The era of using videos as media of communication has escalated in the past few years. Videos are an excellent entertainment source and help the consumers compared to audio and text.
For a video to be impactful and engaging, it needs appropriate edits. From lighting conditions to sound quality, everything needs to be checked and made just right. That is where the job of a video editor comes into the picture.
Not just on YouTube, the popularity of a show or a movie on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video is also significantly based on its video quality. Great editing leads to excellent video quality.
Video editing may not be the most sought employment mode, but it is in high demand right now. People who are skilled at video editing are earning millions. Even if you know a bit of video editing, you can get pretty good at it with practice and start earning well too.
Here are the top five best tips that you can follow to become an excellent video editor.
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What a Video Editor Does
The video editing process constitutes cutting and merging various video clips and adding sounds, graphics, and transition effects using special computer software to produce a professional-looking and polished video.
Professional video editing is way more complicated than the usual video editing that we do at our level. In large-scale videos such as movies and TV shows, it takes more than 20 to 25 hours of editing work on various camera footages just to create a 30-minute episode.
You simply need a computer to edit videos. So you can work anytime and anywhere. Video editors mostly have their specific offices where they work, but with the ongoing pandemic, “Work from Home” culture is seen in most cases.
How Much Can a Video Editor Make?
There is a high ongoing demand for good video editors nowadays. The need for video editors has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to more and more people sitting at home and consuming media in the form of movies and TV shows. Good video editors’ salaries are at par with some of the best creative jobs in the industry.
In the United States, the average salary of the movie and video editors ranges from $26,560 to $110,790 as of May 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
What Are The Top Skills Required of a Professional Video Editor?
Specialized software applications help to create and edit videos. It would be best if you mastered all such tools and software. But, is it enough? Well, not really.
Apart from knowing your technology, you should be able to think creatively. If you can foresee how the storyline would progress and create the video accordingly, that would be the best way to create incredible videos.
It would help if you also were a good problem solver to be a good video editor. In many cases, you will encounter specific difficulties during editing that will require your wit as a video editor to solve them. So, logical skills help in that regard.
You need to have good communication skills. As a video editor, you need to communicate with the director and other staff. Good communication skills help deliver the content before the deadline and share your ideas and suggestions quickly.
What Qualifications Do You Need To Become a Professional Video Editor?
There are no specific qualifications to become a great video editor. You can become a video editor without even having a degree. Most production companies are ready to hire people who have the relevant skills and experience and not a mere degree. But it is always a plus to have a degree in a relevant field such as film and production.
Many companies ask for experience while recruiting video editors. Although you may not have any work experience as a fresher, it might be helpful to gain some knowledge by testing various tools and technologies for video editing. A degree may also fetch you some extra brownie points if it is relevant to the job you are applying for.
How To Get Relevant Experience and Training to Become a Video Editor
Of course, you cannot start your job as a video editor with no experience and training. Before editing your first video, you need to know the required software and tools and how they work. You also need to have some hands-on experience with these tools and technologies. It is good to download the software on your computer or laptop and experiment with it.
You need to be fully aware of all the terminologies and technical aspects of video editing, along with this. You can edit some of the videos you or your family members or friends shot to gain some experience. It is always a good idea to take up a formal video editing course too. These courses may be either free or paid. You can either take offline courses or online courses depending upon your comfort.
There are many helpful websites like Coursera and Udemy, which have both paid and free courses that you can take to gain experience in video editing. You are awarded a certificate of completion after submitting all the assignments and passing the course tests.
It would be best if you enroll in some relevant video editing course during your school or college. You can also apply for internships in video editing to give you the required work experience to get your first job in this field. Doing internships is an excellent way to apply your skills in industrial applications.
You may or may not earn for your work during your internship. But you need to remember that it is just the start of your career. Once you gain the required experience working in video editing, you will certainly be earning quite well.
These are the five tips that you can follow to kick-start your journey as a video editor. Thank you for making it to the end of the article.
