Working remotely, editing on FCP X

Hi everyone...
With the power and speed of the internet now, being in the same location as the client is no longer mandatory, you can be in very different locations and still be effective as editors.

I live in South Africa which is almost 12 hours ahead of California, so my night time is your working daylight hours, so why not take advantage of this? I can work through my day and when you in the US wake up, editing tasks are complete.

Yes I am looking for work, rent and utilities need to be paid, the landlord needs his pound of flesh so to speak, I am a qualified FCP X end user, passed the exam, yay... I also have over 10 years tv news video editing experience under my belt, it may not have been on non linear, it was on something way more valuable to an editor, it was tape, namely Betacam and DVCPRO... This is Africa, not always a leader in high tech, I also am still freelancing for the national broadcaster here, so not a minor player.. I know what and how to edit, and how to use Final Cut X..

If need be, I am willing to fly to the US to set up a meeting for a face to face interview, to get to know you, and for you to get to know me, at my own expense, so no worries...

Everyone keeps talking about a cottage industry, how now we can edit remotely, so why not take advantage of time and location? If need be, I will up the speed of my internet to handle faster uploads...

Let's work together to show how with a tiny bit of effort, remote editing using FCP X can be useful, I know it is possible, I am wiling to play my part...Thoughts, lets talk about this idea as professionals and put politics to the side burner...

We are artists, using the medium of binary to paint a video picture, so let's do as artists do, meet and share ideas, I learn from you and you from me, free flow of ideas through editing....

Justine

Good for you Justine...

As an Aussie based in Perth (West Coast) I feel your pain... for many years now I have been able to collaborate remotely on a number of projects, at a number of different levels...

One thing I do miss from FCP legacy days is iChat Theater. It was great to be able to view content remotely as a producer/editor and make calls to the frame.

I wish you well.

Hi Deano...Perth..city of sails..A bit like my city, also a city of sails..

How does one even start? It seems almost impossible, more like who you know, not what that is important..There has to be a way to get started...I have no idea how...

There are several online sites that list folks looking for work, and those looking for workers. Lots of online resources.

An online bio and demo reel are pretty necessary. A domain name like MyName.com is very inexpensive to purchase and set up for this purpose. Even a Vimeo Pro account can do that, plus allow you a way to privately screen rough cuts to clients later.

Today there is no standard way of getting yourself established. You're a creative talent, sell that creativity, this is a prime opportunity to show it with how you market yourself online.

There is one thing I TOTALLY DON'T GET from Apple, is why they never brought back iChat theater or a similar functionality.

It was unbelievably useful, would still be today.

IChat theater was great. Working with co editors 3,000 kms away. Was so helpful.

Never used ichat, I saw it on my old mac, back to the topic at hand, how does one get to be a co editor 3 000 km away, which is about as far as Perth is from Durban...

There has to be a way, apart from the tired links, using FCP.co as example, networking, doing test editing, establish relationships, spread the work, make FCP the best by using people from all parts, maybe a better edit results...OK just a thought...Would love to be part of a big project, I love editing, it is my art...

I was producer, presenter, co-editor on a National Drag Racing Motorsport show that was Nationally aired on Network Ten here in Australia.

We were the first Full HD sport that was externally produced here back in 2008. They loved the content. XDCAM workflows with PDW700/800 cameras. FCP 7 was our NLE.

I lived in Sydney for 5 years but wanted to come back home which was west. It still involved a lot of travel - Perth is one the remotest cities on the planet. But we just started to work a bit more logically using remote tools, duplicate media stores etc.

I agree with the earlier comment Justine - get a show reel together that showcases your talents. Short and sweet.

Having just had a twitter discussion with someone from Ripple Training, the conversation was around "reels" and how Ripple only hire as a result of reels and referrals, now this is all fine and well if you shoot and edit your own work.

I work in broadcasting, in tv news media, of which I do not own the material I edit, this belongs to the company, as I am freelance, I am not allowed to copy or even attach any device to their systems.

As a result I do not have any reel, as I do not have material to create a reel, any work I do is subject to strict laws of secrecy, so how do I prove my worthiness as a video editor?

The only way I can see is to either shoot my own stuff, well that is not possible, I cannot afford to buy a camera, and being disabled, shooting is not viable, so the alternative is what used to be done when I started out in the 1990's, that was a simple test, could I edit a sequence to a standard that the company considered suitable...

I applied for a video editing job, and lost out as I was not up to standard, this pushed me to learn more, which I did, so what is the harm in this method?

A one size fits all method of show reel and referral does not fit every one, so for the sake of a show reel talent is wasted... Micheal Matzdorf [Focus] moans about no editors, I am certified, that has to be good enough for something, and 10 years on the job, I just cannot provide examples, is that also worth something, or nothing...

A show reel shows what? Only you have talent to edit show reels, there is no way to prove via a show-reel that you did the work, how do you prove what you did???

A skills assessment has to be considered...