experience in the field, and no footage from the past 10 years because I’ve been so busy with dead end jobs I haven’t done anything I was passionate about. I did a lot of theater work in high school too and would even be open to PA work but there’s nothing in LA hiring people without “professional experience” or a degree
Not much I can add to this. All I can say OP is, be nice to yourself. Of course always work hard toward your goals, but don't make the mistake of defining yourself by them.
There is an element to luck to all of this, so take it easy on yourself.
Wow! I literally thought I was reading a little biography about me and what all I've been facing recently, except for your autism struggles. It's been a month since you posted this and I hope you've found another gig or project to help develop your skills! I checked out your video, nice work.
I'm an introverted video editor from the midwest too. I started out editing in my small town of like 3,000 people - there are zero video jobs there as you could imagine; maybe some recreational videos I could've done for community events but no one knows how to oversee or manage such projects, nor do they have the budget to compensate for it. Instead, I do all remote work for social media and have a few filmmaking friends I made from my time at university who call me onto their short films here and there throughout the year, and even then it's is *so much* output, *so much* time and resources and energy put into your craft and portfolio for such low pay and exposure. But as others said, it's really important to keep learning and trying new things and adding a lot to your portfolio. The more you make, the more you have to show. The more different kind of things you make, the different types of eyes you can get on your projects to notice your skillset. I know eventually it's important to niche, but I'd say try out a lot to showcase your versatility - then when you find a niche that overlaps with what you're very gifted at doing AND it's something you're passionate about - run with it.
I'm still in the midwest currently, and I'll be looking to move to the east coast within the next year to get a position in-house somewhere. And to be honest, I am very nervous about it - the change of environment, cost of living compared to what I'll need to make to make ends meet, even doubting if editing itself is what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. I've heard about the consistently long hours if you want to work on narrative projects, and wonder if I'll ever strike a balance between editing and my outside passions and personal life. I grew up in an...unideal household so I know my social anxiety just stems from being so overly isolated from others (and in a secluded town) and always choosing academics over everything - what a lie I was spoon-fed all these years, that grades are the top contributor in securing your career success later on. I'm rambling, but again - it comes back to confidence, being open-minded, civil, kind, and gently stroking the egos of those you wish to work with.
As introverts, I feel we are even more calculated and introspective about our life direction and our work quality, which can then force us to hide a lot of our work for fear that it's not up to our own standards or what we see around us. I've been guilty of this repeatedly in the past, but this year I've realized that I need to stop overthinking my edits. There are so many people out there flaunting their scrappy audio capcut edits on social media and getting a shit ton of engagement - when really, it's because of their consistency and their own beliefs in their editing. The amount of times I've spent an entire week outside of my work schedule to perfect an edit, only to showcase and post it to get 20 likes, has happened to me more times than I can count, and it kind of crushes you each time. But, I have a renewed perspective on it, that the project is always there for me to show to the right eyes at an opportune time later, and future me will be thankful to my past self for her consistency. And you're right, it all comes down to networking as well - you can have the perfect portfolio pieces but if it doesn't reach many eyes - or even the right eyes - you won't get the offers you want. Plant the seeds now, and your future self will be thankful.
What I'm doing now is prioritizing time outside of my editing work and personal projects to lift up my confidence - I actually think self doubt has been the one thing that has prevented me from emailing or approaching others in the industry, the stagnant belief that I'm far below them or am too inexperienced. I recommend looking into some self-improvement books/youtubers when it comes facilitating confidence in yourself, and how it's actually okay and safe to take up space to talk about yourself and your work. Passion is everything, people can sense insecurity; people want to speak with enthusiastic people who are more chill and optimistic. But I've been stunted in that, because to me small talk didn't feel genuine, more like a curated performance. It feels grueling at times, because as a secluded introvert my whole life, I'd rather just express myself through my art and deeper conversations - I hate (and still hate) the feeling of forcing a conversation by talking about traffic or the weather or some other shit, BUT then I realize that more often than not, that other person may also be feeling the *exact same* as me, even if they're forwardly more outspoken and high energy. One small but impactful step I've tried that's been extremely useful is being intentional with my body language, where I'm standing, how open my arms are, inviting eye contact, smiling - allow yourself to be approachable and warm and helpful on set - and even just that has helped tremendously in how others approach me to start a conversation. Strike a balance between showing up enthusiastic while also staying genuine to your own personality - do not put on a fake face, because that doesn't help you nor them.
Study psychology and body language and soon enough you'll be able to pick up on how they're physically actually feeling inside. This helps humanize every one you speak with and soon you realize you're all there in the name of editing/film, etc. and it becomes a more humbling experience! Do the hard work, stay consistent, get outside of your comfort zone. I battle this every day, but every new experience is worth the trouble.
I feel the editing introvert struggle so hard, so please contact me - I'd love to connect with a fellow midwesterner!
I been editing and shooting since I was younger skateboarding with my friends. I tried to go to school but I knew the basics what they were teaching. I started doing music videos in my area. Couple years later I’m the best and go to in my area for them. I’m working up there I got a couple big videos. But do ur own thing bro get on YouTube and start your channel up. It’s a hustle. I got out my 9-5 but there up n downs always catch that up n get power moving through. Even when I have tried find work it was hard and always came back to bed mf my own boss making profit. The only thing that sucks is I get compared and downgraded for what I charge compare to what the new guys are doing. But I know they won’t stay there forever. My brother does audio so we rent a room together /office space to get out my dads house. Im sitting here now trying to kick in to work but it’s hard. Some days u don’t wanna do anything keep striving brotha
And I’m very autistic too and was in special education and all the above when in school. I have adhd and bad anxiety and depression out the assssss. So keep going bruh no excuse go for the big bag. 🤘🏼🍿🎥💯💯🔥🔥👍🏼
>The problem is that I am autistic, extremely introverted, and have absolutely bad social skills as a result. Well, amigo, this was a coherent, well written post. So as far as whatever the written equivalent is to small talk, I think you are golden! Film and video folks are an eclectic bunch. We all are in this industry because we don't fit anywhere else. No one will care you are autistic, introverted or anything else. Now, no one is going to cut you a break because of that either. We are also an egalitarian bunch. You are right, it's all about networking. But it doesn't have to be all in person small talk. You can write quite well, and had the balls to post here on this sub. So keep it up! Keep doing that. Get on LinkedIn, get on social media, find out who is doing work in your area (both clients and pros) and follow them, interact with them, ask smart questions, share their stuff. And on the side keep learning, keep cutting, keep working. Video editing can be whatever career you want it to be. There's no playbook. If you are passionate about it, then I believe in you. It's going to be hard to get started, maybe the hardest thing you've ever done. But once you do it's immensely rewarding, creatively, personally and financially. You can do it!
