The Go-To Editor 4.0 Information
Step-By-Step, Hands-on Film Editing, Storytelling & Career Strategies with Real Footage
A course for film and video editors who aspire to become supreme storytellers and valued collaborators. Go-To Editors are on speed-dial of directors, producers, and clients. They get to pick the projects they want to work on and can ask for premium payment rate.
Be The Guardian Of The Audience.
Film and video editing doesn’t stop with mastering software and workflow. It’s about storytelling, social skills, and savvy career moves. Go-To Editors are in demand because they elevate the films they work on, turn clients and directors into euphoric fans, and keep the drama on the timeline (and away from the edit bay).
- Learn film editing by working with dailies from real film projects. You get access to actual scenes from an A-list festival feature with an Oscar winning actress, a documentary released in theaters by a big studio, and real branded content.
- Work with your preferred editing software (e.g. Premiere, Avid, FCP) or follow along as I download, install and set-up the first project on the free professional editing software DaVinci Resolve.
- All lessons offer on-the-job training, where you organize footage, cut scenes, and build a broader story arc. You get the scene dailies, audio files, and script pages. (NOTE: For educational purposes only. Footage & edited scenes MAY NOT be publicized, sold, put on your reel, or used as a work sample. See Terms of Service.)
- Once we tackled the basics, we focus on the most important part of editing: Storytelling. Every lesson covers important aspects of shaping character, story, and emotions.
- Next to storytelling, social skills are just as important to establish yourself as a Go-To Editor. That’s why I developed a strategy for getting the right meetings, landing the job, negotiating rates, and leveraging up.
- Yes, I cover reel and resume, but Go-To Editors get 90% of their jobs through word of mouth. This is where I share my step-by-step Career Master Plan that keeps my phone ringing.
- We focus intently on the collaboration process and your personal branding strategies.
- Participate in our regular Editing Bootcamps where real directors provide edit-ready scenes with the intent of hiring one or more of our students to cut the final film (with credit & pay)
Here’s what you’ll learn
Module #1: Editing Fundamentals
- 1-1 How to Go-To Edit
- Overview for All Newbies
- 1-2 DaVinci Resolve – Pro Editing Software (Free Install)
- Download: Dailies Pack 1
- 1-3 Ingest & Sorting
- 1-4 Marking & Selecting (Most Important Part of Good Editing)
- CASE STUDY: The Thought Process Behind Select Reels
- 1-5 The Most Important Cut
- 1-6 Append, Overwrite & Insert Edits
- 1-7 Cutting Video & Audio
- CASE STUDY: Basic Audio: Mics, Levels, Noise Reduction, EQ
- 1-8 J & L-Cuts
- The Go-To Editor – FAQ
- 1-9 Module 1 Finish Line
- Wipster Tutorial: Get Feedback On Your Scene Work
- CASE STUDY: Watch Sven Cut the Module 1 Scene
Module #2 – Advanced Editing & Storytelling
- 2-1 What is Story?
- Download: Dailies Pack 2
- 2-2 The Dramatic Question
- CASE STUDY: Infusing Drama Into a Scene Through Editing
- 2-3 Connecting Scenes
- How Is Your Editing Going?
- 2-4 The Joke as a Story
- CASE STUDY: Advanced Audio – Best Practices
- 2-5 Meaning of a Cut
- 2-6 Audience Engagement
- CASE STUDY: Reshuffling The Scene
- 2-7 Editing Concepts
- 2-8 The Process of Editing
- 2-9 Conclusion
Module #3 – Personal Branding & Career Strategies
- 3-1 Why Editing Is Not Just Storytelling
- 3-2 The Craft of Editing
- 3-3 Social Skills
- 3-4 Finding Work
- CASE STUDY: Steve Gets Advice on His Resume/CV
- 3-5 Websites and Social Media
- 3-6 Leveraging Up
- CASE STUDY: Why Become a Post Runner
- 3-7 Is Film School Important
- 3-8 Getting the Meeting
- CASE STUDY: Targeted Client Acquisition with LinkedIn
- 5 Websites for the Job Searching Editor
- 3-09 Being Good in the Room
- 3-10 Mock Interview
- 3-11 Cold Call – Providing Value
- CASE STUDY: The Magic Email That Gets You a Response
- 3-12 Yourself as a Brand
- 3-13 Books: Becoming a Brand
- Develop Your Editor Brand With These 5 Questions
- 3-14 Good vs. Bad Clients
- CASE STUDY: How To Make A Living As Remote Editor
- 3-15 Negotiating Your Rate
- Module #3 – Key Points
- 3-16 Conclusion: Having Choices
- Career Strategy Master Plan
- Turn Your Short Film Editing Strategy Into Action Steps
- TEMPLATE: Turn Any Strategy Into Action Steps
Module #4 – Genre Editing Exercises (Narrative Drama)
- 4-1 Narrative Editing – Briefing
- 4-2 Download Dailies Pack 3
- CASE STUDY: “Veep” (Emmy-winning TV Show) – 5 Stages of a Cut with Roger Nygard, ACE
- GROUP SEMINAR: Assistant Editing (In Animation)
- FOR YOUR REEL – Access To Scene Dailies From The Feature Film “30-LOVE”
Module #5 – Genre Editing Exercises (Documentary)
- 5-1 Documentary Editing – Briefing
- 5-2 Download Dailies Pack
- CASE STUDY: “The Square” (Oscar Nominated Doc) – Process of a Pro Editor
- CASE STUDY: Documentary Sound Editing & Design
- FOR YOUR REEL – Access To Scene Dailies From The Documentary “Dirty Old Man”
Module #6 – Genre Editing Exercises (Corporate & Branded Content)
- 6-1 Branded Video Editing – Briefing
- 6-2 Download Dailies Pack
- CASE STUDY: “Mercedes Commercial” (feat. Tennis Star Roger Federer) – Process of a Pro Editor
About Author
I’m an ACE Award-nominated editor who cut for James Cameron (3D-Imax ‘Ghosts Of The Abyss’), Mark Webber (Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominee, ‘The End of Love’), and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Emmy-Winning ‘HitRECord on TV’). Films I cut premiered at Sundance, SXSW, Cannes, and played theatrically across the nation. I worked as Supervising Editor on several TV shows on networks like Bravo, E!, and Fox. I was the Go-To Editor for companies like Fremantle Media (American Idol) and cut pilots for them for more than five years.
My YouTube Channel ‘This Guy Edits’ has over 475k subscribers and focuses on creative storytelling and editing. I taught Film Editing at Columbia College Hollywood, and I am a regular guest lecturer at the UCLA Film Extension. I now designed this course where I teach you everything I know about becoming a Go-To Editor.
More courses from the same author: Sven Pape
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