Video Editing Career

[burntoast]

Hey guys, i need some tips and advice on being a professional video editor in the future. It seeems that makin AMVs can get inspire ppl to take their skills even further. I've prepared quite a few questions and i'd appreciate some help..

1) What courses will i be able to take in high skool that might prepare me for college and the editing field? i know many skools offer different classes depending on staff and such, but i'd like to know if anyone of u took any particular ones. And are there any prerequisites i'd need in order to take editing classes in college?

2) Is this career worth studying and preparing for? And do the benefits
outweigh the burdens (ex. if work or a job can be hard to find at first)? i heard that this field of study has many advantages, and that jobs are being offered a lot these days.

3) Would i be able to make enough money? I suppose video editing is not a very lucrative field, but it shouldn't make me poor either.. I'm wondering if i can at least support bills, a good apartment, and a nice car.

4) Is it possible i won't be able to get enough moola from #3? i don't wanna be a zombie that edits vidz during the day and slaves at a 7-11 during the night.. but whatever i need to do, i guess i'll need to do.

5) Will i be able to get enough free time for attending cons, or creating AMVs and such? i also wanna know if i can use the editing room for my own uses at.. mtv or.. cnn, lets say. i know i can do whatever i want if i go freelance.

6) Is there some super-leet college/university/institution that everyone goes to in order to learn video editing..? or will i have to search around by applying to different colleges in the state i live in?

Someday i wish i could work for an animation company, or Bandai perhaps. i heard someone got a job there.. wish i could do something similar.

[§_Akuma_§]

thats something you are going to have to do yourself b/c its different where ever you go. the closest thing to such a carrer is multimedia productions and i plan on taking it. but like i said, look around, ask your school councler

[NME]

Taken straight from this website that my counsellor gave out because I'm a lazy bastard:

Film Editor

Career Information

Film Editor
AT A GLANCE
Examine raw footage and decide what to cut
• Non-linear editing with computers is the wave of the future
• Toronto, Vancouver and Los Angeles are still film meccas
• Education: a degree plus on-the-job technical training

The Work

• Many people think film editors just cut out the bad shots. But it's more complex than that. Directors routinely shoot much more footage than they need. They might shoot a particular scene using both close-ups and long shots, as well as working from several camera angles. The film editor is the one who goes through all the footage.

• Film editing dates back to the late 1800s, when inventors like Thomas Edison produced short action films that were mere minutes in length.

Until recently, editors worked with actual film, cutting individual strips and assembling them in the desired order. This was extremely time consuming, since the editor spent a great deal of time physically manipulating the film -- putting it up, taking it down, and lining up rolls to find the right footage.

• But non-linear editing has changed all that. Most editing is done using a computer. And since the editor is no longer working with the actual physical footage, it takes much less time to organize frames, extend a scene, or make a cut.

While some low-budget films and productions still rely on traditional methods, the majority of films are completed using non-linear editing (assembling film in any order).

• Editors work for motion picture companies, television studios, advertising agencies and corporations. The work schedule can be very irregular. An editor might work on a television series for six months, putting in long hours, then spend three months searching for another job after the series is cancelled.

"You move from production to production to production," says Eileen Hoeter, a film editor in Vancouver. "This isn't a job so much as a way of life."

• While it helps to think creatively, film editing has its practical side. Technical skills are essential. "People have the idea that filmmaking is very artsy, when it fact it's very paper-based and mathematical," says Hoeter. "You need to be able to count 24 frames per second and you need to be organized."


"You're working with both sides of your brain," says freelance editor Laura Kab. "You need to be very creative one minute, but then you need to be very technical the next minute."

• Patience is also important. Film editors must be prepared to spend hours at a time in a dark room, pouring through images of film on the computer screen.

Film editors work alone or in a team, depending on the size of the production. As many as 12 editors, including a supervising editor, may be needed for a major motion picture. By contrast, a single editor may have complete control over a low-budget production.

• Budding film editors usually head to either Toronto or Vancouver. Film editing assistant Aaron Marshall says that right now the job market in Toronto is excellent. The low Canadian dollar encourages American productions to shoot and complete post-production work in Canada.

The job climate in Vancouver is also thriving, although Hoeter says that most of the steady work is in television instead of motion pictures.

The Facts

• Job Futures says there were 83,200 workers employed in these occupations in 2001.

The 2002 edition of Job Futures says that the average hourly wage for these workers is $19.46.

Job Futures predicts that the market for all creative and performing artists will be fair through 2007.

Education

• Most film editors get a filmmaking degree from an accredited university. While the equipment is often out of date, film school teaches you theory, says Marshall. "You can learn the technical details on the job."

Film school is also an ideal way to meet the people who will be in a position to help you later on. Students can also take one of the hands-on, non-linear editing courses offered by companies specializing in digital media.

• Becoming an editor is no small achievement. It's extremely difficult to break into the field. Directors hire editors whose work they're familiar with, since a poor editing job can ruin a film.

It all comes down to networking, says motion picture editor Bill Waters. He recommends that would-be editors set their sights a little lower and start in the post-production department of a large company. This gives them time to establish a reputation while earning a steady salary.

Another way to gain experience and develop a relationship with a director is to volunteer to help out on a film production set.

[RadicalEd0]

Hey, I've been looking into the same exact thing recently. A few months ago I decided that I should probably pursue a career in the video editing/production field on the basis of these facts:
1 - good money
2 - already have the skills and know how for alot of it and it would be a waste not to put that to use
3 - I like doing it
4 - there will be a lot of jobs opening up in the next few years as hdtv becomes mainstream and stuff.

Although it was just sort of a blind dream that I hadn't explored. I encode stuff and work with technical aspects of video more often then editing, so I wasnt sure what sort of jobs or colleges were available in those areas. Then I decided to do some research and came across these two schools, Full Sail, and SAE.

Realizing that there were specialized colleges for this sort of thing, that offered the exact sort of course I'd want to take, who required nothing but a high school diploma or equivalent (GED), and only for one year blew me away. Right now I'd like to attend the more pricey full sail in orlando during what would be my senior year of high school, thats my dream anyway.

Enough about me, I'll try to answer some of your questions.

1. Multimedia if your school offers it, computer sciences and programming are bound to help out, especially Java if you plan on the multimedia field. Physics, Algebra, and Trigonometry supposedly help as well.

2. According to Full Sail 70% of their graduates go directly into a job. I definitely think the benefits outweigh any downsides.

3. Editing is a $$ paradise.

4. see 3

5. I'd say most likely.

6. I'll go into some more detail about Full Sail and SAE, although you should check out their sites and look around. These are the two outstanding colleges I've come across that seem to be the 'super l33t' colleges you're asking about.

SAE has 3 branches in the US, Miami, New York, and uh.. that one in Tenessee. Anyway, Miami and tenessee only offer an audio program, so you'd be going to the one in new york. This one offers a digital media course for 9 months costing $14,800 for tuition and books and stuff, and will get you a diploma in multimedia. No dorms so you'll have to get some high rise apartment, but they do offer assistance for living expenses and stuff.

If you're more interested in film directing/shooting/production you'll have to go overseas (which would be a crying shame right )

Full Sail on the other hand is a single unit in Orlando Florida (I'd rather live there than new york city :O). The digital media program there also only lasts 9 months, although it costs $33,600$ . They have a lot of assistance possibilities though so. It also will get you an associates degree instead of just a lousy diploma.