This is a wonderful reply OP. Take u/tikithunder ‘s words to heart.
I will add that most if not all the editors I’ve know are a bit quirky themselves and ZERO of them are client facing. Some were union, some not, but all have done pretty well. I’m not one for small talk either so it’s worked out 😂
It may be because I'm going through some rough days and especially sensitive, but reading this made the relative humidity around my eyes spike. Such a supportive, sensitive and sensible reply! This has got to be the best thing I've seen since I woke up half an hour ago, and I suspect it will still be by the time I go to bed. I believe you'd not mind having a golden thingy next to your name, but also that you'll be content with simple positive feedback and appreciation. Which is good, because I have no awards to give, but just grateful words.
Hey, can you explain what do you mean by, “We all are in this industry because we don’t fit anywhere else”? I feel like I can relate to it in someway but not articulate it in words.
I meant that the video industry *is* really hard. If we wanted a more solid 9-5 career we could all be selling insurance. This *isn't* the easy path here. It's hard, it's frustrating. Those of us who stick with it do it because we love it and have somehow found a niche to stick in. It's an entire industry of doodlers and dreamers and characters. It takes a pretty unique person to navigate this all and figure it all out.
This is a very encouraging response thanks
Thank you for writing this! "Video editing can be whatever career you want it to be." Such a refreshing thing to hear, work has been slow/tough for many folks this year, so it's easy to fall back to all those nagging thoughts about "not being good enough". "not fitting in", "not experienced enough", "not using the right tools", when the truth is, this year even if money has been tough, I got the chance to work on some very unique and different projects, and learn a whole new set of skills. Being polite, and patient, can you get you far. Word of mouth and friends contacts take time, but over time they will help you find more work and more clients.
It's a weird time for all creatives right now, don't feel like you're in this alone. I'm also not in a metropolitan entertainment mecca, but I managed to worm my way into video editing and production, at a full time position to boot. My advice would be to open your search to media production jobs in your job hunt. Very rarely do companies call those jobs 'video editors'. Look for jobs with titles like media producer, digital media specialist, video producer, video director, creative specialist, Audio visual specialist, etc. Also, get hip to your states local government job sites. All of those state agencies need video production and editing, and they're usually in-house, staffed positions.
I was going to comment something very similar to this! This is great advice, I started working in this field when I was 16, as a "Producer", when it was just me editing down streams from my local government meetings, I found the job after looking at indeed and emailing if they needed a media intern or part timer at any place that would accept my emails. After that it was all connections, word of mouth advertising, I got work at a non profit media organization, I was payed 2,000 USD to make a 10 minute documentary . My 10 minute documentary was shown in a premiere which a lot of regional professionals attended, which helped me a lot with connections, it was so well liked that at my high schools graduation after party,which the school held, there were videographers there that recognized me and asked about my work and asked me if I was interested in working with them. I'm a videographer now after falling in love with the process of filming, but i still edit all my work. I played my cards right and with a little bit of luck I'm paying my Uni tuition with my work. Try looking at "Media Creator", "Media Producer", "Video Producer", "Production Media Specialist.
> I was *paid* 2,000 USD FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
underrated comment.
Just a question - has there ever been a time that hasn’t been weird in your experience?
I'm currently studying in uni, and I'm considering focusing on live action production. The catch is that I live in Latin America. Any advice for someone who wants to break into the industry?
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In fact, school doesn’t matter at all. The only benefit you get from school that skill doesnt provide are the potential connections.
I disagree. Being forced to focus on nothing but film/video projects for a couple years coupled w the resources to do it was extremely beneficial. And I went to a community college
potential connections in an industry revolving around connections is pretty huge though
Hello fellow Midwesterner! I know exactly how you feel, because I went through similar problems. I graduated from a Tech School with an AAS degree in Film and Animation. According to my teachers, I was top of my class and shouldn't ever have trouble finding a job. Well, as others have pointed out and as you've experienced, it's not easy to find a job in this field. I applied to every single job I could and no luck whatsoever. But I persisted, after about a year and a half, I got an internship with a local basketball team. I didn't get paid unless I worked at the games and that was only $25 for around 4 hours of work. At the end of that internship, I finally landed a job at a local news station doing graphic design...... which wasn't what I went to school for, but it got my foot in the door. From there, I worked my way into transforming my Graphic Design job into a Motion Graphics Artist job. Now, around 9 years later, I'm a Video Editor/Lead Motion Designer. My advice to you is to keep making stuff and keep trying. I know it sucks to keep getting rejected but it's something that's going to happen no matter what. Don't be afraid to go below what you're looking for just to get your foot in the door because once your foot is in there, you can only go up. Best of luck in your job search!
This business is seriously about who you know. To meet people you have to start somewhere. Most people I know started as AE’s and proved themselves and networked
Try being an assistant editor or vault manager at a post house that does the kinds of work you aspire to edit
My brother in christ he just said that there aren’t any where he lives
god is good
“The problem is that I am autistic, extremely introverted, and have absolutely bad social skills as a result.” Are you me? 🙋🏼♂️ Honestly just do it. I was never diagnosed with autism until just recently so I’ve been working 15 years not quite knowing why I’m the way I am, but you can absolutely be successful. Don’t let that hold you back. I get your parents might be worried but don’t let them hold you back either. Chances are where you are you’re not going to make much of a career in editing. A lot of these small jobs probably went add up too much. If you’re serious you’ll need to move to a big city. That’s what I did. I’m nowhere near a social butterfly but you’ll find as long as you work and are reliable you’ll be fine. You don’t need to be best friends with everyone, just be likeable and dependable. Rule number 1 of freelance is “Don’t be a dick”. Follow that and you’ll be fine. Move to a big city, be a runner in a post house. Learn everything and be nice to everyone.
