Film Editing Personal Statement
I started putting in a lot of thought about my future career ever since I got into high school. The choices were computer engineering, a music producer, and a fashion designer. However, as time progressed, I realized that they were rather hobbies which I would eventually lose interest in rather than something that I truly wanted to pursue. During my junior year, I was assigned as a film editor for a project. At first, it took me an extensive amount of time to figure out all the editing software because I was not familiar with the key commands and effects, but as I played around with it, I quickly overcame most of the obstacles and achieved what others desired in each project. As a result, I discovered a new talent I enjoyed, film editing.
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My current goal is to get into Loyola Marymount University, one of a top film school in the country, and major in film production there. Once my goal is achieved, I am required to step out of my comfort zone because I believe that most film production programs will have their students learn in different areas. By doing this, it will motivate me to study the different aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, cinematographing, or even screen-writing. Although, I specialize in film editing, these roles will help me becoming a better, well rounded, and an important asset for all future companies. As a film editor, I think that there are many techniques that I do not know and skills that I am lacking; as a result, I believe this is a great chance for me to develop myself as a filmmaker.
After graduating with my bachelor degree, I may consider to get a master degree because I think it would help me in the future; although, I am not sure if it is necessary for a film editor. As for work, I have yet to decide whether I should work as a freelancer or as an employee. However, I would prefer to work as a freelancer because I believe that I would receive a higher salary that way – I can work on multiple projects for different companies. By working for multiple companies, I may also get great connections from the industry and earn a better reputation for myself.
The salary of a film editor was a very difficult guess for me. But even so, I believed that a freelance editor would make around 70,000 dollars per year. Also, I assumed that a skilled and experienced editor would make six figures a year. Although, film editors are required to be diligent, film editing can be very fun at times. Like directors and screenwriters, film editors are also storytellers; for instance, I used footages as a resource to transform them into a story. A great movie requires a great story. As a freelancer, I am not required be always working unless I have a project to finish. With the leisure that I have, I am able to relieve myself from all of the stresses from work. For these reasons, I believe film editing is the right career for me to pursue.
Part II
As a student at Fairmont, I have been a film editor for more than a year already.
However, during the research, I have discovered many essential facts about film editors in the process, as well as colleges that got me interested. At first, I began my search by going on the internet and visiting websites that were relevant to my career. Then, I interviewed a film teacher that I am currently having, Mr. Ochoa. Lastly, my search ended with me reading books that were related to filmmaking.
For my research, I used a few websites, which provided me quite a great amount of knowledge for the career. For example, the “Bureau of Labor Statistics”, an agency of the US government, was crucial for my search as it provided useful and accurate information for my occupation. The first thing I looked at was the population of employment in the field; consequently, I was surprised that there are not many film editors in the nation: “21,920” (“Bureau of Labor Statistics”). A position in film editing requires a bachelor degree and qualities such as communication skills, computer skills, creativity, and detail oriented (“Bureau of Labor Statistics”). The salary of a film editor has the “mean annual wage of $69,490” (“Bureau of Labor Statistics”). A film editor is also required work for long hours every day, which “can make even the most positive-minded film editor question the career choice” (“The Princeton …show more content…
Review”).
Although Loyal Marymount University is a great institution for film production, there were some few colleges that got my attention during the search. One of them was Chapman University; similar to Loyal Marymount University, Chapman also has a great and reputable film program as well. Besides from that, Chapman University is located in the Orange County in which is where I am currently living at. Moreover, its film school, Dodge College, offers 24/7 use for its facility. Therefore, Chapman University will be one of the top colleges that I will be applying to for film production.
Next, I interviewed my film teacher at Fairmont Preparatory Academy, Mr. Ochoa. I asked several questions about film editing. He described the main aspects of a film editor as we went through the questions. In particular, “An editor should understand how to achieve good pacing so as to maintain the audience’s level of interest, and should also be creative enough to be able to improvise around potential mistakes in the filming process” (Mr. Ochoa). Furthermore, he explained to me how demanding film editing can be and showed me the importance of a film editor in the industry. At last, he advised me to practice editing as much as possible and create as many connections as possible. This interview was extremely informative and helped me a lot on my search.
At last, I read two books that provided information that was beneficial for my search.
