Film Editor

By: Juan Silverio

2nd period
 Description
The filmmaking industry holds countless of career opportunities
for many individuals who are looking for a specific career that
interests them. In film editing, it is one of the important jobs
when it comes to the production of video and music. As editors,
they compile raw footage that was filmed and place them together
in order to create a cohesive story, documentary, show, or any
other form of media. With technology advancing each year, it is
becoming more and more susceptible to become an editor and
being able to choose the career path that best suits you.
 Career path
The specific career path that I chose from this
industry was creative specialist film editing which
is assembling raw footage into a sequence,
rearranging scenes, cutting clips, adding after
effects, music, sound effects and so forth. Editors
also collaborate with other editors or directors in
independent projects and also in filmmaking when
it comes to creativity and direction. In larger
productions, you will collaborate with directors,
composers, and vfx artists in order to accomplish
your vision.
 Education/Training
The necessary education and training if you want to become a
professional film editor is to attain a bachelor's degree and this
program also teaches you specializing in vfx, sound engineering,
courses in computer science and other options. However several
studios don’t require a degree depending on the client. Also an
internship is extremely helpful since it creates contacts and
increases your chances to be hired by a studio or an interested
client. You can hone your skills by either working on non-profit
organizations, industry trade groups or studios. Some key skills are
hand-eye coordination, attention to detail and computer literacy.
 Responsibilities
As an editor, you will receive outlines of footage
given by the director or screenwriter and
synchronizing them onto the sequence. They
oversee most of the project so if an unfortunate
mishap occurs between post-production, they are
held accountable. However, they are different
jobs for different positions, apprentice editors
have less responsibilities than assistant editors
and full time editors hold the most
responsibilities.
 Demographic
When it comes to group demographics in this field, anyone with a
bachelors degree can become a film editor, age, gender, race does
not matter when it comes to the assembly of footage. According to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were over 33,500 people who
worked as film editors between 2014-15 and job growth is
expected to increase by 18% from 2014-2024.
 Salary/areas
When it comes to salary and wages, annual mean wages vary
depending on the state. The average median salary was recorded to be
$80,300 since 2015.

Percentile: 10% 25% 50% 75% 90%

Hourly Wage: $14.44 $19.93 $29.41 $46.80 $78.57
Annual Wage: $30,040 $41,460 $61,180 $97,340 $163,440
 Advantages/Disadvantages
Advantages: Be self employed and/or work for an independent client.

Need for vfx specialists and people knowledgeable of computers over

the years have increased the demand for editors.

Most editors have assistants to help, support and keep track of shots for
final edits.

Disadvantages: May have to work long hours depending on the project.

May experience unemployment between jobs for periods of time.

Not a physically demanding job for those who are active.

 Influential person
Michael Kahn is a film editor who continues to work on many
upcoming projects and his credits ranges widely from film to
film. He has worked on many titles such as “Saving Private
Ryan” “Jurassic Park” “Schindler’s List” as so on. In 2011, he
became the recipient of the American Cinema Editors lifetime
Career Achievement Award. He basically set the standard for
many future editors who plan to work in professional film
industries. Unlike other film editors, where the Directors tell
them what to do and how, he works with them, decide new ideas
with them and contributes his own vision into the story.
 Reflection
After looking back, I found that it is a risky job based on the fact that
there isn’t really a routine or formula when it comes to deadlines and job
assignments. Unless you’re working for a company or studio that
employs for full time, competition is to be expected over who has the
best skills and most work experience on the field. My opinions mostly
have not changed on this career path because I researched a lot of this
and considered the benefits and negatives. Plan so far is to perfect my
skills in editing, look for an internship that is open and later search for a
job opening and work as an independent editor.
 Sources:
● https://learn.org/articles/Film_Editing_5_Steps_to_Becoming_a_Film_E
ditor.html
● https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/film-and-video-e
ditors-and-camera-operators.htm#tab-5
● https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/film-video-editor
● http://learningpath.org/articles/Video_Editor_Career_Profile.html