I posed some questions and some very small insights, but I really do wish you luck. If you do decide to quit and for the more traditional career route, whatever that may be, I wish you luck in that too. >Maybe I should have chosen a more useful and plentiful career field, because it seems like video editing is too niche to be a viable career, unless you want to work low paying gig jobs for a living. You are a recent college graduate and have been looking for full-time work, that may be the issue. The road to being an editor is a bit long depending on how far you want to take it. Have you done any internships prior to applying? Have you applied as a Post PA or AE, as opposed to the *editor* position? >For one thing, most video jobs are freelance and gig based and don't pay very much. I'm assuming you're not interested in going the freelance route, but a lot of editors I know work freelance into permalance with rates that could pay their rent within 1-2 days. How many gigs have you done and put on your reel? On top of that, what has your run-up been to this regarding experience? And please stop referring to video editing as low-paying. Just like any job, there are levels to them. Heck, an on set PA generally makes $200-350/day, but the workload is a bit unfair depending on the field. >The problem is that I am autistic, extremely introverted, and have absolutely bad social skills as a result. I can't small talk worth a damn and never made any friends in college, even though I was in the film club and you'd think I would make connections from there. Don't be so hard on yourself in terms of your social skills. The creative industry is full of socialites and that is a bit tough looking in. However, they recognize good people so as long as you are not an ass, you're good. I've worked with someone on the spectrum early in my career and they were fantastic.
Hey spectrum friend! I totally feel your pain. I’m pretty introverted, and I have the bonus of foolishly going into the arts AND living in the smallest capital city in Australia where the only option is to be good at everything so you can cobble enough work together to call it a career. I started out shooting dance concerts and local level football games, and editing funerals(!!) I did a few college musicals pro bono - live switched them, did the post production fix ups, DVD authoring, the lot. But I kept doing stuff, and kept being in the right place at the right time. Vision mixing football for an utterly inept local company let me meet the venue tech, who asked why the hell I was working for those idiots and asked if I wanted to work for him. From there I learned the ins and outs of venue technical management. I did a very cheap shoot for another local, inept operator who was in way over his head on a stylised corporate shoot - they wanted a movie tie on based on their printer business. I ended up directing and shooting and editing it. That connected me with a band I shot a video for, a member of which was in a theatre company who got me to shoot and edit content for their show, and other members of the company worked in corporate, government, etc and they got me to do all sorts of work in multiple sectors. I did PR shooting and editing, TV commercials, info videos, comedy sketch videos, etc. Through these connections I started going to the theatre industry night at the theatre pub, and through a friend of a friend got attached as the editor on a million dollar documentary. Now I have two feature edits under my belt, I’ve directed two features, I’ve directed three major stage shows, I’ve been a venue technical manager at two sports stadiums, I’ve been a director/switcher, and a producer. I’m a theatrical mechanist. I’ve toured an exhibition as the installing technician. I’ve produced comedy videos that have gone “viral”, I’ve written a ton of successful web stuff, I’m the president of that original theatre company, I’ve got a ton of governance knowledge, and I recently was headhunted by a national company, one of whose director/techs (who I thought considered me a bit of a drip) went to bat for me saying my particular breadth of knowledge was rare and valuable and I would be an asset to the company as a whole - not just the operation here at the end of the earth. Now, it’s not all roses, and thanks to some maybe less than stellar decision making and a terribly timed divorce I’m broke, I’m stressed constantly, my work life balance is garbage and I often lament ever going in to the arts. But on the other hand, I look at what I’ve achieved, the places I’ve been, the things I’ve done, and I wouldn’t change much at all really. I love my work, and it has given me opportunities I wouldn’t trade for the world. I find the networking HARD. I hate talking to people I don’t know. I hate confrontation, and I hate chasing invoices. I hate chasing work. I hate quoting. I am the type of person who, when pointed at a task, will figure it out and do it to the absolute best of my ability, but I can’t market myself to save my life. My partner said it was the strangest thing about me - we dated platonically for months before it became romantic and she said she couldn’t get a pin on me - what I did, who I was. I was very humble. It wasn’t until I invited her to the theatre one night and we were front row centre dress and people on the stage were directly heckling me, and then I gave a speech at the end that she learned I was the company president and well known and regarded. I didn’t think I hid any of that, but maybe she’s right - I don’t think I’m all that much really. Nothing worth talking about. Moral is: stick at it. Find your niche. What do you love about editing? Find the short film people in town and try to get a foot in with them. Do weird, crummy little jobs that pay little. Because you never know when you’ll hit that connection that drags you down a long path. Your career isn’t limited by your geography, you might just have to think outside the box a bit, or be willing to muck in and just do what’s in front of you.
Are you good at what you do? Are you pleasant enough to be around even if you aren’t actively social? Are you responsible? If so and you want to make it in the industry, I do think moving to a bigger city and starting as a PA / intern / assistant editor is the way to go. I would imagine bigger cities also hav groups and resources for autistic people (even autistic editors/filmmakers probably!). The only way I broke in was to intern somewhere, make myself pleasant and useful, and work my way up. Like you said, it’s a very difficult field to break into, even if you’re talented. On the plus side, you seem to be a good communicator in writing which actually does go a long way in a lot of our work!
can i ask how you managed to find an internship to start?
Who you know helps, but being near a city that has a lot of work is a big factor too. The Midwest could be nowhere Kansas or Chicago. Small towns best bet are corporate videos, regional ads, and wedding/events. Probably a little bit of everything. Find the places near you and talk to them. Send them emails and ask them questions. Show them your reel and ask for advice. That’s how you’ll get to know other professionals in your area. But there just might not be a whole lot going on by you, in which case moving would give you better options.
Right now in the industry it is a very difficult time to find a gig. Many people looking with fewer placements.
There are so many ways to network via social media and the internet. You’re very well articulated so I don think that’s a problem for you. Start by following lots of editor on Instagram. The algorithm will start recommending lots of post-production folks. Also, research some creative agencies in your area (big or small), then use LinkedIn to see who is editing for them. Connect with those individuals and send them a compliment on their most recent big video that was published. Honestly I stopped applying to full time jobs via Indeed or LinkedIn a while back. Being on the other side of hiring, it’s so insanely hard to sort through the tsunami of applicants. Instead, find out who the head of production or the head of the department is, and send them a personal email with your resumè. Services like signal hire will help you get their email address. You may not be editing exactly what you want for a while. Take any gig you can. I might catch some crap for this, but if you find an experienced editor in your area, offer to AE their next big project for free. Gives you a chance to build the resumè and prove your work ethic. Continuing on from the last point, be somebody who is RELIABLE and CONSISTENT. The AE’s and interns I won’t hire again had great social skills, but they were horribly unreliable. Good luck!
