Profession of Film and Video Editor

George Lucas, creator of Star Wars and Indiana Jones edited his originals. Many other famous and well-known people like George Lucas edited their movies. There is an immense amount of history for this career.

Film and video editing dates back to the 18th century where editors would physically edit the films to come out the way they wanted. One of the first film and video editors were the lumiere brothers. People who want to become a film and video editor need to possess certain skills and interests to excel in their career.

To pursue a career as a film and video editor, it requires certain skills and interests that give a competitive edge against the other editors. Patience, for example, is a valuable and needed skill to have in this career. “A Film and video editor spends a lot of time at his/her computer, therefore they must have patience to get the job done.”. This means you will need patience to put the movie together. Another example would be experience with technology. “Having experience with the latest technology may help you stand out.”. As an editor, having experience with technology will most definitely give you a competitive edge against the other editors. Finally, Communication skills, “you will need to show communication skills both written and oral”. A film and video editor needs to be a terrific communicator in order to work as a team with the other editors and most likely director and producer.

A film and video editor will need to be trained in their field in order to succeed and thrive. To become a film and video editor it requires at least a bachelor's degree in film and production. It will take about four years to get a bachelor's degree and start working as a film and video editor. In high school, taking electives like film, or a technology program will give you a head start as an editor. The higher education you get the easier it will be for you to grow as a film and video editor.

Once you have been trained and settled into your position for a number of years, there are options for you to grow/excel in your job. For example, a director. “Film editors most fluidly make the transition into being successful film directors.” This quote shows that it isn't that outlandish for a film editor to become a director. They share many qualities and with minor training, a film editor can become a director. Film and video editors make $61,890 dollars Directors make $88,610 annually. Another good example is a video producer. “A video producer and film and video editor share many qualities.” As a video producer you are managing the production and the making of the movie, going from a video editor to a video producer would be a big change, but the skills you need to become a producer aren't that different from a film and video editor. Video producers make $88,610. People who want to become a film and video editor need specific skills, education, training, and the strife to excel in their career.

In Conclusion, Film and video editors are crucial to the production of a movie. No great movie would be great without a good video editor, a movie without a video editor would simply fall apart. People should pursue this career because it offers a good wage with a medium education level. I am pursuing this career because I like all the things it has to offer and hope one day I can become a film and video editor.