Television Video Editing & Post-Production Jobs

Post-production for TV shows requires a skilled person to piece together all the footage in a unique and interesting way. They normally work together with the director for editing TV commercials and to edit TV shows, but sometimes the television video editor will have to take the initiative and create a compelling broadcast alone.

You will have to use state of the art editing equipment to edit TV shows and other television broadcasts so that they flow seamlessly from one scene to the next and so that the story is placed together in the correct sequence, as it is not always shot in the correct order.

TV Editor Training

You have to study various courses to be an editor for TV including special FX. You must know as much as you can about TV shows, stories, film, and understand how things are connected smoothly. Your editing equipment will be another thing you have to learn and this will be taught along with the practical and theoretical side of television video editing, at a college or university. Some of the programs and skills you will need to be comfortable with are after effects, combustion, Adobe Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Avid, Adobe Premiere, Realviz Matchmover, and 3D Max among others. You can study multimedia, audiovisual courses, courses in graphics and editing, as well as film and TV.

How to Start Editing TV Commercials & TV Shows

TV post-production requires an editor to be available most of the day in a network or studio. You can work for very long hours completing a TV commercial or TV show, and you can expect to start off sitting in front of a computer screen in a dark room for days at a time. Post-production is a stressful part of the television industry as you are always on a deadline and always being pushed for the final edited TV commercial or TV show. To start off, you can become an assistant for an editor and learn the ropes before getting to work on your own.

Salary

The editor salary for a newbie to the industry will be about $1,500 – $3,000 per month. This post-production rate will obviously depend on the size TV production company or network you work for and whether you work on a full time or freelance basis.

Animation and CGI Department Jobs

Animation for TV involves computer graphics and a green screen (done by the CGI department) or 2D and 3D animation. A TV animator has a creative and interesting job and with many TV shows, you will create the entire scene and interesting elements that no one else can.

You can create the mythical creatures, opening sequence graphics, children’s cartoon animation, science fiction worlds and more. Your job will require you to be artistic, creative, work well under pressure and produce excellent work on-demand in a very short space of time. The CGI artist will have a lot of work to do in a very short space of time and should be able to work very quickly. This post-production job could see you creating the zombies or vampires on many of today’s popular shows using a green screen or the animated characters for a TV commercial.

Training

To become a CGI artist or TV animator you have to have a background in art. A degree in fine art or graphic art is a must along with a course in animation, graphic design, video and TV or multimedia. You should also be familiar with various media, video and editing programs, animation and CGI department computer programs, using green screen, and other effects. Your training will be approximately 3 or 4 years in the above fields and you should try to get some work experience while studying if you can.

How to Become a TV Animator

Becoming a TV animator or CGI artist is a lucrative career if you are very talented, and find the appropriate place to work where your best skills are needed. In television post-production you can work as a 2D animator, 3D animator, CGI artist, art director, animation layout, character animator, landscape/scene animator, storyboard artist, 2D or 3D compositor, digital painter, modelers, effects animator, key assistants, and more.

Starting out in the industry, you should apply at as many places you can for an assistant position. You will have to follow the lead animator and learn all you can before working your way up to a better-paid position in the company. You must also offer a portfolio of work which you can create on your own or if you can volunteer for student films and animated events that come along, you can establish yourself as a great TV animator before you even get into the professional TV post-production industry. If this type of job interests you then be sure to visit the video game jobs section of JobMonkey too.

Salary

The salary for a TV animator and CGI artist varies as do most of the TV jobs. It will all depend on what company you work for, if you are freelance or permanent and what level you are working in. An animator or CGI artist with some experience working at a well-known production company can earn about $130,000 annually, with entry-level positions for the CGI department being about $50,000 per year.

Television Post-Production Jobs Summary

To be involved in the post-production jobs for TV shows or TV commercials, you can apply at any studio, network, or production company. Most of the time, the production team will hire you as an assistant to start off with and you will get paid a smaller amount. Union members will get the standard rates for entry-level positions, but you will have to gain more experience if you want to work your way up to getting the leading animator, supervising television video editor, or lead sound editor jobs at the top companies involved in television production. Learn more about film production jobs in the Film and Music section of JobMonkey.

There are lots of post-production jobs that you can apply for and most of them will involve editing of some kind. You should have a good eye for television productions and how that should be pieced together and what music and effects are needed. Usually, the director or producer or both will be present to make sure that the TV reality show, TV series, TV talk show, news insert, or documentary is edited exactly the way they want it to be. The way you edit will give a series its drama or action, it will give a sitcom its humor and it will create the beauty and serenity for a wildlife documentary.