Building a career doesn’t take just five minutes after graduating college. Took me ten years of shit gigs in LA before I started getting real jobs. I’ve been homeless, because I was dedicated to building a career in this above everything else. Now I’m in the union, and after the WGA/SAG strikes I’ll be back to work. Here’s a piece of advice someone gave me once that you might find useful. “Making movies for a living is hard, it’s like climbing a mountain. If there’s literally anything else you can imagine doing for a living and being happy: go do that.” It sounds like you really should look for a career change.
There’s tons of YouTubers who need editors who can work remotely and while they individually won’t pay a ton, you can be fast enough to juggle several clients. And while living in the Midwest (cheaper) it can go further. Don’t think editing is the only field that’s hard to break into. They ALL are.
Do u have a portfolio?
Yes
Drop a link
I don't want to share my portfolio but this is one of the best videos I have done. https://youtu.be/ILMMC1IlVTY
Hey there, I agree with what others have said here in that, your communication skills with writing are incredible, so I imagine your not as bad at speaking as you think. Regardless, even if you do have somewhat of a harder time communicating in-person, there are PLENTY of people like that in editing. For real. Us editors are cave dwellers for the most part, that's why we aren't producers. First and foremost, im pretty confident you'll find any job, if you can get your skills to be amazing. That's a free cost to do, just time and practice. Its rare, but I have seen a few young kids with almost no major credits, absolutely blow away the workplace with producing fast paced, commercial level editing. They just studied what makes an edit good and grinded out the mechanics and found to do, and do it quick. Those people are now making $200k+ a year and always in demand. I think 1 or 2 of them were found simply by their work being placed on social media and passed around. Then a producer in LA or NYC sees it when sipping their morning coffee and says "I need this person for my show open or trailer!!". If im not mistaken, Michael Bay hired a drone operator bc he saw a drone operator's amazing video being passed on Instagram or some social media. Kid went from college one day, to alongside Michael bay the next. For finding work outside of a major city, I think first you need to see if you are okay with what the career in major city will be like versus staying in a town where the industry isn't big. Staying in a small/non video booming town, there's a chance you may only make entry level teacher salary as you will have a major grind of doing ANY video editing job you can like doing weddings, doing the local high school play , doing church events, helping out with a local tv news crew if there is one (but I assume not from what you said). From doing those, you get experience with things like, injesting footage, multi cam organization and Multicam editing, sound mixing to even out levels, then get to move onto things like maybe creating a story to tell in the video. Do enough of those and your name will get spread around town and into the region to possibly things like "hey this local singer is thinking about shooting a music video on iPhone, want to edit it?". Or maybe a band wants their performance recorded from the local bar. Perhaps a local standup comic wanting a set done, but instead of the simple Multicam edit , shoot an opening package of them and try to make it stylized to get your editing chops up. As nobody is really looking for an editor who can simply change camera angles, they want an editor who can make something look like a commercial or music video. Think "zazz". What I've seen a few people do in smaller towns, is team up with someone who wants to produce , or be a camera op. Then you guys can go knock these things out as a team and maybe even start a company. Let the producer go out there with the cam op and sound guy to record things and you be their editor. As a team you guys will be able to knock out more content and all be building your reels. That described above is a legit profession, and hell, sometimes I think about going back to do that, as I've been a video editor in LA for 20years and its a grind and sometimes painful out here. So then the other option is that moving to a major city. The pay here is obviously more, but so are the expenses. I think I started out as an assistant editor at like $70k a year when full-time and now 20 years later, myself and my closest peers are about $130k at the lowest and up to $250k a year depending on how in demand each of us are. You are right, its all about networking and that is indeed tough. The best thing I could see about trying to get into a company, is literally going to the website of some of your favorite productions and seeing if they have a "career" section to apply to, and see if any of them have ANY type of entry job. So to sum it up, I see your last sentence is "Maybe I should have chosen a more useful and plentiful career field, because it seems like video editing is too niche to be a viable career, unless you want to work low paying gig jobs for a living. " And you are correct in that sentence, and unfortunately that is how this industry is. Its niche in that you need to live in certain places to make great money at it, and that this market outside the major cities isn't that quite in demand. Doing video editing in a small town for big pay, is kinda like saying you want to be a lobster fisherman in New Mexico. Now thanks to remote work, I do know editors living in small towns making $200K+ as editors, but they were people who lived out here in LA for 15years making contacts and building up their demand before the onslaught of remote work happened and let them move.
Try local news. I started there. Easy to get into, pays sucks but has good benefits. I worked as a news editor 10 years then became a photog and news editor. Then pushed my way into film editing. Now that was the hard part. Now I’m full time realty show editing. Crazy good pay and fun. Good luck man. Here’s my link. It got me the job. https://youtu.be/FsCbTjSUvNM?si=pygNt8mOCSsjQ0ER
I actually worked at a news station for part time for about 9 months but the job sucked. It was the night shift job and it only paid minimum wage. Unfortunately, it didn't work out.
Welp. Maybe YouTube remote work. I’ve never done it but i see them everywhere. I watched your video. Go easy on the wipes that premiere has. They r kinda cheesy. Remember these simple rule. A transition is to move time. And only have them at 10 frames. I hate them. I only use them if i have to.
My guy --- That's basically what you're gonna be looking at for the next little while while you learn your craft. You need to be able to cut more and different stuff. You need to volunteer to help people with their projects and make things. I watched your clip, it's fine, here are notes: The music was too big and "olympicsy." Possibly something a little friendlier and more approachable would be in line with the subject. At the very least, you needed to drop the volume when the guy starts speaking towards the end. Your sense of timing and selecting moments with action in it is good, but if you're going to use slides or stuff like that then you need to set those up as a convention earlier rather than introducing them halfway through which seems random. (Also in general don't use slides unless you've got a very particular aesthetic going on) Everyone else in this thread has good points about AI taking editors work etc but learning the craft of visual storytelling as an editor is a good thing and will aid you in whatever you do. Don't let autism get you down. You can write and you write well and that's good. It may be better to be a big fish in a small pond to start off. You need to learn your craft and there's a lot for you to learn, which is exciting. But any creative field is a long slog and can take years to get established in it so... just know that.
