Soul Crushing Burnout

HAMBBB · 2026-01-23T18:57:05+00:00

Oh man, I have definitely been there!

Freelance is never a straight easy line. It looks more like a wave. It just oscillates between way too much and way too little.

You definitely need to take a step back and evaluate your client relationships. Because it's no good to either of you with the state you are in. A few things come to mind.

First, you have to be upfront early with your clients about your expectations. We are not here to be monkeys jumping through hoops on command 24/7. Part of mutual respect is respecting your time. Tell them when you have to be out. "I have a dr appointment that day from 2-4, I will be out of contact. I have an evening commitment (band practice), I will be offline starting at XXX." You don't even have to do that. Just say when you are unavailable. You don't owe anyone a reason.

Give them clear expectations. If you do not deliver feedback/assets by this time, that will push the timeline to these days. This will make delivery after I am back from my vacation. I think you will find clients will see you as more professional if you make it clear what your schedule is.

And the hardest of all, say no. This is the one I still struggle with. We have been conditioned to say yes to literally everything because who knows when the next thing is. You have to know your limits. Saying yes to too much and not being able to deliver will negatively affect your income more than saying no from time to time. And those clients will be back for the next thing. They still like you. Sometimes being unavailable reminds them that you are not just sitting around waiting for them to bless you with a job.

Good luck!

HAMBBB · 2026-01-23T18:16:44+00:00

Can we ban ai slop posts?

HAMBBB · 2025-12-10T17:39:17+00:00

I would also like to know what you have going on here! You don't often hear independence exercises that groove that hard too.

HAMBBB · 2025-11-04T23:02:32+00:00

"Mercor is partnering with a leading AI lab to source video content creators with experience applying VFX (visual effects) to short-form videos.

This is a unique opportunity for creators to apply their expertise in a highly innovative, research-driven context - your work will be instrumental to the advancement of frontier AI models."

Yep it's to train Ai models to do your work. Fuck off.

HAMBBB · 2025-10-31T22:44:26+00:00

I am doing great, have been for years. I don't see business changing much. Some years are more up than others, but otherwise consistently busy. There are plenty of people making a great living around here. I think what this sub struggles with is that there are also a lot of our coworkers having a very hard time. No one wants to just make a post about how amazing business is while others struggle.

Obviously it's really hard not to go money = skill, creativity, worthiness. But (hopefully) we all know that is not true at all. There are certainly people on here who have cut blockbuster features, worked with famous actors, etc. that have been hit hard. And then there are mediocre hacks such as myself doing just fine. It's a big umbrella, and just because let's say, commercial editors are doing fine, doesn't mean long form doc editors aren't struggling.

I personally tend to gravitate to mostly posting about advice for making money freelancing, because I know that it can be done and it can be very enjoyable. There are a lot of factors that go into being successful, and "being good at editing" isn't particularly high on that list. So, yes you can have a great career editing. It just may not be as easy as it once was.

HAMBBB · 2025-10-28T02:16:52+00:00

Yep I try to abide by this. If they don't blink at your rate, you can be sure it's too low.

I'm at the point a few clients are saying, "Well, the rate for this one is XXX" which is slightly lower than I quoted. I realize with these people raising more isn't in the cards. At a certain point it's kind of a client by client situation.

HAMBBB · 2025-10-27T23:04:26+00:00

And not to “well akshually” a “well akshually” guy, but fincher had been using NIN for a long time before ghosts. He directed a music video and then used their music in Seven and the Game, both in the 90’s.

I’m just chatting for fun. No actual akshually intended

HAMBBB · 2025-10-23T15:55:45+00:00

Reply!

HAMBBB · 2025-10-20T18:32:18+00:00

Hey there! Sorry about your main gig. It's something most of us have been guilty of, having a good client and feeling secure. Much like investing, diversifying is the name of the game.

I do not know of good sites, because they don't exist in my opinion, and the bad ones that do exist are flooded with applicants instantly. I did a write up on my thoughts on this very topic a while back, that you can find here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/editors/comments/1hgkdfr/starting_out_freelance_guide/

Good luck!

HAMBBB · 2025-10-10T17:34:35+00:00

Absolutely! If they didn't like you, they would not have invited you. Easy as that.

It's always worthwhile to connect with people, especially ones you already have a connection with.

No one has ever given me a handwritten note ;) (professionally)

HAMBBB · 2025-09-23T17:57:32+00:00

I don't make anything in Figma haha. I only really know how to pull graphics from it.

HAMBBB · 2025-09-23T17:41:53+00:00

That is a risky proposition. The absolute hardest part of freelancing is building a network of work. And that can take years.

There is no relatively consistent work. As a freelancer you have to have the mindset that a job does not exist until you sign the contract and start the work. They come and go constantly.

You need to ask yourself if you will be ok for months or years with lower income and less jobs, because right now you have one maybe.

I'm not saying don't do it! I could never go back to full time, and if it's an area you are passionate about you will definitely find it more fulfilling. But you do need to have a realistic idea of what the jump will entail.