Initially, I read “The Art of Watching Films”. This book expanded my perception of a film editor. It pointed out something that I have never thought about before as a film editor: “Editing is invisible. Seeing the finished product cannot tell you the value of editing because nobody knows whether if it was created by the editor or whether they were part of the director’s original conception” (“The Art of Watching Films”). From this quote, I learned that no matter how good an editor I can be, my work will not be appreciated by the viewers. Afterwards, I continued with the second book, “The Filmmaker’s Handbook”. This book explained about the process of film editing. Like editing an essay, “trimming is a fundamental part of film editing – fine-tuning how one shot moves into the next” (“The Filmmaker’s Handbook”). Even though I already knew most of the information from these books; but, I was still able to learn materials that are new to
me.
Part III
After researching about my career, my vision on film editing has shifted. Although, I already knew many things about film editing. Yet, I was able to acquire several facts that I never knew before my research.
Film editing is not necessarily hard for me. However, I would still hold the most responsibility in the industry for delivering the final product. Moreover, I would have to spend hours on the process to create a perfect product. Nevertheless, it would not be a problem for me since I have already experienced it before and the amount of money I earn also makes up for it. I was most surprised by the comparison between the two salaries: assumed and researched. The two of them came out to be very similar; however, one was a freelancer and the other was employed, which means that a real salary of a freelancer would be a lot higher than the number I assumed.
After the interview with Mr. Ochoa, I have learned that film editing is a very demanding job in the film industry. This made me realized that it can be very competitive to get a position as film editor, even though there are not a lot of workers in this field. Moreover, I will have a hard time to decide which college I will attend, especially between Loyola Marymount University and Chapman University.
As a film editor, my job is to organize footages together into a scripted story; however, there is more to it. Film editing can also be used to manipulate the audience’s reaction by simply reorganizing the shots. Likewise, I was able to tell a story by selecting shots that are relevant to the story and making appropriate cuts between them, such as fades, dissolves, wipes, etc. Each of these cuts are transitions that have different functions; for example, a dissolve cut would suggest the passage of time between two shots. At the same time, a story also needs to be interesting in order to attract the audience’s attention. For this reason, trimming is also a crucial aspect of editing. By removing unnecessary parts of a scene, I allow the story to maintain its rhythm, therefore keeping the audience interested in the story.
To achieve my goal, I will have to gather as much knowledge, as well as mastering my crafts while I am still in high school. This can help me become the perfect candidate for my role in the future. As a result, I will be able to excel at film editing when I am attending college.
My current goal is to get into Loyola Marymount University, one of a top film school in the country, and major in film production there. Once my goal is achieved, I am required to step out of my comfort zone because I believe that most film production programs will have their students learn in different areas. By doing this, it will motivate me to study the different aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, cinematographing, or even screen-writing. Although, I specialize in film editing, these roles will help me becoming a better, well rounded, and an important asset for all future companies. As a film editor, I think that there are many techniques that I do not know and skills that I am lacking; as a result, I believe this is a great chance for me to develop myself as a filmmaker.
After graduating with my bachelor degree, I may consider to get a master degree because I think it would help me in the future; although, I am not sure if it is necessary for a film editor. As for work, I have yet to decide whether I should work as a freelancer or as an employee. However, I would prefer to work as a freelancer because I believe that I would receive a higher salary that way – I can work on multiple projects for different companies. By working for multiple companies, I may also get great connections from the industry and earn a better reputation for myself.
The salary of a film editor was a very difficult guess for me. But even so, I believed that a freelance editor would make around 70,000 dollars per year. Also, I assumed that a skilled and experienced editor would make six figures a year. Although, film editors are required to be diligent, film editing can be very fun at times. Like directors and screenwriters, film editors are also storytellers; for instance, I used footages as a resource to transform them into a story. A great movie requires a great story. As a freelancer, I am not required be always working unless I have a project to finish. With the leisure that I have, I am able to relieve myself from all of the stresses from work. For these reasons, I believe film editing is the right career for me to pursue.
Part II
As a student at Fairmont, I have been a film editor for more than a year already.
However, during the research, I have discovered many essential facts about film editors in the process, as well as colleges that got me interested. At first, I began my search by going on the internet and visiting websites that were relevant to my career. Then, I interviewed a film teacher that I am currently having, Mr. Ochoa. Lastly, my search ended with me reading books that were related to filmmaking.
