Video Editing is Sexy AF

I’m not gonna mince words here. Video editing is sexy as fuck.

I’m serious.

Sure, there’s a lot of tedious grinding (ten hours of footage doesn’t magically become a solid 90-second edit by itself), meticulous organization (what happened to that sequence we lost from an edit seven revisions ago? No problem, I’ve got it right here), and more man hours than most normal men know how to fill.

And did I mention the grinding? There’s a lot of grinding.

But even with all of its unsexy bits flapping in the breeze for everyone to laugh at, video editing is still sexy as fuck.

Because once you’ve paid your dues on a project and ground your way through the tedious bits (or paid an assistant do them), the video editor sits at the helm of the most creative ship.

I paint with moving pictures and my canvas is the Final Cut Pro timeline.

Maybe it’s footage I shot myself–or maybe the footage comes from a fellow creative wizard, an expert behind the camera that can turn every shot into a cinematic masterpiece–or, as is often the case in this profession, the person is the exact opposite and my job as a video editor is to overcome the creative shortcomings exhibited behind the camera.

My point is that, regardless of the footage, the video editor is the person who makes the story happen.

Sitting at the helm of this most creative ship, I navigate the narrative, control the soundtrack, and deftly maneuver every twist and turn with flourish and aplomb.

I can make you laugh.

I can make you cry.

I can make you gasp.

I can make you sigh.

And if I’m good at my job, I do it all completely behind the curtain, invisible to the casual observer.

That’s right. Despite the typical viewer staring at literally every second of my work as a video editor, if I’ve done my job well, you won’t notice it at all.

You’ll be too busy paying attention to the story.

You shouldn’t see the seams. You shouldn’t see the failures behind the camera (I already fixed it in post!). You shouldn’t hear sloppy audio cuts or music that doesn’t fit–brutal edits that slap you in the face, jarring you away from the most critical element.

There should just be story.

Lovingly shaped, enhanced, polished, and made to shine through the expertise of a video editor.

I’m telling you … it’s sexy as fuck.