Video editing job stress -help me

A

alilvietboi4u

Active member
I am a video editor for a local show on a news network in the San Francisco Bay Area. The pay is good but I am stressed out from working 8 hours a day mon-fri editing the same thing every day.... I cant focus, cant stand sitting at my desk in front of a screen all day. Does anyone have a solution? I graduated in 2007 and a newbie in the private sector... So if there is anyone out there that does this, how do you stand it?
 
There's a reason it's called work bro!

What can you do? Uhh, walk around outside. Take breaks. Get an office wife. Buy a fast car. Put random bits of fun in the edits and see if the director/producer notices...

You've got to find a way to make work fun or it'll send you to an early grave.
 
Sounds to me like editing isn't the job for you.... and that's o.k.
You need to find something you love to do and get paid for it....then you won't be stressed & live a long, happy life!

If you love what you do... it's not work.
 
Well My major is is 3D animation and The minor is Video Editing. for the past 6 years 80 percent of my work has been in Video Production. I have never had a job doing 3D and its hard to get into that field because it is very competitive small market. Also I do not have an updated 3D reel because I edit 8 hours a day... for me to be able to find something I love which I am not sure of still, I would have to not have a job and work on my reel. Its tough, whats keeping me back from everything is the limited time I have to myself because of work. I take many breaks and still cant focus.

Maybe I need an office wife =) But I cant buy a fast car cause I have to pay off my 130,000 dollar student loan... =(
 
alilvietboi4u said:
Well My major is is 3D animation and The minor is Video Editing. for the past 6 years 80 percent of my work has been in Video Production. I have never had a job doing 3D and its hard to get into that field because it is very competitive small market. Also I do not have an updated 3D reel because I edit 8 hours a day... for me to be able to find something I love which I am not sure of still, I would have to not have a job and work on my reel. Its tough, whats keeping me back from everything is the limited time I have to myself because of work. I take many breaks and still cant focus.

Maybe I need an office wife =) But I cant buy a fast car cause I have to pay off my 130,000 dollar student loan... =(
Click to expand...

Man, you're living the American dream! When you get the student loan paid off, you can get married, have 2 kids, get caught cheating with the office wife, move back into an apt. and but a Vette. That's livin'!

But seriously, you're in a spot that a lot of young people find themselves in. Don't despair man... it gets easier...
 
If you work a full time job, you still have one day a week free. So do something else that day. Plus there's a good eight hours of day that you can use the rest of the time.

Are you there to enjoy it or to make money because you can't find another job? If the latter, suck it up. If the former, it's pretty clear you have to try something else.

You have a job, one in which many, many people fight to get even half the work you get. It had better be pretty bad for you to complain about that. Your issue might even just be that you're editing things that are too similar, in which case you should either request a part time schedule or quit to work independent. You won't make as much, at least not at first, but you'll get a wider array of experiences.
 
Anything which continues to repeat itself over and over and over and over will always drive a truly creative person absolutely bonkers!


From the book of seldomly used phrases:

"Every day, it's the same old thing... Variety!"
 
I had the same job for 31 years and didn't care for it much. But guess what, it put food on the table, a roof over my head, money in the bank and allowed me to persue my second career which is video. A 40 hour a week leaves lots of free time unless you have long commutes.
 
My problem when I was on staff was that after a while I got so fast and proficient, half of my day would be spent twiddling my thumbs. I ended up learning how to pace myself so it looked like I was always working, when really I wasn't. News is probably different as there is always footage coming in, so maybe you should move to a different production environment where you are always working on different materials, and don't have immediate deadlines every day.
 
Editing is tedious. You have to learn to get up every 30 minutes, listen to a song on an i-pod for 5 minutes, then get back to work.

A SMALL break leads to a fresh mind. I can write a script for 8 hours straight (and have done so) but dude,
I have to stand up, walk around, eat something, listen to something, then get back to work.

It's not so much discipline but learning how to take small breaks to keep yourself fresh.
 
I shot and edited news for over 20 years. It was a grind, but at least being in the field, it was different everyday and you interact with people. You don't get that editing.

If you enjoy news (always busy, constant deadlines) stay. If you don't, you should look elsewhere before you burn out (and you're too young for that).

My questions are- you "cant stand sitting at my desk in front of a screen all day"?
How do you do 3D? Standing, not in front of a screen?

And you can't work on your 3D reel while you have a job???

You work 8 hours a day, and I guess sleep around 8.
Use at least half of those remaining 8 hours a day for your reel (20 hrs/ work week).
And you have 32 hours on weekends. Use those. Make a reel.

We all take jobs (full time or freelance) to pay our living expenses.

Make your job more tolerable (if not enjoyable) while you are there.
As Perrone said, walk, outside if you can.
Stretch your neck in the edit room, forward and to the sides, roll your shoulders, release stress..

Take deep breaths, slowly exhale... and make your 3D reel...
 
everyone has to start some where. Learn what you can, find ways to apply you knowledge to your own side projects then take off on your own new adventure
 
I work the same job, but for ridiculously sh!tty pay. Also graduated '07. I shoot weddings on the side, and make at least one short film a year. Still a sucky job though, I'll give you that. I'm quitting in a few months though, so I guess at least I have an end in sight.
 
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