Non-linear editing freelance work

[Jean King]

Hi everyone!

This post is really a question on marketing oneself, as it relates to how one can generate freelance work as a non-linear editor. My first love is editing, however it is tough to find paying gigs [at least in Atlanta] where someone will undoubtedly find it hard to hand over a "pet" project for someone else's eyes to break it down and do over in "post." In Atlanta, I have found it tough to get paying "gigs" unless you videotape the event yourself! I hate to invest a lot of money into something (videography) that is really does not come naturally to me as much as editing. I would love to hear from some of you with similar scenarios!

Jean King

P.S. I edit using Adobe Premiere, Apple iMovie and Casablanca Avio by the way.

[Adrian Douglas]

Jean,

If you want to edit professionally you'll have to improve your skill set. Premiere is a good tool, as is IMovie, but they are rarely used for anything other than personal work as most people have them. The people who are going to pay you decent money to edit are going to want FCP or AVID.

Small jobs doing peoples home movies and the like are a good place to start but you'll soon tire them as they won't present much of a challenge. This is where you can use Premiere and IMovie while you lean something more powerful.

It would be a good idea to lean how to do effects in programs like After Effects. This will make you more marketable. I can't help you as to what to do in Atlanta, but networking is the way to get work. Take whatever you can and get you name known.

Good luck.

[Scott Silverman]

Adrian,
I have been meaning to ask this question:
What exactly is the differance between somthing like Premiere and AVID. What can AVID do that Premiere can't. I edit with Premiere and have not found any major things I cannot accomplish with it. An explanation of this would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks.

[Frank Granovski]

From what I gather, Avid is very fast and geared for broadcast. FCP seems to be geared more for higher-end, creative stuff, a favourite in the local film industry. Premiere is a slower program and takes forever to render stuff like animation. But all good, depending what you want to do. Move over you three, Vegas Video, here I come!

PS: I've only got my feet wet with FCP and Premiere, on the MAC. Ugh.

[Adrian Douglas]

Scott,

I use Premiere and think it is a great tool. However, most of the professional broadcast and video industry uses AVID and FCP is also becoming a defacto standard.

[Jeff Donald]

A big difference between Avid, FCP and Premiere is media management. You can export EDL's that can be read by highend work stations, Flame, Smoke, etc. Media on the drives can be moved around over networks very easily. This allows you to work on many projects at the same time. Long form projects can involve hundreds of hours of clips. The media needs to be able to be trimmed and deleted when needed. Premiere is too limiting in much of this.

FCP offers near the features and flexability of Avid at a fraction of the cost.

Jean,

I would try to find a Wedding Photographer or Studio to team up with. Many photographers don't want to do the wedding videos because of the cost of equipment, time and expense to learn a new skill set, and the need to hire additional employees. Come up with a creative proposal (business model) that will economically benefit both parties.

Jeff

[Richard Alvarez]

"And FCP is becoming the defacto standard..."

No question FCP is growing fast enough to make Avid migrate its higher end features down into its XpressDV line. As to a "defacto standard", I am not sure what that means.

Most films and broadcast programs are edited on Avid suites. (Something like more than 90 percent)

What I have noticed, and this is a very UNscientific survey, is that Inhouse prodcution companies, especially ADD agencies seem to be major users of FCP. I came to this conclusion by doing job searches for FULLY PAID editing jobs. (Mandy.com is a good place to start.)

Avid jobs have consistently outnumbered FCP job offers (at least for the last six months.) I noticed however, that the Broadcast Jobs and higher end film production jobs were avid related, while FCP seemed to be Advertising agencies, and "boutique" production companies. Nothing wrong with this at all, a paying gig is a paying gig. I mention this only as a curious observation, that might bear wathing in the future.

This supports the general perception that FCP has "more features" that allow complete in-house finishing, while Avid is tied into a dynamic that allows file sharing and finishing between various other departments. The sort of situation one finds at a Broadcast facility or large production house.

