The entertainment industry offers a wide range of career possibilities to choose from. Have you ever thought of becoming a video editor? A film and video editor is a technician who is specially trained to look after technical elements like the motion picture and the television industries. Whether you want to work with an agency or a production company, there is a strong demand for video editors. To make the most of your career and pursue the occupation of video editing, you need to be well informed of the job description, educational qualification required, career prospects in this occupation and how to enhance your chances of landing video editing jobs.

 

Job Description
If you have knowledge about film shooting, you must be aware that a scene is shot multiple times. It is shot from multiple angles. Now, it is the video editor's job to review all these scenes, organize them coherently and choose the best scene which is just the best in terms of photography, performance and consistency. Before the entire procedure of video editing begins, technicians perform the following tasks.

 

Going through the script
Knowing the storyline
Collaborating with film and television producers and directors
Working closely with the director to understand the scene requirements
Understand the film goals that producers want to achieve

 

To perform their editing responsibilities for a film or a television production efficiently, the editor has to completely understand the film producer's expectation. They need to work in order to fulfill the goals that the director and the producers have. Advanced computer technologies require video editors to be proficient in their computer skills. A wide range of computer software and digital systems are used to edit a motion picture or a television show.

 

Video editors work on technical elements like the soundtrack, film and video. They are responsible for inserting music, dialogues, sound and special effects appropriately to make scenes appealing to the audience. They use a variety of editing equipments and work closely with other specially trained technicians in this field. Editors may work on commercials, music videos, educational films etc. Depending on their work experience and skills, video editors may also specialize in a specific task. For example, many editors have specialization in working on soundtracks of films.

 

Working Hours & Environment
Though many video editors work the standard 40 hours a week, they may also work additional or irregular hours to meet the provided project deadlines. Depending on project requirements, editors may need to work for 60 hours a week. For working during holidays and weekends, professional receive a higher hourly rate. Editors spend most of their time indoors. They are seen most of the time in projection and cutting rooms. They work in comfortable environment which is both well lighted and well ventilated.

 

Educational Qualification & Training
Though some of the video editors carry college degree, having a college degree is not necessarily required to kick-start this career. There are several vocational schools, colleges and universities that offer training programs in film making. Courses in subjects like art and photography prove to be valuable for this film and television career. Editors need to be quite well versed with the use of camera, film projectors, editing software, digital editing systems etc. To receive working experience, many professionals work as apprentices or assistants to senior editors. To make the most of their careers and become successful, editors need to keep abreast of the latest development and technological advancement in this occupation.

 

Job Outlook
Employment in this occupation will increase faster than the average of all occupations. Candidates will need to face tough competition in landing film and video editing jobs. Best employment opportunities will be available to those who possess a bachelor's degree in film making or film production, along with extensive computer editing experience.

 

Salary
Film and video editors receive an average hourly rate of $20.99. The average annual salary offered in this occupation is around $43,669. With an advanced degree in film production an extensive work experience, professionals can earn a higher annual salary. As compared to television production companies, film industries offer a higher salary and employment benefits.

A part and parcel of the film staff, film and movie editors possess a lot of technical skills to perform their task of editing a film, soundtrack or video. As you must be aware that shooting for a motion picture film or a television film is done according to a schedule, which leaves no time to find out whether the film scenes are in a logical sequence. The hectic shooting schedule gives no time to look into the story continuity. You must have also noticed a particular scene being shot twice or more, from various angles. Do all the scenes get included in the film as many times as they are filmed or shot? Obviously, not. The motion picture film or the television film that you enjoy seeing so much reaches its final stage after technical works like scene selection, scene assembling, discarding of scenes, story continuity, insertion of music and dialogue, soundtrack editing etc. Film and video editors are those highly skilled professionals that perform all these technical tasks and make the film look just fantastic.

 

After the shooting of a film or video gets completed, film and video editor's duty is to select the shot which gives the scene utmost effect. During a shoot, a specific scene may be shot twice or three times or more. Therefore, the task of selecting the most effective shot of a scene remains with video and film editors. Whether it is the photography, consistency or the timing of the film or video, editors use their expertise to strike just the perfect combination of all these elements. The editors need to make sure that all the scenes of a film or video follow a logical sequence and the story runs smoothly. If they find a scene that interrupts the overall plot development, film editors may discard that scene entirely from the film. While editing a film, editors are required to evaluate scenes in terms of entertainment and dramatic value as well.

 

While editing a motion picture film or a television film, video editors or film editors also work in close contact with sound effect editors and music editors. Sound effect editors complete their work along with the assistance and inputs from directors, film and video editors and other technical people involved with the production and development of the film. A sound editor's responsibility is to analyze the actual sound requirements of a picture and by assembling sound tracks accordingly. When it comes to working on the background music, the music editors do the synchronization of music tracks. Assistant editors are also there to assist the film and video editor with their task.

 

Education & Training
To kick start your career as apprentice film editors, candidates need to obtain a bachelor's degree including film courses that cover the different facets of filmmaking. Students can easily select from a wide range of vocational training institutions, film schools, colleges and universities where they can enroll in a film course. Courses in videography prove extremely helpful to establish your career in the arena of film and video editing. Candidates can also choose to work under experienced film editors to gain some valuable experience, essential for career advancement. Besides having educational and academic requirement, film and video editors also need to be very innovative, possess good judgment qualities and should be able to communicate their message effectively to other technicians involved in the project.

 

In this age of cutting edge technologies and computers, editors should keep themselves abreast of the latest development in the computer-based editing systems. With the passage of time, most of the traditional film and video editing techniques have been replaced with modern computerized techniques. Aspiring candidates should also have expert computer skills.

 

Career Outlook & Salary
Multiple career opportunities await candidates in the field of film and video editing. Candidates can land jobs in advertising agencies, movie studios, television programs, motion picture productions etc. Some of the video and film editors also choose teaching at film schools, colleges and universities. The median annual salary of a film editor is $46,670. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 23,000 film and video editing jobs are expected by the year 2016.