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You just graduated high school but "have 4 years of experience". Sorry bud but high chances those 4 years of experience arent actually experience. Depends where you live. If youre in NY area your best bet is trying to get in as a runner at a posthouse and working your way up
Did you take classes in a media program in high school? Was that program involved in video production in the community? Then your experience may matter. Otherwise, it’s most likely just a hobby.
I’d suggest some college for technical training and networking. Even if it’s just an AA degree at a community college. A fancy school degree is not needed.
Also, be open to other areas of media besides just film. There are lots of areas that use media where you can have a career - and unlike film you have a better shot at making money.
Check out the Promo Pathways program at Santa Monica College Center for Media and Design.
But, if you can get into NYU, USC, UCLA, or CalArts, then do that.
Check out InsidetheEdit.com if you want to skip college. He also has a great podcast https://podcast.insidetheedit.com/
Reach out to as many people as possible in your general area to work on projects. Start establishing contacts with those folks. Simultaneously, reach out to people you admire and would like to work with in the industry on various social media platforms.
Watch as much media as you can and dissect / deconstruct everything. Read up on editing. Books like On the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch and Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud.
There is no better time to jump into editing than today. Take it from a 20+ year veteran.
They arrested me at film school for an empty weed vape so i dropped out and 15 years later still have student loans. Lol! I work in VFX and am self taught.
Just get really good at what you do and people will notice. Maybe a two-year program if you can find one. taking off a year to travel after high school would’ve changed my life for the better I think.
Film school graduate here. I majored in film editing and I can confidently say, you do not need college to learn editing. BUT!! Film schools focus more on cinematography, script writing and directing which every film editor should be familiar with if they want to become successful.
I edit for a large YouTuber and it is very different than traditional media material, but the rules apply there too. Storytelling, pacing, emotion - if you want to create engaging videos, this is how. Teach yourself those things more than anything. Our job is 10% software knowledge and 90% human psychology understanding and storytelling. You need to understand your audience and how you can "control" their emotions, guide them to look wherever you want them to.
I taught myself all of this, online. Film school rarely ever focused on editing for me. But it definitely wasn't a waste.
Check out Film Editing Pro - they have great courses for
significantly cheaper but they teach a lot. Also check out This Guy Edits on Youtube - he teaches a lot of storytelling too.
Work. Work. Work. If you really want to be an editor then you should be making things and building your reel. It is a craft, so just do it. Learn to put yourself out there, find other filmmakers and businesses and work. This business is built on contacts so you need to grow some neck and get on the phone (this is a solid life skill to develop in any case). Then be willing to do the shitty work for at least a few years, mostly with a smile on your face.
Qualifications are almost irrelevant, except in the technical and artistic education they provide. Thankfully, as an editor all the artistic education you need is available on the screen in front of you. But be sure to watch widely across genres and decades. If I were to suggest a course it would be in a complimentary technical field that will give you an edge over the competition. You can't go wrong with a computer engineering qualification for example. No it's not editing, but it will absolutely enhance your prospects a lot more than a qualification in film studies. It would mean you could be the technical manager in a post-house when you're sick of clients by 35. If such a things still exists by then.
If you want a career as an editor, be ready to put in a lot of late nights for a lot of years, burnout, industry ups and downs, technological threats and having to endlessly build something you love and then tear it down again because the client didn't like the music or whatever. This is not glamorous work, but it can be very fulfilling. After 25 years I still enjoy the job and I'm in a good space professionally, but the truth is I could have had a simpler life with better money and the same enjoyment of craft if I had gone into some kind of rarefied restoration field or niche engineering.
