A question I'm asked on a fairly regular basis is "How do I become an editor in the TV business?", and in many cases people don't like the answer I give them, as they think that because they bought a computer with an "editing" program on it and edited some home movies, that they are qualified to jump right in and start editing hour long episodic shows.  Unfortunately, this is not the case.  I thought that for this article I would take a look at the things that I think everyone should do before trying to get into the television business.

EDUCATION

These days with the cost of computers and editing applications being extremely cost effective (i.e.-cheap), people think that they can run out, buy a Mac and Final Cut Pro, sit in their basement for a few months, and that's it, they are ready to edit a full length documentary.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this is impossible, but it all depends on what type of work you really want to get into.

If you want to start your own business doing wedding, event or corporate videos, and you are going to buy a camera to shoot with, a system to edit with and will be doing all of your work primarily on your own, this is totally possible by self education.

Unfortunately, this will not help you when it comes to getting into a television station or specialty channel (i.e. - Discovery Channel, etc) to become an editor.  There are many more variables that need to be taken into account before they will hire you, even on a freelance basis.

To work for a television station or specialty channel, you need to have an understanding of signal flow, analog vs. digital signals (Composite, Component and SDI video along with analog, AES and SDI audio), Waveform and Vectorscopes, high end capture cards and systems (AJA, Blackmagic, Avid, etc), patch bays (many of which can be extremely intimidating) and standard/high definition formats and compression rates, and these are what I can think of off the top of my head.

I'm not going to beat around the bush and tell you that school is not important, because it is.  I took television in high school, followed by three years of media studies at college before I had my first television job.  For me, learning everything else about television (audio, film, multimedia) was important, but not as important as all the contacts I made in college, some of whom I am still in contact with today.  These contacts have been essential for me moving ahead in my career path, as they have sent jobs my way (and I have sent jobs their way) that have given me essential job experience.

To sum it up, now that you have decided that you want to be an editor, think about what type of work you really want to do, and if it falls into the "professional" television world, take my advice, and look into community colleges or universities that offer media programs, but make sure that the courses you take are more practical than theory, as that is what you are looking for.

THE FIRST JOB

Like I said in the previous section, I believe that education is important.  Knowledge, as they say, is power, and in the "cut-throat" business of television, you need to make sure that you know everything you can, because if you don't, someone else definitely will.  So, what do you do for your first job?

Well, my first piece of advice is never (and I mean ever) work for free.  You are not a charity service, and if you do one job for free, it will come to be expected, and once you ask for money they will find someone else that will work for free.  My best piece of advice for people who have trained to be editors, is don't try to be one right away.  Be an assistant editor before becoming an editor.

Why, you ask?  Simple.  With being an assistant editor first, it will give you a chance to learn the ropes at a new company, and the pressure won't be there.  In most cases, the assistants work nights, when no one else is around, so not only is this a great way to make some money starting out (in Toronto, Canada, an assistant editor makes about $15 per hour, versus an experienced editor who makes $40), but it also let's you familiarize yourself with the company's edit system(s) and setup with no performance pressure.

This is also a great way to start, because in a lot of cases what ends up happening is a staff editor will call in sick or go on vacation, and instead of cancelling the clients shifts, they will call you, as you know the system and you know the footage because you captured it all, and ask if you want to step up to the challenge.

How do I know this?  I know this because that's how I got my start.  Once you get your foot in the door the first time, you are set to move from being the assistant to being the editor!  The joke in the television world is that there are no good assistant editors, because they have all moved on to being editors!

GETTING YOUR NAME OUT THERE

So, you have moved from being an assistant to being an editor, now what do you do?  First things first, to work in the freelance world, you will need business cards as the last thing you want to be doing is writing your name and contact info down on napkins or parking receipts, as people throw those in the garbage right away.  Head to your local business supply store, and pick up those "1000 business cards for $50" brand of business cards.  It doesn't need to be fancy, and should have your name, phone number, e-mail address/website, and what you do (Editor - Graphic Design - Compositor) on it.

Now that you're armed with your business cards, get out there to as many of the Final Cut Pro, Avid and After Effects User Group meetings as you can.  Networking is probably what will get you the most jobs.   In a lot of cases, you can meet other editors who, believe it or not, will become great contacts for getting work.

I can't count the number of times I have had people calling me because they want me to work on their job but I am already booked or working on a project, so I will say "You may want to give (Insert your name here) a call, as I am currently booked on another job".  I have also gotten jobs this way from people I know that have given my name to their clients, as they were already booked.  Also, make sure you have a good demo reel or online presence to show your clients you actually know what you are doing.

I'm going to go into a little more detail as to what makes a good demo reel/online presence in a future article, so stay tuned.  Other than going to user group meetings, keep checking the local job websites (www.mandy.com is a good one) and make sure you always have a PDF of your resume ready to attach to an e-mail, because these days you have to be quick (and good) to get the jobs you want.

One last thing I want to mention is always stay up to date on your training, whether it's with After Effects, Avid or Final Cut Pro tutorials.  Good, fast editors will always be called upon again and again, because they are just that.  Good and fast!  You might not make as much money on that particular day, but you will make that money back ten fold by the client bringing you back for future work!

If there is anything you would like to know about editing techniques, feel free to drop me a line at kevin@reelclever.com , and maybe your question will be the topic of my next article.