Film and Video Editors
Arts, Audio/Video Technology and CommunicationsO*NET 27-4032.00United States
Edit moving images on film, video, or other media. May work with a producer or director to organize images for final production.
- Median annual earnings
- $66,690
- Projected change
- +12.8%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 44K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
65.1% of the workforce
Growing to 49.65K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What film and video editors do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Organize and string together raw footage into a continuous whole according to scripts or the instructions of directors and producers.
- Edit films and videotapes to insert music, dialogue, and sound effects, to arrange films into sequences, and to correct errors, using editing equipment.
- Select and combine the most effective shots of each scene to form a logical and smoothly running story.
- Review footage sequence by sequence to become familiar with it before assembling it into a final product.
- Set up and operate computer editing systems, electronic titling systems, video switching equipment, and digital video effects units to produce a final product.
- Trim film segments to specified lengths and reassemble segments in sequences that present stories with maximum effect.
- Cut shot sequences to different angles at specific points in scenes, making each individual cut as fluid and seamless as possible.
- Review assembled films or edited videotapes on screens or monitors to determine if corrections are necessary.
- Verify key numbers and time codes on materials.
- Manipulate plot, score, sound, and graphics to make the parts into a continuous whole, working closely with people in audio, visual, music, optical, or special effects departments.
- Program computerized graphic effects.
- Study scripts to become familiar with production concepts and requirements.
- Supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in film editing, assembling, and recording activities.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $28,498
- 25th percentile
- $42,131
- 50th percentile
- $66,690
- 75th percentile
- $103,867
- 90th percentile
- $160,577
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $66,690 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+12.8%faster than average
202543,999 jobs
2035 projected49,650 jobs
5,651 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 65.1%
- Associate degree
- 16.9%
- High school diploma or less
- 16.3%
- Some college
- 1.2%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 0.6%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Video Editors1,696 postings
- 02Content Creators153 postings
- 03Video Content Creators153 postings
- 04Contract Video Editors148 postings
- 05Video Producers/Editors147 postings
- 06National Channel Managers113 postings
- 07Lead Video Editors78 postings
- 08Directors/Producers/Video Editors66 postings
- 09Graphic Designers/Video Editors61 postings
- 10Motion Graphics Designers/Video Editors61 postings
- 11Multimedia Specialists56 postings
- 12Motion Graphics/Video Editors51 postings
- 13Digital Video Editors43 postings
- 14Production Artists42 postings
- 15News Video Editors41 postings
- 16Video Reporters39 postings
- 17Motion Designers37 postings
- 18Video Content Producers35 postings
- 19Video Editor Interns35 postings
- 20Podcast Editors32 postings
Top employers
- 01Workana90 postings
- 02Robert Half59 postings
- 03Motorola Solutions46 postings
- 04Fox News Network43 postings
- 05New York Technology Partners36 postings
- 06Sinclair Broadcast Group31 postings
- 07Tiktok31 postings
- 08Toloka Annotators31 postings
- 09Chegg29 postings
- 10Onward Search28 postings
- 11Backstage International Ltd25 postings
- 12NBC25 postings
- 13Infobahn Softworld19 postings
- 14Jobgether19 postings
- 15Amazon18 postings
- 16Productionhub18 postings
- 17Yahoo Holdings18 postings
- 18Artisan Talent16 postings
- 19Cella16 postings
- 20Emergency University16 postings
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