Are you a video editor or thinking about becoming one and are curious if you can be a video editor for your entire career? Is it possible to spend 30-40 years in the edit bay? I discuss my thoughts on this in the video and article below.
Video Industry
These are my thoughts on the video industry from the eyes of a video editor, video producer, and freelancer.
How to Ask a Question to a Video Editor
In this video I discuss how to properly ask a question to a video editor. You will learn how to do this with three simple rules.
Pet Peeves for Video Editors
Maybe it’s the over-abundance of projects I’m facing right now, but I feel like I need a good rant session. Here are a handful of things that just drive me crazy when I’m editing. These are my pet peeves for video editors:
When the b-roll shots are too short
I’m okay if they aren’t white balanced or if they’re under/over-exposed. I can work my magic on them. But can’t do anything if there isn’t enough footage.
Work/Life Balance for Video Professionals (with Kids)
This article discusses work/life balance for video professionals, especially those with kids. Since having a child my thoughts on work/life balance went from the normal, “yeah, ya know, it’s important to separate yourself from work sometimes” to the now extreme, “this is my time with my family — leave me alone!”
Being a video editor or just in the video industry itself leads to long hours, odd hours, and usually the constant need to be by your phone to respond to a client. I’m here to say that it’s okay to not answer a call or email. It’s okay to put the phone down; the laptop away. Take a step back. And go focus on your family or yourself.
Adjusting Focus
The past few years my focus for Edit Video Faster has been all over the place. To be honest, I haven’t had a clear direction with where I want to take it for as long as I can remember now. It’s just…items on my to-do list that I never get to. It’s something I spend time on every once in awhile instead of playing with my kid or recharging my batteries.
Without a clear objective, what is a project besides flailing in the dark and hoping for some random good outcomes? A camera operator without proper focus leads to worthless shots. Creating content for a business, such as EVF, leads to worthless content.
Sure, I’m pretty happy with what I’ve been able to put out recently. But, honestly, I didn’t know who it was for or why I was doing it.
I’d like to do something about that. Get a little more clarity. More focus.
Most Deadlines for Video Editors Are Sh!t
The majority of deadlines are not real and most people misrepresent the true meaning of them. To video editors with deadlines: read this.
A deadline is the last possible moment a project can be completed. This instance in time can only be for a handful of reasons (at least in the world of video creation):
- The video is literally airing, being broadcasted, or being presented at an event
- There is a legal contractual obligation
- …
That’s it. Two reasons. It’s being shown at an event or over the airwaves. Or you would be breaking a legal document. Any other justification is BS.
Traits of a Great Freelance Video Editing Client
Last week I had a new freelance video editing project come in. My #1 freelance writing client wanted a video created and turned to me to do the editing. Will they also be a great freelance video editing client?
I got going with it, working almost a full day over the course of a handful of nights and a Saturday morning. Then I got an email saying to stop working on the project and that they wanted to table it for a couple months while they work up a larger marketing campaign.
Well, damn. I spent almost a day on this thing and I’m going to have to wait to get paid until we complete the project…
But that didn’t happen. They told me to bill for the hours I’ve worked so far. The next day I had a few hundred bucks sitting in my PayPal account. Reasons like this are exactly why I love working with this company.
Sure, my project got put on hold and I made a fraction of what I would have otherwise but something happened outside of my point of contact’s control and they made good on the work that I got done and paid me immediately. These are traits of a great freelance client.
Below I’ve brainstormed a few more traits of a great freelance client, specifically for video editors. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this as well.
Naptime Blog Update
Since my son was born this summer I’ve found it difficult to find time for anything that doesn’t revolve around him, my wife, my dog, my 9-5, or the mountain of bottles I need to wash that seems to never disappear next to my sink.
For the past 6 ½ years I’ve been living separate lives from my home/office lives through my various blogs and online platforms. It’s disheartening to see my projects grow cobwebs.
After some self-reflection while a 17lb tiny human slept on my chest I realized I’m letting perfection and the size of what I want to create get in the way. In my mind I want everything I create to be near flawless and be of substantial length.
Music License Tracking Spreadsheet — Free Download
This article is for video editors, video producers, and video professionals that need to track stock music. It contains a free download of a stock music license tracking spreadsheet. Enjoy!
Hey Team!
Recently I noticed a problem that I have as a video editor and video producer. There are a couple hundred stock music tracks I’ve downloaded and/or purchased over the years to use in all sorts of projects. But outside of a consistent file naming convention I had no way of tracking what is being used where. On top of that, there is other data that would be good to have in one place that’s associated with the music.
So I did something about it. Like what any good digitally-OCD person would do I made a spreadsheet. And I’d like to share it with you. Use the link below to get your stock music license tracking spreadsheet.
This is a link to a Google Sheet. Go here to view and download a copy for yourself.
Edit Bay Inertia
Remember learning about inertia in middle school science class? According to Newton’s laws of motion, an object either remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by a force. This is inertia — how much resistance it takes to change motion. And inertia plays a key role for us in the edit bay when it comes to productivity.
Most of us editors don’t feel the inertia we have because it hardly ever changes. We’re constantly in motion. Everyday we head into the office, fire up the Mac (or PC), grab a cup of coffee, and get to work editing. We’re in it day in and day out. Every time we sit down to edit we keep our motion going.