Become a Successful Assistant Editor with these 5 Tips
Ben Bokaer from MediaSilo shares these great tips on becoming a successful assistant editor. You don't want to miss this read!
We wanted to offer these 5 tips as you prepare to work in post production.
So, you’re passionate about film, got your degree in something completely unrelated to your interests, and are starting to itch about student loans... now what? If you’re lucky, you will land some great first gigs as a Second Assistant Editor or even an Assistant Editor. These early stages in your new, unexpected editing career are formative and important to setting the stage for your future career in post production.
1) Patience, Patience, Patience
Being an award-winning editor by no means happens over night. If you are an Editor in your late 30’s and have the opportunity to work on features with generous funding or budget then you are already very fortunate. As you set out on your career, be prepared to take assistant positions for several years. Try to get a variety of experience -- different genres, fiction and non-fiction, commercial and passion projects. Each team, budget, and project are different, and having a variety of work experience under your belt will be a feather in your cap down the line.
2) Be one step ahead of everyone else
Your job is to make sure the team runs smoothly. Having the right tools by your side will only bode well for you. You should strive to be the person who whips out their handy
3) Don’t be afraid to get in the weeds, troubleshoot, and befriend the support team
This day in age, there are a plethora of software and saas products used in post production. Even the best editors who have “seen and done it all” cannot be masters of all the tools they may need for a new project, and they might even be editing on a platform they’ve never used before! That’s why they need you and that’s why you need to be prepared to know the platforms used during your projects backwards and forwards. Go through support documentation and form relationships with the support teams on those platforms whenever possible. Problems always arise, so be prepared and proactive when they do. [Continue Reading...]
We wanted to offer these 5 tips as you prepare to work in post production.
So, you’re passionate about film, got your degree in something completely unrelated to your interests, and are starting to itch about student loans... now what? If you’re lucky, you will land some great first gigs as a Second Assistant Editor or even an Assistant Editor. These early stages in your new, unexpected editing career are formative and important to setting the stage for your future career in post production.
1) Patience, Patience, Patience
Being an award-winning editor by no means happens over night. If you are an Editor in your late 30’s and have the opportunity to work on features with generous funding or budget then you are already very fortunate. As you set out on your career, be prepared to take assistant positions for several years. Try to get a variety of experience -- different genres, fiction and non-fiction, commercial and passion projects. Each team, budget, and project are different, and having a variety of work experience under your belt will be a feather in your cap down the line.
2) Be one step ahead of everyone else
Your job is to make sure the team runs smoothly. Having the right tools by your side will only bode well for you. You should strive to be the person who whips out their handy
3) Don’t be afraid to get in the weeds, troubleshoot, and befriend the support team
This day in age, there are a plethora of software and saas products used in post production. Even the best editors who have “seen and done it all” cannot be masters of all the tools they may need for a new project, and they might even be editing on a platform they’ve never used before! That’s why they need you and that’s why you need to be prepared to know the platforms used during your projects backwards and forwards. Go through support documentation and form relationships with the support teams on those platforms whenever possible. Problems always arise, so be prepared and proactive when they do. [Continue Reading...]
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