Transform Your Video Editing Career: Simple Framework

Should you edit for free? A lot of you might say, “absolutely not”. But what if I told you that one of my biggest paychecks as an editor came from a project that I initially worked on for free?

I’ve been a pro editor for over 20 years, and I really struggled with evaluating editing projects until I created the simple framework that I’m going to share with you today. If you’re a hobbyist or only edit for yourself, I think there’s some good wisdom in it for you, too.

And at the end I’ll share how that free editing project became one of my most lucrative.

I call my framework "The Three Rs".

 The first "R" stands for “Reel”. That’s short for demo reel, which is a collection of your best work that you show potential clients in order to get more projects. A project that satisfies the "reel" criteria is something that you’re proud of and is creatively fulfilling, so much so that you would want to include it on your demo reel.

Here’s the tough thing about demo reels: people are going to hire you for the type of work that is already on your reel. So what if you’ve only done work that you don’t like, and you want to do something different? It’s a bit of a catch-22.

For instance, when I graduated from film school and opened up an edit suite in downtown Austin, my main way to pay the bills was editing corporate videos. If I had put together a reel of corporate videos, what types of jobs would I get? That's right—more corporate videos. And those were not the types of projects I wanted to do. So how do you get work on your reel that you like? Keep reading for the answer.

The second R of the three Rs stands for "Rate". This is how much you get paid for an editing project. A project that satisfies the "rate" criteria pays your asking rate or better. Simple as that. But does it ever make sense to accept a free project? We’ll answer that soon also.

The third and final R in my "Three Rs" framework stands for "Relationships". These are the people you’re working for and with. For a project to satisfy the "relationship" criteria, the people involved must be enjoyable (or at least neutral) to work with. But is there ever a time to accept a job with someone who is difficult to work with? It’s time to answer these questions.

The key to deciding is by looking at the three Rs together. My simple formula is as follows: if you’ve got at least two out of the three, say yes to the job. Let me show you what I mean with real examples from my career.

First, let’s talk about "Rate and Relationship" projects:

This is a project where you’re getting paid your rate, you’re working for people you like, but it’s not creatively fulfilling work. Meaning, you wouldn’t put the work on your reel. Remember the corporate job I told you about at the beginning? For me, that was a "Rate and Relationship" job. I loved the people I worked for and they paid my rate, but I was largely editing very boring corporate videos. That can be tough for those of us who got into this in order to edit creative projects, but I will say that for that time in my life, I’m very thankful I was able to pay my rent and make some good connections. Overall, it was worth it.

Now, let’s talk about "Rate and Reel" projects:

This is a project where you’re getting paid your rate, and it’s creatively fulfilling, but you have to work for someone difficult.

I remember getting an email for a full-rate project with a great script. But when I asked around, I heard the client had a reputation for being very demanding. I ended up taking the gig, made a great piece for my reel, got paid, but I had to persevere through some tough interactions. Fortunately, the project was only a matter of weeks (not months or years). If it were a longer project, working with someone difficult may not be worth it. But in my case, I’m glad I took this job.

Now let’s talk about "Relationship and Reel" projects:

This is where you work for someone you like on a creatively fulfilling project, but you do it for free. In my opinion, this is the best way to get creative work on your reel that you’d like to do more of. And that’s exactly what I was doing when I edited the 3D-animated short film Pigeon: Impossible. Writer/director Lucas Martell was (and is) a good friend, and the project was extremely cool, so I said yes and helped develop the story and edit animatics over the course of several years. It became a viral hit on YouTube, and the story was purchased by a major film studio that turned it into the studio feature Spies in Disguise starring Will Smith. Because of that, I ended up getting paid for my work after the fact. Not only that, but I had a new piece on my reel that I was proud of.

For those of you hobbyist editors or those editing for yourself, you are also in the category of "Relationship and Reel" projects. My advice to you is to check in with yourself from time to time and make sure the work is indeed something you’re creatively proud of and that you’re collaborating with people you like. Since it’s not about the money, you have some leeway to be picky with these other criteria.

I have one caveat for those of you working on editing projects that only satisfy the "rate" criteria. Sometimes you might have to work with difficult people on boring stuff to pay the rent or support your family, and there’s absolutely no shame in that. I would, however, suggest trying to build your editing reel on the side with some "Relationship and Reel" projects in hopes of getting higher paid (and maybe more fulfilling) projects in the future.

I’m very curious to hear if this framework resonates with you, so please let me know in the comments section of the above YouTube video what types of projects you’re working on and which criteria they satisfy.

Austen is an ADDY award-winning film & commercial editor with over 20 years of experience. He has worked with global brands like Meta, KPMG, SAP, and Christianity Today. His PSA work has championed causes like school safety (with Matthew McConaughey), driving safety, and anti-tobacco. A thought leader in the editing field, his online lessons quickly amassed over 100K views after launch.