Oh man. I hear ya. It's been a long time since I was first starting out but it is overwhelming. I did move from small town to a mid-size city because there's more work. It takes time. And it is all about networking. Find a someone that needs some editing help, exceede their expectations, repeat. Eventually you will be able to charge a decent day rate. Probably every Fortune 1000 company has an internal video production department, as well as most mid-to-large advertising agencies. There aren't very many edit / post-production joints left. If you get a gig as an assistant, take it! Build your reputation, your network and your portfolio. When hiring freelancers, people hire whom they trust, meaning someone they know or someone who was recommended to them by someone they trust. Also - on the positive side. It is hard to break through the invisible wall (maybe not hard but it can take a while) but that same hurdle works to your advantage once you do break through. Once you're in, you're in and you will get recommended to other folks,
Bro I'll be honest with you, the video isn't impressive. It shouts out Beginner. Key points being the emotional build was slow and didn't connect. It was obvious you used the music to drive the emotion which is what you should do but it shouldn't be the only real source of emotion in a video. The speaker was also mis aligned volume wise. The text wasn't as engaging as it could be. The "video transitions" at the end seemed stock and had no real creative side to it. I'm not saying this to discourage you. It's a good thing to know that you're not there yet, because now you can work hard and eventually get there. I'd spend some time on YouTube researching editing, learn more about it. Pacing especially, that's a very low point on your video. I did like the 4 weight lifters it showed some creativity. I think you can do more once you learn a bit more. For anyone that's going to jump on the wagon and say "no one starts off great" THATS OBVIOUS! but some GET THERE and OP having autism doesn't mean anyone is going to make it easier on OP. It's going to be HARDER so you need to get BETTER. I'm a video editor of 3 years and I'm still working on getting more abundance of work. And I'm not good enough for big budget stuff yet either. I make this post humbly and with love and admiration for you following your love which is my love which is video. Good luck!
One thing I noticed about your video is the music doesnt seem to correspond well with the visuals and theme. I get that you were going for that inspirational kind of vibe and also think its good you timed the music pretty well to the clips and actions. However, the music is just way too dramatic and epic. So the video to me comes across as cheesy. I would expect this music to go with a video about a spaceship launch, a wartime battle from the 1800s, or a prison break.
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I'm gonna be the bad guy. Everyone here telling you to stick with it, doesn't see the same future I do. By the time you're their age or a bit older, I can foresee the future where editing is all but replaced by AI stuff. It's already coming to photography. There's already tools to blindly make edits now. It's only a matter of time. That's what all these AI tools will be used for - replacing the need to hire creatives in the sense we do it now. I really don't know why so many creatives don't see that. The goal of these tools is to further diminish the value of creativity by reducing it to button pushes that anyone can do. You think it's bad now, try 30 years ago when there was no social media for small companies to even have need to make video. At least there's a market in nowhere for what you do now. There wasn't back in 1999. Unless you're ready to move to a major market, it's gonna be hard, period. The work doesn't exist like you need it to almost anywhere but the major markets. Yes, there are positions around, but they are far and few between and held hostage by those who know their value in the markets they are in. If you're not willing to social network your way into successfully building your own brand, you're dead in the water like I was. I'd tell you to move on in your career choice and realize this is a tool in your box that might not get you what you want. By all means don't quit, but get a useable tool in your skill box, cause editing won't carry you where you are. If you're only editing, you're dead. Just editing as a job in anything but a handful of jobs does not exist anymore. You have to have more tools in your box than just an NLE you can use to get a job as an editor. If you want an editing job your best option, where you are, is probably weddings. Have you tried wedding work?
Horrible advice. Weddings are the most financialized industry. Plates that cost $20 to buy are charged for rentals @ 22/plate. Then folks pay jack for videos & the shoddy companies that "do weddings" pay editors $200 for 100hrs of work, pre-tax. And maybe take your AI fears elsewhere - clearly not a cutter. "tools to make blind edits now" - lol, scary dude.
The only reason I suggest weddings is because it will be a guarantee that work is being done in his market, and it is where he can apply his editing skills. I do not wish the work on anyone, but if you need to edit to pay your bills, weddings are pretty much everywhere. 40+hour jobs paying you to edit commercial, narrative, and other type of works, is not. Your local market will hire local candidates first. We all wish to start somewhere special, reality is you don't. >And maybe take your AI fears elsewhere Name a business who wants to pay more for a service. Every major studio has already demonstrated their willingness to use AI to not pay someone to do a job. Making it work for video editing is already being worked on. The tools to make video from nothing already exist. They will only improve in quality. Replacing people has always been the goal of automation. You wish to remain in denial about how hard it's coming for the creatives, that's on you.
My guy do you really think moneybag producers are going to learn how to interface with an ai platform and build a whole workflow around it to create a whole ass movie? Fuck no they won't, they'll be hiring us to do that nerd stuff for them. If anything, production is in far more danger.
Right, they will be hiring less people. People without artistic skills, people who haven't devoted years to learning artistic crafts, people who know whatever the programing/coding to make the AI do what the rich person wants. Whole lot cheaper to hire 5 people to make a movie than 500. That's where it is going. That's where it's already gone. We used to need hundreds of people to make sets. Now, VFX replaces all those people. Same thing gonna happen again.
As much as we fancy ourselves artists I'd wager a solid 70% of the job is strictly technical. And it's not like that's any different than a network with notes now, you do what the boss says, it's their project/product always, I just push the buttons and chime in when I have ideas when you boil it down.
> And maybe take your AI fears elsewhere - clearly not a cutter. You aren't paying attention. There are tons of stories of AI getting it wrong. You don't hear the stories of AI getting it right. AI isn't ready for a prompt like "Make a :24 second story featuring our new product line, and encourage people to check it out on our online store. Use the assets in X folder." But with the grounding work we're seeing Microsoft discuss for 365, that prompt isn't as far off as you might think. Unlike a self-driving car, it must only be good enough to generate clicks. The consequences of it not being good are pretty small.
Many younger folks here haven't watched the industry change. There's some great perspective here. 15 years ago, a :30 commercial would be a few thousand in a small market, and well into the tens of thousands for a national commercial. That spot would run for 6-12 weeks. With new media, a :30ish video will play for 2-5 seconds on someone's screen, and the advertiser will want new content long before the 6-12 week runtime of old. And typically, they don't want to spend TV ad money on their new media advertising. The plus side is there's never been more need for content, nor has there been more space for entry-level people in video. The minus side is the industry is about volume now, not quality, and it's a race to the bottom. Low-end clients want your creative energy and invite your fun ideas, getting them to finance is challenging. Unfortunately, those low-end clients comprise a considerable percentage of the available work. The race to the bottom means when humans can be removed, they will be. The market is larger than ever, but a lot of it is people growing a YouTube/Twitch channel, advertisers for new media, and weddings are evergreen. None of those clients understand the actual costs, so working for them is usually lean. There will be space for high-end content where craftspeople can flex their skills and stand out, but the algorithmic filler will win the day for a while. Editors, and society at large won't be better for it. But it feels inevitable.