Not a value judgement here, just an observation.

Bill,

(Avid XpressDV user, Screenwriter, Filmmaker, from the "Old School")

[Adrian Douglas]

Bill,

by "defacto standard" I mean exactly what you mentioned. FCP appears to be becoming a standard of sorts for professional non-broadcast DV use. On top of that you've got guys like Steven Soderburg using it to cut features.

Myself, I am currently trying to decide to go with Avid or FCP when I finally get round to getting a Mac. At the moment I'm tending towards Avid as it will allow me to use both Mac and PC platforms.

I guess it all comes down to what you want to do. If you want to go down the broadcast path then Avid would be the way to go. However, I think we will see FCP starting to make inroads to smaller public access and cable stations due to price point.

[Doug Quance]

I might have some freelance work for you come springtime.

As my work is picking up, I can easily start falling behind in the editing department.

What part of Atlanta are you in?

[Jeff Donald]

Avid didn't even run on PC's until '96 or '97. A great many broadcasters are running Avid on Mac's and PC's from that era or even earlier. Broadcasters don't update very often and usually not until they are forced to make improvements. The station I worked at, is still using Avids from '94 or '95 (on Mac's). They want to upgrade, but aren't doing it until they go HD. More than likely, they'll switch to FCP when they update.

Boutiques, on the other hand, upgrade to stay current with their clients demands. They need to have the latest and greatest toys to entice clients to cut with them. There is a lot of buzz on the streets about FCP and its capabilities. Boutiques are usually among the early adoptees.

Avid isn't going away by any stretch of the imagination. But, I will say that the demand for my skill as an Avid editor is less and less each year. Avid won't have an exclusive on the marketplace any more. Over time, they are being forced to share it with FCP.

Jeff

[Richard Alvarez]

Jeff,

Yeah, you're assesment is pretty much the way I see it going. I had a meeting last week with a DP who runs a small proco here in Houston. He has a really sweet FCP set up. AS we sat and talked, it seemed clear that he was very happy with it, but also kinda wished he had gone the AVID route. (He had commited to FCP before the latest Avid developments).

In the end, the head to head competition benefits the users. I expect that in another year, (two?) the differences between the two platforms will be razor thin. Someone who wants to freelance would do well to master both of them.

[Jeff Donald]

Apple commitment to FCP is amazing. They are turning out new versions at the rate of 1 per year (assuming FCP 4 is released 1st quarter). FCP is really taking hold in the schools (both secondary and higher). The new graduates are entering the job market with FCP skills and employers are starting to take notice. I think FCP will dominate the entry level and mid level professional NLE markets. Avid will retain the dominate position in the higher pro NLE markets.

Jeff

[Jeff Chandler]

Jean,
You may want to rethink your "no videotaping" stance, because you will find it easier to establish your reputation as an editor if you get jobs that combine the two. That's how I got started, but unfortunately I haven't been able to leave the videotaping behind. I suspect that most independents are locked in to doing both. Also, at that level, Premiere is a perfectly acceptable tool for editing. Most wedding videographers that I know use Premiere. The clients are unlikely to ask what you are editing on. They are more concerned with the fnished product. And that comes back to your skills. The NLE is just a tool, which in the right hands produces a good product.

[Scott Silverman]

I would second Jeff Chandler's opinion. Your NLE is just a tool. I do not currently have any paying clients, but from all the people I have worked with in the past, I would say 92% of them have no idea what Premiere or any other NLE even is. They only care what the video I give them looks like (this is the average consumer, not your local broadcast station). I use Premiere and as far and editing features go there is nothing, that I have found, that is truely lacking in it. You may want to consider After Effects though...

Good Luck.

[B. Moore]

Hi jean,
If you want to see some great stuff for iMovie 2, go to GeeThree. I have all 4 disks. Great effects, transitions, titles, etc.
If you want a lot more info e-mail me at bvmprod@quik.com

Bruce