How I became a Netflix video editor in 3 months

How I started working as a freelance video editor for Netflix with NO professional editing experience & quit my restaurant job in 3 months.

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About me:
I've been making short films for 20 years, starting at age 11. I directed my first feature film, Bad is Bad, in 2010. Made for only $6,000, the film went on to reach over 7 million views and garner critical acclaim. More recently, my short film, Will "The Machine", screened and won awards at film festivals around the world. Released online in 2019, it reached over 1 million views in just a month. I also work as a video editor, cutting ads for clients such as Apple, Netflix, and Beats by Dre.

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[adunbar]

Thank you for this! I feel like no one EVER talks numbers and you did.

[goldmondfong]

been working as an editor in LA for 3 years now and recently switched to directing for a year now. this is a super accurate story of how things just happen. i always tell my friends in the industry: just stick it out and youll get there. I remember starting as an assistant editor when I was 18 cutting corporate videos and making graphics for minimun wage haha. Then started to PA on set just doing grunt work. But I definately realized really quickly that editing made me a lot more money than being on set. Great thing about being an editor is that you get hired for many days at a time + you have a pretty personal relationship to the producers and creative directors so your cretive opinions matter to them (:

[anthony-vu]

Is no one talking about how funny and engaging his script writing is?!?!? This edit had me cracking up with hints of jokes sprinkled into great story-telling. Love it!

[MandosCulture]

You are the definition of hard work pays off, this is an incredible story about persistence and not being too shy to attempt your dream

[ThatMakesSenseToMe]

I’m in a trial period working on one project of 20 with my first ever client. Extremely nervous. I needed this video.

[alphaairdrop]

Needed this! For anyone going out there, for the last three months we've been hammering. I left my fulltime nursing job of 80k/yr and now making close to 110k/yr with other incentives working from home editing in about a 1 yr span. I quit nursing 3 months ago! Grind it out, you can make this happen, everyone needs a brand and for that they need a very available video editor! Good luck!

[Jacobweiss_]

Great video! I came in and freelance assisted on that "big company" internal film with you I believe while you were also prepping the the release of your personal film, would have never guessed this was your perspective throughout that time, the way you carried yourself and put in the work pushed me to go harder and now Ive landed at a post-house I love.

[Laliuca]

this was very insightful. as someone currently working in kitchens with goals of transitioning into video editing it means a lot to hear someone with a story that begins similar to mine. thanks for giving a little hope

[jlscurry]

I'm a docu/reality tv & film editor with over a decade in...was prepared to hate watch this but sounds like a pretty typical "how I got into editing story." There's some pretty good advice in here for people just starting out. I hope your projects and clients continue to get cooler and more interesting!

[papermelon]

Literally the single most helpful video I’ve ever seen on freelance video editing. The prices and numbers you mentioned would have saved me SO MUCH time and effort months ago had I known what to expect.

[LiveLion]

your story is inspiring man, as someone with a growing passion for editing, maybe this is just what i needed to watch to take the plunge into freelance work
thank you so much for this ❤

[randycarrillo]

I wanted to throw in my own story of how I got started. I always knew I wanted to work in the film industry as a cinematographer but coming from 2 parents who are immigrants I felt like my chances were very slim since my parents didn't ever care about any of it and expected me to just be get any job and stay there till I die. So having to work right after high school to help pay bills and going through I guess some alright jobs Ferrari, Lexus and a Fedex Driver lol. I finally quit looking for jobs that I knew I didn't want and focused on picking up a camera and a used MacBook Pro since I couldn't afford a new one. I slowly started accumulating my own gear but I felt I needed to focus more on my editing skills and get to work. I finally landed a job as a videographer for a small agency after applying twice and being persistent, I got the job 8-5 for 14.50 hr (YEAY). Not to mention this agency was in the middle of nowhere (IOWA) YUP! Born and raised in L.A but moved there since my dad had a heart attack. I felt I would never transition into editing big projects for motion pictures. So I moved and now Im back in California and been applying everywhere and reached out to an old friend who connected me to a person who works in Hollywood, Now Im just playing the waiting game. That's my story. Moral of the story is "Don't give up and follow your dreams because you never know how close you are to getting your foot in the door"

[INSANE-vygy]

The most honest talk, Ever heard in this Era! It takes guts to spill out the Truth, Hats off man! You got my respect! 🥸

[verygoodefilms]

Really needed this video. I'd watch you talk about this stuff for hours. Very informative and relatable, and I've learned I need to go a little harder because I'm not even as far from this as I thought I was.

[wang]

Your video is very inspiring! This start of the year, I had just turned 23 and dropped out of college (took me so long to make one of the biggest decisions in my life). All this was to pursue the thing i love most, editing. It's a new journey for me and I'm still in the process of building this career up, Thank you for going step by step with your process on this, it really helped me to take note on the things I should do!

[JaimeAndresMedia]

This was awesome story telling! I can relate in so many ways, best part is not that you doubled your income (which is great!) but that you’re doing something you’re clearly passionate about. 💪🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[saca.technology]

This is literally the most inspirational video I've ever watched. Thank you so much.

[luke_mckay]

I'm in the baby stages of becoming an editor, editing content for myself and another YouTuber. But this video is incredibly straightforward, honest, and informative, and gives me excitement for the future. Thanks for the content, subbed. ✌🏼

[ujkos_who]

Absolutly love your story telling, combined with the super funny and well timed edits, btw the Rocky one totaly got me. Awesome video

[charliedango]

Congratulations. It's inspiring to hear success stories like this, especially for anyone who really wants to give it a shot, but lacks the confidence to even try. I would have loved to see this video back when I first started out. I've been doing this for 19 years and I still can't imagine trying to go freelance.