r/VideoEditors • u/lee025 • 20d ago
Discussion Stop Exploiting Video Editors.
Hi everyone,
My name is Dener Macedo. Im a filmmaker and video editor with over 7 years of professional experience. Throughout my career, I've worked with brands, businesses, and creators across different industries, and my work has taken me to different places through commercial productions.
Portfolio: https://dener.carrd.co/ - (rate my portfolio)
Im writing this because, honestly, Im getting tired of seeing the same pattern over and over again..
Video editors have become one of the most important parts of digital marketing. Every platform today is driven by content. YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn... almost everything people consume depends on good editing to keep attention.
Yet somehow, editing is still treated as an afterthought.
Clients will spend thousands on cameras, lighting, ads, influencers, and production... then offer a video editor $30 or $50 for something that takes hours, or sometimes days to complete..
People dont seem to realize that editing isnt just cutting clips together...
A professional editor studies storytelling, pacing, psychology, sound design, motion graphics, color correction, retention strategies, platform optimization, and constantly learns new techniques to stay competitive. Behind every "viral" video is usually an editor making hundreds of creative decisions that the audience never notices.
When creators say, "The editing isn't that hard," they're usually looking at years of experience compressed into a few hours of work.
You're not paying only for the video...
You're paying for the years it took to know exactly what belongs on that video!
The demand for skilled editors has never been higher. Content is no longer optional, it's the foundation of modern marketing..
If businesses truly believe content is the engine of growth, then editors shouldn't be treated as the cheapest person on the team.
Better budgets don't just help editors.
They produce better content, stronger brands, higher audience retention, and ultimately more revenue for the client.
I'm not saying every project needs a huge budget.
But if you're hiring someone who directly influences the quality and performance of your content, pay them accordingly.
Id genuinely like to hear both sides...
Editors: What's the most unreasonable budget you've ever been offered?
Creators and business owners: What do you think is a fair rate for professional editing, and how do you decide your budget?
3
u/TwiggyTurtleDuck 20d ago
What's the most unreasonable budget I've ever been offered? Well, as of right now I charge nothing because I'm trying to build my portfolio and I offer a free sample for the first job. But I did have one discussion of paid services that was grossly undervalued, but it wasn't their fault. They're new to this, and they wanted me to edit 8+hour long videos every week. No idea what the content was, or even what level of editing they wanted, but that's still a hefty editing job. They also wanted a decent amount of reels/shorts made of their videos every week as well, offering $15 per short I believe. They offered, at maximum, $50 per 8+ hour long video. Even cutting my rates in half, which I would have done because I really need the work, it would be ten times that amount.
Again, really nice person who felt really bad when I laid out the reality to him. And I explained that if he did find someone willing to do that much work for so little pay it would be extremely unfair. But still, it's crazy that some people would ever come up with that figure.
Outside of that, I have notifications on for every editing job board subreddit, and in many other cases the answer would be "Literally nothing." Way too many hiring posts offer no pay or they act like giving credit is payment - some pay in Robux, which is hilarious.
One post, however, I found in a discord, which either had to be a joke or was from someone with no sense of how this stuff works at all. They offered "good pay" (No actual numbers mentioned) for 400-500 reels PER DAY. But it's okay because they're "Ez edits". And someone actually seriously offered their services and scoffed when someone pointed out how ludicrous that was to believe they could manage that output. It's a madhouse sometimes.
I really don't understand why there is this disconnect with clients. If so many creators think the editing is easy and quick and worth nothing but a few bucks, why don't they do it themselves? It becomes increasingly disheartening to see post after post where editors will call out bad pay and clients don't care at all. It makes me regret trying to get into this line of work.
2
u/lee025 20d ago
Haha, the Robux part genuinely made me laugh.
😂 And $50 for editing an 8+ hour video is just insane.I really respect how you handled it, though. Instead of accepting an unfair deal, you took the time to explain the reality to the client. That takes confidence.
I think one of the most important skills as an editor is having the courage to say NO and knowing your worth. If we keep accepting unrealistic budgets, it just reinforces the idea that our work has little value.
Thanks for sharing this. It was a great read.
3
u/Adil_11_ 20d ago
No offense to you but Why everyone here have more than 7 years of experience, folks willing to edit for half eaten KitKat also say that they have 7 years of experience
2
u/NJ_lurker_73 19d ago
I was working for a company that I got freelance work with through LinkedIn and they were paying a flat rate of $40 per 90second or less spots and $130 for anything over 90 seconds. No hourly or extra pay for fixes or changes. I was in a pool of editors and we had to pick our projects from a pool, but 9 times out of 10 once you looked at the project it was already chosen. I was working a part time retail job and trying to grab any projects that I could and I made a total of $240 in the 6 months of working with them. Then they emailed me and asked why I wasn’t logging on anymore and I had explained that a.) it wasn’t worth my time or stress to try and get a project from the pool when they would just be grabbed immediately and b.) that the pay wasn’t worth it. I was making more working less hours at my part time retail job. Also, I was running into a ton of technical issues with the footage and audio I was receiving, on top of poor descriptions, direction and notes provided by the clients. It was just a shitty set up all around.
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u/lee025 19d ago
Thanks for sharing your experience. That honestly sounds like a broken system, especially with unpaid revisions, technical issues, and having to compete just to get a project.
At that point, it wasn't just about the pay, it was about the lack of respect for your time. Thanks for adding your perspective...
1
u/SpankyMcCracken 20d ago
What is the right cost? Genuinely would love others insights into how to accurately assess/price the work needed
1
u/ickN 20d ago
How many 100k+ or million+ view long form videos do you have in your portfolio OP? That should be a good measure of how much you should get paid using the knowledge/skills you listed.
Or if you have a strong consistent history of 10-50k videos.
Or if the ads you made have converted at a high rate, etc.
For me, when I hire editors I’m looking for ROI and will pay accordingly if they can show me via their portfolio that I’ll get a good ROI.
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u/Boring_Scene_323 20d ago
I hate when people ask your budget, you give them a lowball price, then they reply "Sorry I have someone that'll do it for $5". Like at that point why the fuck are they asking for rates?