Film & Video Editor

Career Overview

Film and video editors turn hours of raw footage into finished stories for movies, television, streaming, social media, advertising, and other digital content. They choose the best shots, shape the pace and story, and combine images, dialogue, music, sound effects, graphics, and visual effects.

Education

A college or university program in film, video production, digital media, broadcasting, or a related field can help you build the technical and creative skills needed. A strong portfolio of edited projects is also important when starting out.

Work Environment

Editors work in studios, production companies, post-production facilities, offices, or from home, using powerful computers and professional editing software. They often work closely with directors, producers, cinematographers, sound professionals, and visual-effects teams, and deadlines can make the work fast-paced.

Future Outlook

Video is everywhere, from movies and streaming platforms to social media, gaming, advertising, and online education, creating new opportunities for skilled editors. AI-assisted editing, virtual production, advanced visual effects, and faster digital workflows are changing the way editors work, but creative judgment, storytelling, and a great eye for detail remain essential. Current industry job postings show strong demand for tools such as Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve.

Recommended High School Courses

Communication
Design or Media Arts
Computer Studies
English Language Arts
Film & Television
Media Arts

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Visual Color Discrimination - The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Edit audio or video recordings.
Determine presentation subjects or content.
Manage content of broadcasts or presentations.
Operate communications, transmissions, or broadcasting equipment.
Label production materials.
Verify accuracy of data.
Create computer-generated graphics or animation.
Operate audio recording equipment.
Provide information to coworkers.
Collaborate with others to determine technical details of productions.
Study scripts to determine project requirements.
Coordinate activities of production personnel.
Develop promotional materials.
Collaborate with others to prepare or perform artistic productions.
Determine technical requirements of productions or projects.

Schools

Academy Of Art University

Alfred University

American Film Institute

American Intercontinental...

American University

Artcenter College Of Desi...

Asbury University

Atlanta Technical College

Azusa Pacific University

Bard College

Barnard College

Baylor University

Belmont University

Bennington College

Berea College

Biola University

Birmingham Southern Colle...

Bob Jones University

Boston College

Boston University

Bowling Green State Unive...

Brandeis University

Brooklyn College

Bryant University

Bryn Mawr College

California Institute Of T...

California State Universi...

Carleton College

Central New Mexico Commun...

Christopher Newport Unive...

Claremont Mckenna College

College Of Saint Scholast...

College Of William And Ma...

Colorado Mesa University

Columbia College Chicago

Connecticut College

Cooper Union

Corban University

Dakota State University

Davidson College

Depauw University

Desales University

Dickinson College

Dominican University

Earlham College

East Carolina University

Eastern Illinois Universi...

Eastern New Mexico Univer...

El Camino College

Emerson College

Emory University

Evangel University

Fairleigh Dickinson Unive...

Fashion Institute Of Tech...

Francis Tuttle Technology...

Full Sail University

Gettysburg College

Grand Valley State Univer...

Gulf Coast State College

Gustavus Adolphus College

Hamilton College

Hampshire College

Hendrix College

Hillsborough Community Co...

Hiram College

Hollins University

Illinois Wesleyan Univers...

Kalamazoo College

Kenyon College

Lawrence University

Los Angeles Film School

Loyola Marymount Universi...

Marlboro College

Maryland Institute Colleg...

Marymount Manhattan Colle...

Miami University - Oxford...

Middlebury College

Minneapolis College Of Ar...

Mount Holyoke College

Muhlenberg College

New York University

North Carolina School Of...

Oberlin College

Oglethorpe University

Palm Beach State College-...

Pitzer College

Quinnipiac University

Regent University

Rhode Island School Of De...

Ringling College Of Art A...

Saint Olaf College

Sarah Lawrence College

Savannah College Of Art A...

Spelman College

Spring Arbor University

St. Mary's College Of Mar...

Stephens College

Stevenson University

Suny At Purchase

Suny Plattsburgh

Swarthmore College

The King's University- So...

Trinity College- Hartford...

Union University

University Of California-...

University Of Central Ark...

University Of Michigan- A...

University Of New Orleans

University Of Richmond

University Of Southern Ca...

University Of Tampa

University Of The Arts

University Of Valley Forg...

Vassar College

Wagner College

Wesleyan University

William Woods University

Wofford College

York Technical College

Centre For Arts And Te...

College Of The North A...

Durham College- Oshawa...

Emily Carr University...

Fanshawe College- Lond...

Humber College- Lakesh...

Humber College- North...

Lakehead University- O...

Lasalle College- Montr...

Loyalist College

Nscad University- Acad...

Red Deer College- Main...

St. Mary's University

University Of Windsor-...

Vanier College

Concordia University- L...

USA

Canada

Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

Approx Salary Expectation

Low End:

$40,000.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$75,000.00 /yr

High End:

$149,000.00 /yr

Related Careers

Graphic Designer

Radio and Television Announcer

Public Relations Specialists

Special Effects Makeup Artist

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.