For my research, I used a few websites, which provided me quite a great amount of knowledge for the career. For example, the “Bureau of Labor Statistics”, an agency of the US government, was crucial for my search as it provided useful and accurate information for my occupation. The first thing I looked at was the population of employment in the field; consequently, I was surprised that there are not many film editors in the nation: “21,920” (“Bureau of Labor Statistics”). A position in film editing requires a bachelor degree and qualities such as communication skills, computer skills, creativity, and detail oriented (“Bureau of Labor Statistics”). The salary of a film editor has the “mean annual wage of $69,490” (“Bureau of Labor Statistics”). A film editor is also required work for long hours every day, which “can make even the most positive-minded film editor question the career choice” (“The Princeton …show more content…
Review”).
Although Loyal Marymount University is a great institution for film production, there were some few colleges that got my attention during the search. One of them was Chapman University; similar to Loyal Marymount University, Chapman also has a great and reputable film program as well. Besides from that, Chapman University is located in the Orange County in which is where I am currently living at. Moreover, its film school, Dodge College, offers 24/7 use for its facility. Therefore, Chapman University will be one of the top colleges that I will be applying to for film production.
Next, I interviewed my film teacher at Fairmont Preparatory Academy, Mr. Ochoa. I asked several questions about film editing. He described the main aspects of a film editor as we went through the questions. In particular, “An editor should understand how to achieve good pacing so as to maintain the audience’s level of interest, and should also be creative enough to be able to improvise around potential mistakes in the filming process” (Mr. Ochoa). Furthermore, he explained to me how demanding film editing can be and showed me the importance of a film editor in the industry. At last, he advised me to practice editing as much as possible and create as many connections as possible. This interview was extremely informative and helped me a lot on my search.
At last, I read two books that provided information that was beneficial for my search.
Initially, I read “The Art of Watching Films”. This book expanded my perception of a film editor. It pointed out something that I have never thought about before as a film editor: “Editing is invisible. Seeing the finished product cannot tell you the value of editing because nobody knows whether if it was created by the editor or whether they were part of the director’s original conception” (“The Art of Watching Films”). From this quote, I learned that no matter how good an editor I can be, my work will not be appreciated by the viewers. Afterwards, I continued with the second book, “The Filmmaker’s Handbook”. This book explained about the process of film editing. Like editing an essay, “trimming is a fundamental part of film editing – fine-tuning how one shot moves into the next” (“The Filmmaker’s Handbook”). Even though I already knew most of the information from these books; but, I was still able to learn materials that are new to
me.
Part III
After researching about my career, my vision on film editing has shifted. Although, I already knew many things about film editing. Yet, I was able to acquire several facts that I never knew before my research.
Film editing is not necessarily hard for me. However, I would still hold the most responsibility in the industry for delivering the final product. Moreover, I would have to spend hours on the process to create a perfect product. Nevertheless, it would not be a problem for me since I have already experienced it before and the amount of money I earn also makes up for it. I was most surprised by the comparison between the two salaries: assumed and researched. The two of them came out to be very similar; however, one was a freelancer and the other was employed, which means that a real salary of a freelancer would be a lot higher than the number I assumed.
After the interview with Mr. Ochoa, I have learned that film editing is a very demanding job in the film industry. This made me realized that it can be very competitive to get a position as film editor, even though there are not a lot of workers in this field. Moreover, I will have a hard time to decide which college I will attend, especially between Loyola Marymount University and Chapman University.
As a film editor, my job is to organize footages together into a scripted story; however, there is more to it. Film editing can also be used to manipulate the audience’s reaction by simply reorganizing the shots. Likewise, I was able to tell a story by selecting shots that are relevant to the story and making appropriate cuts between them, such as fades, dissolves, wipes, etc. Each of these cuts are transitions that have different functions; for example, a dissolve cut would suggest the passage of time between two shots. At the same time, a story also needs to be interesting in order to attract the audience’s attention. For this reason, trimming is also a crucial aspect of editing. By removing unnecessary parts of a scene, I allow the story to maintain its rhythm, therefore keeping the audience interested in the story.
To achieve my goal, I will have to gather as much knowledge, as well as mastering my crafts while I am still in high school. This can help me become the perfect candidate for my role in the future. As a result, I will be able to excel at film editing when I am attending college.