Re: How did you start out your editing career?

I'm with grinner
After four years of college crammed into six years I came out with a degree in Political Science. After substitute teaching I realized my desires were not in the classroom. I began by volunteering and learned to operate camera (and did well at it).

I worked five weeks for my first paycheck and got $125 a week. That was probably a 60 hour week. I ran camera, built sets, lit the sets and whatever else they'd let me do. After gaining proficiency running a studio camera and listening to what the director does, I eased into directing by doing telethons. I ended in a directors pool doing a live two hour daily talk show - unscripted. Then I moved to videotape and learned the machines. Then I began to edit machine to machine for a couple years until we got a computer assisted editing system. I got into the editors chair and wouldn't let anyone else do it and ended up as the editor. A couple years later I was made technical operations manager over the tape ops and editors but eventually went back to the linear edit suite and let other people administer.

So take what you can get and excel at it. Best of luck.

Del
fire*, smoke*, photoshopCS3
Charlotte Public Television
del underscore edits at wtvi dot org