Ep. 15: Becoming a Video Editor Tips + Advice!
About this Episode
Ring riiing! ☎️ We launched our Video Editing Course earlier this year, it got us thinking...how do you actually become a working video editor? As a career, side income stream and creative outlet?
In this episode of 1-800-HEYPUNO, we consult the ilovecreatives database of KNOWLEDGE...aka CEREBSIS (not cerebro). Aka...the the video editors in our circle!
We talked to:
Rosanna Peng (@rosizzle) — Film Director
Hanna La Salvia (@shleepyhans) — Freelance Videographer + Editor
Sophie Kim (@sophiea.j.k) — Former Project Manager at DLD Studio
Bec Evans (@______bec) — Head of Video Development at Dazed
Ariyana Hernandez (@nora.agency) — Founder of Nora Agency
Of course, these tips are the cherry on top of building a solid foundation of the technical skills. 🍒 For that, you miiiight just wanna check out the ilovecreatives Video Editing Course, where Puno teaches you Adobe Premiere Pro in the most fun way ever. 📹Like say, editing a KARAOKE VIDEO of Puno's cat, @muaddibthecat. OK, shameless plug over!
Transcript
Intro
Shawn: Ring, ring, ring, ring.
Puno: Hello.
Shawn: Hey Puno.
Puno: Hey.
Shawn: It's Shawn.
Puno: Hey, it's Shawn! Muad'Dib just left. What's going on, Shawn? Are you at work?
Shawn: Uh, yeah, actually that's why I'm calling.
Puno: I'll put you on speaker. Everybody knows Shawn? Should we cue the photos? Here we go.
Shawn: So I am the community curator for ilovecreatives and I'm the guy that's usually emailing you back with those good vibes.
Puno: Yeah. So what's going on?
Shawn: We're getting a ton of emails from people who are asking how we edit our 1-800-HEYPUNO videos and how could they get hired as a video editor?
Puno: Are you trying to say that we should make a 1-800-HEYPUNO video about how to become a video editor?
Shawn: Hell yeah, I am.
Puno: I feel you. I've been seeing those too. Maybe we need to go to the stats! No more feelings, just the numbers. No more feelings, just the numbers. All right, let's start with YouTube. YouTube is the second most visited website in the world. You know it. I know it. We've contributed to those views. I like Turtles!
And let's look at Facebook and Instagram as well. It turns out that 60% of Americans who watch digital video do so on Facebook, and it's not just Facebook. Instagram is also making moves to incorporate more video into its app. Remember IGTV and Instagram stories?
Oh, and then you know, have you ever heard of TikTok? Don't you feel like whenever you watch TikTok, it's been days when you come out of it and you're just like, *gasp*.
Shawn: I scroll through it at night before bed and it always is like 45 minutes.
Puno: The screen is vertical, so there's not a lot of real estate for them to move their arms. They're always just like this with Tyrannosaurus Rex arms. Like, that is a TikTok video.
Shawn: So for all the job listings that we've been getting for video editors on ilovecreatives, I kind of want to give applicants feedback. Like, what makes a good video editor?
Puno: This is the time we go inside CEREBSIS. Have I shown you Cerebsis, Shawn?
Shawn: Not yet.
Puno: Well, Cerebsis is like Cerebro, but its SIS.
Cerebsis is the ilovecreatives database of knowledge. Oooooh!
I'm going to go ahead and go in there right now. Cerebsis, helmet. Oh, there we go! Okay, here it goes. It's going on. Alright. And this usually hurts my brain a lot, so don't throw up Shawn, but there's going to be a lot of information here. Are you ready?
Shawn: I'm ready.
Puno: Okay. I'm going to activate it.
Pressing the... OOOOOH! So much information!
Wow.
Shawn: You okay?
Puno: I mean, I'm fine.
Shawn: Okay.
Puno: I threw up a little bit in my mouth. Are you okay?
Shawn: Yeah. I feel a little dizzy, but I'm good.
Puno: Good. Okay. We are now in here. My voice is echoing now, so that's why you know that we're in the Cerebsis. So we've got some questions we want to answer. Let's get into the database.
Cerebsis, what motivates people to become video editors? More than just declaring it on their bio?
Rosanna Peng! She's a videographer from LA.
Shawn: I freaking love her work. Really inspired by her.