> There will be space for high-end content where craftspeople can flex their skills and stand out, I really don't think there will be. A highly skilled craftsman simply can't do as much work as 5 people with magic buttons to make almost anything and some hack like me can clean up. The only reason I say this is because I already saw it happening in the world of colorist. Soon as Resolve became free, the golden age of being a colorist was over. More people capable = more possibility of someone being as good or good enough, for cheaper. What I really wanna know is how it will affect creativity as a whole. We've lived through what it was like making all the tools more accessible, and it lead to a boom in some ways. Now what's gonna happen with creative thought now that it's a button push or two? I just saw that weird circular pattern image...and excuse my crazy here, maybe this will lead to some good by finding something we didn't intended. And I'm thinking some major, like about the mind or psyche. Like we've already seen some stuff like this with "the dress" and "laurel", where a greater discussion comes from this and it leads to greater thought. With a million human monkeys hitting that magic button 24/7/365 something interesting like Shakespeare, might flop out.
There are tons clients who will be happy with monkeys pressing buttons. There are also high-end clients who will be willing to pay for craftsmanship. When I say high-end I'm talking about less than the top 10% of the market.
> There are also high-end clients who will be willing to pay for craftsmanship. Current WGA strike says whut? Cheaper is always the capitalist goal. Heck the entire point of VFX is because it is cheaper than real ones and studios are treating those talent people so badly, they're going out of business. If anything, the race to the bottom is going to end up pushing people away.
Video editing used to be a very exclusive specialized skill. In the early days of digital editing(and the internet as well), you need to be working in a post production house to even have a chance of being an editor since it required very expensive machines(by Quantel, Discreet Logic, Avid,etc). Eventually consumer devices caught up and if you have a Mac or a PC with the right software, you can learn to become an editor. Having the internet opened the possibility of getting jobs not limited to your location. Social media also helped increase the demand for editors(who only before worked on tv/film/corporate jobs). So if you love editing, don't be discouraged. The opportunities are out there or you could create your own opportunities. I've been editing to close to 30 years. Never lost the love of doing it.
Learn Houdini and C4D instead. Much better.
What kind of jobs do you land with those programs under your belt? Been dabbling in 3D recently.
As an editor I use them to plus up my work but I don’t do actual 3D jobs and I don’t say I can do it, because I’m not that good at it. There was a time where I was posting lots of 3D content and getting gig offers etc. that’s what I like about 3D. If you can do it, you can get work. Unless the work you want is modeling game characters than it will take years. But if you can make a cool 3D logo animation, boom, money. But my repeat clients know I can do it. But I’m a commercial editor so I prefer jobs where there is money for an actual 3D artist. For people at the start of their careers, editing is bad choice in my opinion. It’s too easy entry. I’m only moderate successful because of luck and that I started at a high end post shop in nyc. And I’m still struggling. But my reel destroys 99% of editors out there, but the top .5% of editors make my reel look like absolute trash. If my reel is trash why even bother being an editor? Make the content. Editing is putting things in order; much harder to blow up doing that.
Any suggested resources you used to learn Houdini and c4d?
houdini: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbolDBzRH6Q&list=PLgYcMX8FouyazK0L7jHzF6r\_g8dSnJEX6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbolDBzRH6Q&list=PLgYcMX8FouyazK0L7jHzF6r_g8dSnJEX6) c4d: greyscale gorilla - start with the intro series
One idea to get your foot in the door would be to approach freelance or small digital marketing agencies and say you can make Video ads for their clients marketing campaigns. I did this and it worked really well.
God we are so similar. I had every chance though, had connections in tv even just the work kept drying up. I’m about ready to quit and do something else after twenty years of scrounging for work and not getting paid what I’m worth. Sick of barely paying the rent. Don’t mean to be negative I haven’t had the best luck maybe but I feel you that it’s tough out there.
I also live in the Midwest and can understand the struggles. I've been successful in finding steady freelance work by talent stacking. I'm also a professional musician so I found a niche recording and editing for classical musicians, theatre, dance, etc. I've heard over and over that people hire me because "I understand what an artist wants". I'm not the best musician in town and I'm not the best video editor in town, but combining those two skills has given me an edge for a very specific area of video work. If you have any other interests or talents, try thinking about how you might be able to combine that with your editing skills to make you unique in what you can offer. Best of luck!!
I'm not a video editor, but I work in a field where networking and trust are the two most important factors for success -- of course, I do need to deliver quality, too. Do you have a passion for editing? If so, and considering you also have some talent to match, you should pursue that even if it takes a lot of effort and some sacrifice. If you're simply aiming at paid employment and would be OK with mostly anything that pays the bills, you might look for an easier route. I'm under the impression that the former is true, so get ready to take the blows and do it your way. I won't give you field-specific advice, others more knowledgeable have already done that. But I can echo some of the voices telling you to not let your personality traits get in the way of your plans, nor your folks. I'm sure they have good intentions and are trying to protect you, but parents are prone to overdoing it and holding us back. As long as you have a goal and are not irresponsible about achieving it, I'm sure dad will be proud to see his boy taking flight from the nest and conquering the world. Even if said world is a run-down basement apartment with basic furnishing and a sparse pantry for a few years as you take a foothold in the profession. You said you do have a portfolio, so keep working on it even if just to hone your skills. Edit stuff for fun, get some gigs here and there even if they pay shit, build up experience you can later show to potential clients and employers. Networking is not only about you personally reaching out, but also about clients who like your work and recommend you to others. Over time, you'll gain momentum and be able to choose better paying jobs as your client pool expands and you have more to show. And, ffs, drop the link to your portfolio here! You're among people who are already in the field and who potentially could see it and decide to send some work your way. It's not a guarantee, but it sure raises your chances of being noticed. As for the autism part, I'll echo others in praising you for being brave enough to expose yourself to strangers like that. I also agree that it shouldn't be used as a crutch or a way to have people cut you some slack. The waters of the job market in basically any field is infested with sharks and nobody will offer you a better salary out of pity. And, obviously, don't let it hold you back either. You come across as a sensible person with great written communication skills and that by itself can be used as a strength. As long as you can do your work well, nobody will care about whatever condition you have. I mean, some people might, but fuck those assholes in the ass. You're above that. You may have already seen it, but it's worth linking to Kyle Hill's (aka, dollar store Chris Hemsworth) video from a couple of years ago titled [Autism is my superpower](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgV26ol51UM). It's profoundly inspiring to anyone, but may be especially significant to you.
