[Brian Humphreys]

I’m new to the COW, but I just landed on this post whilst perusing around so I figured I would throw in my 2 cents as a relative newcomer to the industry. I fell into editing accidentally while going to school for Architecture. It just sort of happened. One day I was sweeping floors and driving the company van for $7/hour at a production house, the next I was behind an Avid workstation. Now I’ve been editing professionally for almost 5 years across multiple platforms. What paid off for me was the hunger. You have to strike a balance between honesty (don’t pad your skill set, just make it clear you want to expand it) and eagerness. Make it clear that you’ll get it done, no matter what’s asked of you. Don’t pass up a single chance to prove yourself.

Work ethic is just as important as knowledge and creativity. Plenty of working editors can’t tell stories very well, but they still find their niche because they keep searching.

Networking is vital, but it can simply be that initial phone call. I have a friend with limited AE experience that just walked into the door at BET in LA and was hired that same afternoon because he knew how to organize bins. That’s no joke. He doesn’t even have a reel. Right place, right time. But you’ve got to bang on the doors.

Keep at it. There’s no magical answer and everyone here got where they are for different reasons. Just keep pushing and stay optimistic no matter what.