Rosanna: One of the only things I remember was this silly video of my friend and I dancing after school and we made it just for the sake of making something. I was such a shy girl in high school but wasn't really able to express my sense of humor. Having that tool really felt like a way to speak to the world and express myself.
Puno: Hanna, she edits my blogs!
Hanna: I think around 2013, I started my own YouTube channel with my friend. So we would edit videos together, and then it was a way for us to connect because she lives in Italy. I did that for a long time. Just making random fashion videos, vlog-type videos or little stories. And editing was really fun, cause I liked editing to music.
Puno: I want to know: What do you think of video editor needs to get good at? Sophie Kim! She was a project manager at DLD Studios.
Sophie: I think a video editor actually needs equally both hard skills and soft skills, especially when you're a freelancer and you're trying to work with someone. They function kind of like a company. Customer service is you, delivering the service is you. There's certain situations where the video editor would need to know like, okay, where do I begin? What's your vision? And needs to verbally communicate that. And not everyone is good at communicating clearly what they mean and what they want to see visually. You have to have the skills to ask the right questions to draw out what's in your mind and be able to portray that.
Puno: Bec! She's the Head of Video Development at Dazed.
Shawn: So cool, the stuff they put out.
Puno: Yeah.
Bec: I think that they need to be really good listeners. Their job is to really respond to a brief and a concept that's already been established.
And organizational, because there is nothing worse than having a project that is completely messy and confusing.
And you have good communication skills in asking the questions that you need to ask to make sure that you've understood a brief.
Puno: Now I'm going to flip it.
What do video editors think makes a good video editor?
Shawn: Right. Yeah.
Puno: Sometimes you make it go faster if you press the phones like that.
Rosanna: I think what makes a good video editor is intuition and a good sense of storytelling, obviously. The best video editor you can be is a really, really awkward person because awkward people have a way to replay certain scenes in their head over and over again and reconstruct what they would do differently if they had a chance. They have really good timing to things that people normally wouldn't be unless they were awkward.
Hanna: Learn when to give alternative ideas if something doesn't work out that they want. Cause I feel like clients sometimes want something that's not achievable with what they have. But as an editor you know, "this might not work, but something else will work".
Having a good communication with someone as well.
And also, not taking anything personal when someone doesn't like an edit or doesn't like where you're going with it. It's important to just not worry and just go and try something else.
Puno: What makes a really great reel or portfolio stand out?
Shawn: Ariana Grande mashups. That's what I'm looking for.
Puno: I mean, yes.
Sophie: What I think makes the reel or portfolio really stand out are the little expert touches that you've put into a portfolio or the work. For example, I saw a portfolio of a freelancer and she had her name in a beautiful, quirky little design. And when I hovered over it with a mouse, it did a cute little wiggle. And every single work, there was something in it that gave a little bit of that extra "oomph" that made it special to her. She branded herself pretty much. When I looked at her portfolio as a whole, everything looked purposeful rather than just a mumbo jumbo of different works that were pulled. I think you can really tell, visually.
Bec: I think it always stands out if you clearly have been involved in something that is quite a powerful passion project, that really is indicative of where your interest lies. Having a portfolio that really gives a clear indication of who you are.
Puno: Oh, okay. This is another one.
Do you look for experience or potential?
Shawn: I want to know the answer to that.
Bec: I'm very much a potential person. I like to support people into their dream roles. If there's demonstrable talents and work ethic, then I will take a chance on people, for sure.
Puno: Oh, Ariyana from Nora Agency.
Shawn: Sweetest.
Puno: So sweet. Oh my gosh.
Ariyana: As a small agency, we're looking more so for the potential over experience. We understand that you have to get your start somewhere. So we're looking at the type of work that you can produce versus looking specifically at the big names. We're totally fine if a video editor or creative has done their own sample projects and that's what they're referencing.
Sophie: It really depends what they're applying for. When you're working on client projects and joint collaborations, I will look more for experience because there's a certain level of expectation, and also I think the more skills that you have, the faster your turnaround time becomes. We wouldn't choose someone who just has potential on a very important collaboration or a client project because there's a set time it needs to be delivered. And I think that's kind of what makes a professional versus amateur.
Puno: Oh, this is a really good question. I want to know what are some red flags when you're looking at video editor applications?
Sophie: You can kind of tell when there's a certain vibe to a video editor and that's their own style. And when I see a portfolio and it kind of looks like something that I've definitely seen before, that's very distinct to a video editor, it kind of raises a certain question. Do they have their own style or are they just really good at replicating other designers or other video editors' work?