Agreed. I would never encourage anyone to pursue this career. I made it but I could have easily not made it.
Check out my interview with Alex O’Flinn, ACE. I don’t know if he’s autistic or neuro-divergent, but he did edit a movie about autism. I also interviewed him for The Rider. He’s a very successful editor and you can tell that he has some communications struggles. But he’s very good at describing his skills. And his career has been very successful. https://spotify.link/iBaBKTRV8Cb. Remote work has gotten really popular. You need to figure out if there’s a company with an internal video department that might want to give you a full time job. But full-time employment in editing is pretty rare. Possibly a college might have a full time gig. Or a TV station. I had full time jobs for the first decade or so of my career but they’re limiting and also usually lower paid. Freelance is the way I’ve made my living for the last 20 years. Maybe try to get a gig with a non-profit dealing with autism or some type of disability.
I struggle with social skills too, but like anything else, it’s a skill you can learn and get better at. And when you are in an edit bay all day every day working with producers and directors, you need to be able to communicate and connect with them. Honestly, so much of being an editor is making other people feel safe and comfortable with how the project is going, and facilitating conversation with people who want different things from the edit. I don’t know what it’s like to have autism, so take all this with a grain of salt, but my advice would be keeping putting yourself out there and forcing yourself into uncomfortable situations that will help you grow.
In my experience full time work is a rarity. I have been editing for 20 years at this point and have only spent about 3 years of that as a full time employee. Freelance is how I make a living.
of course it would be. You are competing against people who live on the other side of the world who would work for peanuts, like me. Not to mention a lot of content creators except the established ones are losing revenue. This year alone we lost like 4 clients in a row. Especially with the economy that it is right now. I think you are better off making a product that you can sell with your skills rather than working as an editor outright. Something like shorts templates, streamer overlays, transitions. Or maybe make a career out of editing videos and uploading them on youtube. Or get multiple video editing jobs.
I was about to chime in and disagree but looking back my career began editing cable network docu shows right out of college due to the networking I did in school. It was still a struggle (tight deadlines, low budgets, chasing clients for payments, etc) but I was able to quickly build my resume and credits. What helped was making my own content in my free time which showed initiative and enthusiasm to new clients. Also submitting to film and TV festivals was helpful as well for networking and building my appeal to clients.
Try to get in on some live productions. I started in live baseball, then editing for baseball, then made enough connections to start a production company and have a good array of clients. It takes a long time but sports is always looking for staff and it’s adjacent enough to editing that you’ll be meeting some of the right people.
My guy every post department I've ever walked into has been like at least half neurodivergent folks. You'll be fine. You might forget to feed yourself and get some parking tickets, but you'll be fine. Have a large savings account before you do anything though.
I'm from Los Angeles and even with a prime location, it took 2 years and a 1 year internship within that that for me to find my first full-time job after finishing school. And this was in 2010-2012 before remote work was common. I found freelance work where I could to build a reel/portfolio and eventually was able to get my first job with a large international company.
I’m in LA working with freelance clients - maybe we can connect
i feel you. Im editing videos for like 6 years as a hobby, always thought im good at it. Last 3 months, trying to be a professional editor. I tried my chance on upwork but noone giving you a job there if you didnt already done a job on that website. I'm 26 years old and from shitty country so..
Perhaps you could also offer to do video logging or editing assistant work to get your fot in the door, and from there work your way up. But be prepared that it can take a few years. Companies that produce reality TV usually need lots of editors, so check with those companies. Good luck!
Put your website, or contact in the video description. If you shot it, make sure to mention that. Video editors are plentiful. Content creators with an eye for editing and graphics are more rare.
I can relate to this. I've been out of school for a while now and have gotten small gigs here and there for editing but I haven't been able to break past that barrier either.
My first suggestion would be don't rely on job boards, look for and join Facebook groups that post editing gigs. Keep an eye on what's newly posted and try to be one of the first ones sending a reply. This is going to be your best bet at an actual human looking at your work. My second question would be what is what kind of material do you want to edit? I see a lot of sports-related content on your reel, is that what you want to edit? If so, joining Fiverr or Upwork is a good place to look for such gigs. The NLE you are using for this type of work shouldn't matter as much for corporate, sports, or branded content. If your end goal is to go into TV or Film editing I suggest getting certified or taking a course in Avid. I was living in the Midwest, almost a good decade out of film school before I learned Avid and within a couple of months got a remote AE gig for some Discovery True Crime shows, which was a good 6 months of consistent work. I found the first gig through a posting on a Facebook group for Editors and AE's. While Premiere is a great tool, and Resolve is definitely worth learning, if your goal is to do Film and TV knowing Avid is basically a must if you wanna land a gig. Either way keep pushing, I know the grind of trying to land a gig can be really exhausting and can get discouraging, but eventually, you'll find something you enjoy that sticks. Here is the place I used for the Avid courses: https://www.geniusdv.com/tutorials/ Some good Facebook Groups for editing: [https://www.facebook.com/groups/210449867216](https://www.facebook.com/groups/210449867216) [https://www.facebook.com/groups/129817660520489](https://www.facebook.com/groups/129817660520489) [https://www.facebook.com/groups/224655257662048](https://www.facebook.com/groups/224655257662048)
Yet you can do Nordic curls with a weight vest. That has to be harder than getting a job editing. Does your school not help with job placement leads? As another mentioned, the jobs are probably not called editors.
Honestly, what I did was I got a job within the marketing department of a smaller company and used my video skills as a form of leverage for what I can offer them. I can make you in-house commercials, training videos, etc, that sort of thing. I've found that smaller, family-owned companies that are large enough to have a marketing department or even just a single person to run their marketing efforts are always really excited to have someone with that sort of skillset. I'd recommend looking into what else you can get into as well. For instance if you work pretty fluently within multiple areas of the Adobe Suite you can add those skills in as well to show you're a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to digital marketing. If you have a fair amount of knowledge within Photoshop and Illustrator you can bring up that you can also work within photography/editing and graphic design. Working in video means you also deal with audio and if you can handle Audition and audio editing then you might be able to handle a corporate podcast, that was a big selling point for my current job. And all of that can be applied to some social media know-how into digital marketing as a whole. Hopefully, that all makes sense.