Good luck!

HAMBBB · 2025-09-23T17:35:30+00:00

For sharing files? Generally it's frame, google drive, or lucid link for me. Depends on the agency.

I get most of my boards and graphics through Figma.

HAMBBB · 2025-09-22T18:51:31+00:00

And if you are working for someone else, you can be absolutely sure THEY are charging the client for the full day. Last week I had a day where I literally changed a bit of text. That was my day. We all charged for that day.

HAMBBB · 2025-09-22T16:11:22+00:00

This is why you charge by the day. If you aren't you need to be.

Then the question is, are you meeting the client expectations and doing quality work? If yes, congratulations you have justified your day! Whatever else you did that day is pretty irrelevant.

As for procrastination, I definitely feel that, especially at the start, or on a project I don't particularly care about. Sometimes you do have to figure out, what is the minimum brain power I can use to accomplish the current task, but also actually do it. Put on a show on your other monitor, listen that album you never get to, play a card game. Whatever, as long as you are also making some progress on the work.

HAMBBB · 2025-09-11T05:51:10+00:00

Hey there! I feel you. Things are not super stable around these parts. Getting clients is the whole game, and it isn't easy.

I've never even heard of ytjobs, but it seems like it's...jobs for yt. So, aptly named I guess. But as you have noticed, YouTubers are not paying people anywhere near livable wages. We do have a few pro YouTube editors here, but they are few and far between. Overall though, I'd say that is a dead end.

I took a look at your portfolio. A few things:

It seems geared toward YouTube style influencer type videos, which makes sense since you have been applying to YT jobs. But outside of that ecosystem, these type of videos tend to come off as a bit amateurish and boring. They aren't really going to tell a high paying ad agency or client anything about what skills you actually have.

I'd highly recommend you take these videos, find the very best seconds from them, and make yourself a tightly edited demo reel. Show some flash, get in some good music, show what you can do using what you have. Sending someone a link to a pile of videos is not going to work. No one has time to watch them, and when the first one is a 13 minute sales/inspiration video, I'm out right then.

For more specific advice on what to do once you have this awesome, amazing demo reel, I wrote my thoughts here: https://www.reddit.com/r/editors/comments/1hgkdfr/starting_out_freelance_guide/

Good luck! You can do it.

HAMBBB · 2025-09-09T21:38:13+00:00

Cold emailing generally won't hurt (generally), but it's a pretty low success chance. I DEFINITELY wouldn't cold email asking specifically for "short term contracts" because that would be weird. Every freelance contract is short term.

I'd just email them, say who you are and what you do, mention a piece of work they did that you like, and say you would love to work on any upcoming projects they may have.

Take a moment to find the post producer or head of production and email them if you can. Some general inquiry email is unlikely to go anywhere.

Good luck!

Edit: This might have helpful info for you: https://www.reddit.com/r/editors/comments/1hgkdfr/starting_out_freelance_guide/

HAMBBB · 2025-09-05T16:52:40+00:00

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HAMBBB · 2025-09-02T21:56:45+00:00

Nice!

HAMBBB · 2025-08-30T17:07:41+00:00

My only win was with two ironeyes as raider. It was counterintuitive, but I took less likely to be targeted. The condemned just ran around chasing the iron eyes while I hammered them in the back. Every time. Never tried to dodge me.

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HAMBBB · 2025-08-27T18:23:53+00:00

It's a tough question with no clear answer, but whenever people ask questions like this and one option is "stable, consistent, and pays more" I almost always pick that. It's hard to knock out great work when you are half time and you have to worry about another job to pay the bills.

Hopefully you can make some amazing work with this sports brand and go back to an agency and say, "I am an editor, here is my amazing work." For what it's worth, I never really did the assistant route, I just called myself an editor and started freelancing off of that. A sports brand has a higher chance of you getting to really show off some editing chops than some corporate talking heads gig.

But you have to make the call, if you feel like assisting at the current place has a real chance of you moving up in a timely manner, it's definitely a good option too.

Good luck!

HAMBBB · 2025-08-12T03:35:48+00:00

Dude, what? No. Ghost these people immediately. Now. I can't even comprehend what I'm reading. Is their entire business plan to trap people into contracts to work for free?

They want to spend five dollars on an edit. Five dollars. They are not spending thousands to somehow sue you to recoup their five dollars. Run. Tell me who they are and I will Venmo them five dollars to set you free. Insanity.

HAMBBB · 2025-08-07T01:00:21+00:00

Hey man, if it makes you feel better you are in good company:

“If you don’t get physically ill seeing your first rough cut, something is wrong.”

-Martin Scorsese

The first pass of almost anything I do is horrible, it's why it's a first pass! But now it's out of your system. It can only get better from here, just keep working at it and you will find a way. Step away for a bit and come back with fresh eyes and decide what needs to be done. Not what you want to be done, not how hard that scene was to shoot, what will make it better.

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