I think it's when a video editor is over-promising. For example, if you're going to say you're going to deliver on Friday, I'd like to see that Thursday, and that's extra service. But I want to see it for sure on Friday.
Or when organization is very poor. You have to make sure you have all the individual graphic design assets. You have to make sure you have every clip in the right folder. When the video editor can't keep track of it and you have to repeat the same things over and over, and when you don't see the changes that you've clearly discussed in the next version, and you're just kind of repeating, it gets very frustrating.
Puno: Communication is so key. Over-promising, it's gonna bite ya in the butt.
Wait, I got another question.
Shawn: This seems like a big one.
Puno: Yeah, it's so big. How do you land your first gig?
Shawn: Oh man, this is a big one.
Puno: This is a big one. Come on. Pull through baby!
Shawn: Pull through, Pull through!
Hanna: I mostly just do it for fun first and then show everyone that you can actually do this and make amazing videos. And jobs will just kind of come once people see that you're already doing it. Also, I'd maybe make a YouTube or Vimeo. Force yourself to edit something together and publish it and then make that a goal.
Ariyana: I would tell them to continue to practice their skill even if it's not a paid job, because when we're looking at a portfolio, we don't care if they were hired to edit a specific video or if it's something that they did with their friends as a side project with another creative group. So as much as they can build their portfolio, the better.
Rosanna: My advice would be just to keep on making work. I think that there's a lot of people looking for video editors. It's definitely a great experience to work with different types of people, different types of projects to get a feel of your own style and do more of that once you've found it.
Sophie: Self-discipline is key, and trying to provide professionalism is also key. For you to promptly reply and always be providing the best amount of service and keep yourself accountable for it. People do take note and do remember.
Puno: Oh, I gotta, I gotta get outta here, Cerebsis! This is a lot of information.
Shawn: Yeah. I'm feeling a little lightheaded. Let's get outta here.
Puno: Let's go! We just exited Cerebsis. It smells the same.
Shawn: Learned a lot.
Puno: Learned a lot. I think we can sum this up with a little sum up music. Okay, so here's what I'm taking away. Don't over-promise, don't under-deliver. Just deliver, like pizza.
Shawn: Hit those deadlines, responding promptly.
Puno: Good communication. It's so important. When you're trying to over-promise or you're trying to under-deliver, you're essentially not creating a transparent relationship with your client or your boss. And I think that's where a lot of assumptions and miscommunications and expectations become really unaligned. If anything, just over-communicate.
The second takeaway: Cerebsis gave us so much content about narrative.
Shawn: That's probably the biggest takeaway I've gotten from all these responses.
Puno: I think this is something that you'll only begin to feel when you start with your project. That's when you'll realize like, damn. There are a lot of different ways I can tell this story. Every decision you make, every clip you decide to use, what sound bite you use, how you rearrange them. That's all you telling your version of this story. And the way that you tell it is your style. That's what you're going to be building and growing.
Oh my gosh, being a slashie. You need to know a videography. You need to know a little graphic design. So inherently, you've got multiple skills you're dealing with, and I would embrace that.
You don't have to work with major brands to get your foot in the door. I loved that. Just start by making videos for fun. You can just go in there, with your fun projects, and those are the things that can make you stand out. You don't need permission.
Shawn: You don't need permission.
Puno: Oh my gosh. If there's one thing that video editors really have to be, they need to be their own Mary Poppins. You know, you can't have files all over the place.
Shawn: Marie Kondo your file situation.
Puno: Because you might actually have to, one day, share your project files. And that'll be so embarrassing.
Hanna also said, don't take feedback personally if a client doesn't like an edit. Can we just call this 1-800-HEYHANNA?
Shawn: I'm actually just going to go and call Hanna now.
Puno: Okay, bye! If your client is just telling you what they want, that's communication. That's collaboration. When you're starting out in the beginning, don't feel personally attacked. That is just really part of the process.
So you've got all these takeaways. Now, let's just bring up a sneak peek of that Video Editing Course so you can just look at it yourself. Come in! Come, come, little video thumbnail.
Alright. Did you get your answer, Shawn?
Shawn: I did, but my brain kind of hurts a little bit. In a good way.
Puno: In a good way.
Shawn: I'm excited to go back and tell people about all this.
Puno: Actually, you should just send them the link to this video.
🎵Music 🎵