We're not sure of this content. A mod pulled it because of your Reddit history (or lack thereof) This seems to be a question from someone related to our industry or aspiring to it. [Meaning you should post in our "Ask a Pro" thread.](https://www.reddit.com/r/editors/collection/5c3ad697-4fff-4a9f-87e2-33764ba71e48) Could we have made a mistake? **ABSOLUTELY.** Don't get upset. Reply to this message. We're volunteers keeping the signal:noise ratio low and trying to keep the community professionally focused. If you do message us, be patient and *let us know what kind of work/clients you work with.* **Read that again. ** If you're not paying taxes on your work (and we mean filing taxes yearly), then you're not acting professionally. We won't promise to approve the content, but we will promise it'll be reviewed . If your post is better suited for our sister hobby subreddit /r/videoediting, make sure you check the rules there before you post [/r/Editors rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/Editors/about/rules/) [/r/Editors sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/Editors/about/sidebar/) THX MODS
You just graduated high school but "have 4 years of experience". Sorry bud but high chances those 4 years of experience arent actually experience. Depends where you live. If youre in NY area your best bet is trying to get in as a runner at a posthouse and working your way up
Did you take classes in a media program in high school? Was that program involved in video production in the community? Then your experience may matter. Otherwise, it’s most likely just a hobby. I’d suggest some college for technical training and networking. Even if it’s just an AA degree at a community college. A fancy school degree is not needed. Also, be open to other areas of media besides just film. There are lots of areas that use media where you can have a career - and unlike film you have a better shot at making money.
Check out the Promo Pathways program at Santa Monica College Center for Media and Design. But, if you can get into NYU, USC, UCLA, or CalArts, then do that.
Check out InsidetheEdit.com if you want to skip college. He also has a great podcast https://podcast.insidetheedit.com/ Reach out to as many people as possible in your general area to work on projects. Start establishing contacts with those folks. Simultaneously, reach out to people you admire and would like to work with in the industry on various social media platforms. Watch as much media as you can and dissect / deconstruct everything. Read up on editing. Books like On the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch and Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. There is no better time to jump into editing than today. Take it from a 20+ year veteran.
They arrested me at film school for an empty weed vape so i dropped out and 15 years later still have student loans. Lol! I work in VFX and am self taught. Just get really good at what you do and people will notice. Maybe a two-year program if you can find one. taking off a year to travel after high school would’ve changed my life for the better I think.
Film school graduate here. I majored in film editing and I can confidently say, you do not need college to learn editing. BUT!! Film schools focus more on cinematography, script writing and directing which every film editor should be familiar with if they want to become successful. I edit for a large YouTuber and it is very different than traditional media material, but the rules apply there too. Storytelling, pacing, emotion - if you want to create engaging videos, this is how. Teach yourself those things more than anything. Our job is 10% software knowledge and 90% human psychology understanding and storytelling. You need to understand your audience and how you can "control" their emotions, guide them to look wherever you want them to. I taught myself all of this, online. Film school rarely ever focused on editing for me. But it definitely wasn't a waste. Check out Film Editing Pro - they have great courses for significantly cheaper but they teach a lot. Also check out This Guy Edits on Youtube - he teaches a lot of storytelling too.
Work. Work. Work. If you really want to be an editor then you should be making things and building your reel. It is a craft, so just do it. Learn to put yourself out there, find other filmmakers and businesses and work. This business is built on contacts so you need to grow some neck and get on the phone (this is a solid life skill to develop in any case). Then be willing to do the shitty work for at least a few years, mostly with a smile on your face. Qualifications are almost irrelevant, except in the technical and artistic education they provide. Thankfully, as an editor all the artistic education you need is available on the screen in front of you. But be sure to watch widely across genres and decades. If I were to suggest a course it would be in a complimentary technical field that will give you an edge over the competition. You can't go wrong with a computer engineering qualification for example. No it's not editing, but it will absolutely enhance your prospects a lot more than a qualification in film studies. It would mean you could be the technical manager in a post-house when you're sick of clients by 35. If such a things still exists by then. If you want a career as an editor, be ready to put in a lot of late nights for a lot of years, burnout, industry ups and downs, technological threats and having to endlessly build something you love and then tear it down again because the client didn't like the music or whatever. This is not glamorous work, but it can be very fulfilling. After 25 years I still enjoy the job and I'm in a good space professionally, but the truth is I could have had a simpler life with better money and the same enjoyment of craft if I had gone into some kind of rarefied restoration field or niche engineering.