I turned a passion for editing year end videos into a full time job editing trailers. AMA

I remember seeing the lion king trailer for the first time. It was amazing the way you synced the music swells with the stampede, and then at the end with the casting names. Overall your mesh music and footage worked amazingly well it was awesome. Frozen 2's trailer was amazing too . My question is, do trailer editors work with directors closely? Sometimes trailers are completely different from what the movie actually is and Im curious how that happens.

The Lion King trailer was cut by an editor at Transit who did a truly masterful job. The same trailer house just released the new Mulan trailer, also a masterclass in sound design and nostalgia. It takes many editors to work on such massive worldwide campaigns. We don't work with directors, the process is best served if they are detached from the creative process until final approval of the work, unless it's a smaller movie. Then, the director might come in and work with us directly for a week or so.

How long did it take you to go from hobby to freelance to full time job? (I'm kind of lost in life but this is something I'm looking into)

The old proverb says it takes ten years to master a skill and you know what, i think that's kinda true even though I have ways to go in terms of learning. The first time I ever touched an editing software was in 2010, next year will be 2020 so there you go. It's a slow burn, like anything in life that has value. If you go in for the rewards, you'll find the life transition painful and frustrating. Ideally, you need to enjoy the work itself and be grateful to anybody who's willing to allow you to do that work even though you didn't start there right out of school. That's the reward that keeps on giving. Like the JIRO sushi documentary said, try to fall in love with your work, if you can.

1. Why doesn't the film editor make the trailer?
2. If you are asked to make a trailer, do you generally make all trailers/spots for the film, if they are wanting multiple versions? And do they specify the length required?
3. Is there a trailer starter pack that comes with useful resources like InceptionHorn.wav, ScaryVersionOfYourFavoriteNurseryRhyme.aac, and FakeOrchestraMusicToMakeFanboysCreamTheirPants mp3? 🤔

1. They generally don't want to, it's a different approach entirely. Their goal is not to condense a story and sell a film, but rather to tell a story as well as it can be told.
2. On a big movie, one editor could never do a whole campaign. Often two or three houses will work on the same project and compete for the trailer. When they do finish a trailer, they send it to all the editors working on it as a reference of what they like and where they wanna go creatively so others keep that in mind as they cut the spots.
3. There is something called BOOM library that is free and has every boom / whoosh / and rise you'll ever need. The best audio additions are the ones you cannot hear, that was advice i was given once. They have to be audible but seamless enough not to distract the viewer.

How much footage do you get when making the trailer? Do they only send little snippets of stuff, or do they send you the whole movie?

Every project is different. Some clients will send you everything they've got. Others will stick to finished materials they already produced (unreleased trailers) and ask you to cut spots with that. The more confidential a project is, the less we usually get.

What's next for you?

Right now, i still have so much to learn and incredible mentors willing to sit down and show me all their tricks. I am looking to stay put where I'm at for as long as I keep feeling challenged and motivated. After that, who knows? I just need to create. If you're a creative person and you're not creating, you are gonna be dying inside. It's nice to get an audience and praise/attention but even without that, it's absolutely worth pushing through and keep learning and improving. Otherwise, you'll never know how far you could have taken it.

Video Editor / YouTuber of 5 years here, how did you break into the professional scene?

I gave some comprehensive answers throughout the other answers, it was a long journey that required a step-by-step approach. The only component that is consistent was putting out work that people deemed really strong, which led to pretty much all my opportunities in this field.

What would you recommend to someone trying to get into video editing for personal projects? Any software recommendations?

Premiere Pro is so comprehensive, the 2019 version especially. I feel that a week into it, you'll be able to do whatever you like. And it's just as powerful as AVID and gets used by many professionals. Get the trial version, import some stuff from the internet and try exporting/uploading something you're proud of. It's a good place to start!