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editors
Hi.
I’m interested in becoming a FCP editor. I have done some documenting performances on my panasonic dvx100a, I use FCP5 and even though I haven’t made anything for a profesional job where I could use some cool fancy effects I’m pretty good at leaning how to use the program on my own.
I’m moving to Venezuela and I know that they are short on editors down there. I thought it will be a good place for me to gain some experience and hopefully get some good jobs.
So, my question is:I live in NYC now and I thought it will be good to get a certification before I go south.
Where will be a good place to get a FCP certification?
If anyone have done it, please can you share your experience.
Do you think is worthy to spend that kind of money in a certification?
What will you rather do?
Any ideas of how much it could cost?
Any suggestion for a guy who wants to start in this field?I hope this is not off topic and hope for some inside knowlege from the pro, for anyone like me.
Much appreciated.
Thanks
MilletoDVX100a
Dual Core G5
FCP5 -
3 Replies
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I went to film school, so I can’t say that formal training/certification is totally worthless, however, I have found that there are really only two things employers are looking at when hiring editors…the work and the price. Having certification credentials on your resume won’t help you nearly as much as a good-looking reel and an affordable rate. That said, there is certainly a benefit to taking a class or two, if that’s what you need. If you feel that you could use a better understanding of the application, take the class. But if you’re just doing it to put on the resume, save your money.
Honestly, you will learn a lot more from practical experience and self-paced study than you will from a class. Buy a book, find some tutorials and improve your skills that way. You don’t really need to shell out a couple grand to have some guy tell you what the layer blending modes do when you can easily teach yourself.
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I got Apple Pro Certification and it absolutely helped me get work. I did it the cheap way. I ordered the official training book for FCP for about $25 bucks and spent 40 hours going through it. Then I took the certification exam for $150, I think. So, $175 bucks and 40 hours of my life got me FCP on my resume and a freelance editing job at an ad agency. Granted, I had been editing on other software for years. Ironically, the agency switched entirely to the Adobe suite a few months later. But, had I not known FCP I wouldn’t have gotten in the door. The really funny thing is, that before I went through that book, I had never used FCP. One week of hard work can make all the difference. I have since been offered a full time position at this agency.
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people don’t hire editors because of certificat5ions… they hire em cuz they have a killer reel and awesome people skills. I’d hire a wiz-bang freelancer for the day to show me some chops then make a steller reel on my own.
Certifications are for engineers, imo.
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