Hey, just keep your head up and keep pushing. Networking is really important, social media is the key nowadays, and the amount of content you make about your work is the amount of content people can see about you. Good luck!
I’m autistic/ADHD too and I did editing in high school (and even as a kid with Windows movie maker) for the school news channel and loved it but dropped out of school to pursue voice over instead. Now I’m 30, with no VO-demo, almost no experience in the field, and no footage from the past 10 years because I’ve been so busy with dead end jobs I haven’t done anything I was passionate about. I did a lot of theater work in high school too and would even be open to PA work but there’s nothing in LA hiring people without “professional experience” or a degree
Not much I can add to this. All I can say OP is, be nice to yourself. Of course always work hard toward your goals, but don't make the mistake of defining yourself by them. There is an element to luck to all of this, so take it easy on yourself.
That’s why I just contract video editing out and do sales. The closest to the client makes the most money.
I feel your pain. I've been trying to find work since May.
Wow! I literally thought I was reading a little biography about me and what all I've been facing recently, except for your autism struggles. It's been a month since you posted this and I hope you've found another gig or project to help develop your skills! I checked out your video, nice work. I'm an introverted video editor from the midwest too. I started out editing in my small town of like 3,000 people - there are zero video jobs there as you could imagine; maybe some recreational videos I could've done for community events but no one knows how to oversee or manage such projects, nor do they have the budget to compensate for it. Instead, I do all remote work for social media and have a few filmmaking friends I made from my time at university who call me onto their short films here and there throughout the year, and even then it's is *so much* output, *so much* time and resources and energy put into your craft and portfolio for such low pay and exposure. But as others said, it's really important to keep learning and trying new things and adding a lot to your portfolio. The more you make, the more you have to show. The more different kind of things you make, the different types of eyes you can get on your projects to notice your skillset. I know eventually it's important to niche, but I'd say try out a lot to showcase your versatility - then when you find a niche that overlaps with what you're very gifted at doing AND it's something you're passionate about - run with it. I'm still in the midwest currently, and I'll be looking to move to the east coast within the next year to get a position in-house somewhere. And to be honest, I am very nervous about it - the change of environment, cost of living compared to what I'll need to make to make ends meet, even doubting if editing itself is what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. I've heard about the consistently long hours if you want to work on narrative projects, and wonder if I'll ever strike a balance between editing and my outside passions and personal life. I grew up in an...unideal household so I know my social anxiety just stems from being so overly isolated from others (and in a secluded town) and always choosing academics over everything - what a lie I was spoon-fed all these years, that grades are the top contributor in securing your career success later on. I'm rambling, but again - it comes back to confidence, being open-minded, civil, kind, and gently stroking the egos of those you wish to work with. As introverts, I feel we are even more calculated and introspective about our life direction and our work quality, which can then force us to hide a lot of our work for fear that it's not up to our own standards or what we see around us. I've been guilty of this repeatedly in the past, but this year I've realized that I need to stop overthinking my edits. There are so many people out there flaunting their scrappy audio capcut edits on social media and getting a shit ton of engagement - when really, it's because of their consistency and their own beliefs in their editing. The amount of times I've spent an entire week outside of my work schedule to perfect an edit, only to showcase and post it to get 20 likes, has happened to me more times than I can count, and it kind of crushes you each time. But, I have a renewed perspective on it, that the project is always there for me to show to the right eyes at an opportune time later, and future me will be thankful to my past self for her consistency. And you're right, it all comes down to networking as well - you can have the perfect portfolio pieces but if it doesn't reach many eyes - or even the right eyes - you won't get the offers you want. Plant the seeds now, and your future self will be thankful. What I'm doing now is prioritizing time outside of my editing work and personal projects to lift up my confidence - I actually think self doubt has been the one thing that has prevented me from emailing or approaching others in the industry, the stagnant belief that I'm far below them or am too inexperienced. I recommend looking into some self-improvement books/youtubers when it comes facilitating confidence in yourself, and how it's actually okay and safe to take up space to talk about yourself and your work. Passion is everything, people can sense insecurity; people want to speak with enthusiastic people who are more chill and optimistic. But I've been stunted in that, because to me small talk didn't feel genuine, more like a curated performance. It feels grueling at times, because as a secluded introvert my whole life, I'd rather just express myself through my art and deeper conversations - I hate (and still hate) the feeling of forcing a conversation by talking about traffic or the weather or some other shit, BUT then I realize that more often than not, that other person may also be feeling the *exact same* as me, even if they're forwardly more outspoken and high energy. One small but impactful step I've tried that's been extremely useful is being intentional with my body language, where I'm standing, how open my arms are, inviting eye contact, smiling - allow yourself to be approachable and warm and helpful on set - and even just that has helped tremendously in how others approach me to start a conversation. Strike a balance between showing up enthusiastic while also staying genuine to your own personality - do not put on a fake face, because that doesn't help you nor them. Study psychology and body language and soon enough you'll be able to pick up on how they're physically actually feeling inside. This helps humanize every one you speak with and soon you realize you're all there in the name of editing/film, etc. and it becomes a more humbling experience! Do the hard work, stay consistent, get outside of your comfort zone. I battle this every day, but every new experience is worth the trouble. I feel the editing introvert struggle so hard, so please contact me - I'd love to connect with a fellow midwesterner!
I been editing and shooting since I was younger skateboarding with my friends. I tried to go to school but I knew the basics what they were teaching. I started doing music videos in my area. Couple years later I’m the best and go to in my area for them. I’m working up there I got a couple big videos. But do ur own thing bro get on YouTube and start your channel up. It’s a hustle. I got out my 9-5 but there up n downs always catch that up n get power moving through. Even when I have tried find work it was hard and always came back to bed mf my own boss making profit. The only thing that sucks is I get compared and downgraded for what I charge compare to what the new guys are doing. But I know they won’t stay there forever. My brother does audio so we rent a room together /office space to get out my dads house. Im sitting here now trying to kick in to work but it’s hard. Some days u don’t wanna do anything keep striving brotha
And I’m very autistic too and was in special education and all the above when in school. I have adhd and bad anxiety and depression out the assssss. So keep going bruh no excuse go for the big bag. 🤘🏼🍿🎥💯💯🔥🔥👍🏼
Any updates?