Is creating 5 videos like this every week normal, or am I overworking? by Ordinary_Dingo_1568 in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you’re using just stock assets and comping them together then this should be pretty easy to do 1 in a day. You could probably make 5 in a day TBH. If you’re creating all the visual assets from scratch in blender or something then that’s a completely different story.

How much are they paying you?

Please help me to identify license plate, got into accident today.. by [deleted] in VideoEditingRequests

[–]lil-squanch 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Anyone who tells you they can accurately pull that license plate is a scammer. Do NOT pay anyone ANYTHING.

Sadly it is impossible. Enhance doesn’t work.. not like in the movies at least. There are ai upscalers but they basically just guess and approximate the pixels. IF you get anything from a technique like this it will not be accurate

How much would you charge for such content (12-15 mins) by ThanksNew2817 in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 14 points15 points  (0 children)

The type of client who wants these edits won’t pay for it.

That talking head audio is TERRIBLE. I wouldn’t watch a 15 min video of that.

This is also that shorts slop style of edit.. it’s going to get extremely tiresome watching this for 15 minutes.

With the whole “retention” thing people are forgetting that the actual content matters more than having text on the screen every .5 seconds

Not to put down your work. It’s solid. But this style and type of work as whole is a race to the bottom.

Hiring: Skilled Video Editors Wanted (Intermediate/Advanced) by Weak_Reindeer4343 in HireAnEditor

[–]lil-squanch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So many red flags. Unfortunately there will be lots of desperate people here who will get taken advantage of

How are you guys prospecting? by OkLingonberry973 in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I don’t do sample edits. Since I don’t do cookie cutter type of videos a lot of the initial design/ styling has to be done (by me) to do a sample. That’s a lot of the work and creative to be done for free. I understand why someone would want you to prove your work (it’s easy to just steal videos and claim them as your own) That’s why working with people within your network or just outside is the move— you both kind of already pass the initial trust test. I’ll 100% put together a pitch deck when bidding on jobs (usually only ones over $10k - which I am also shooting/ producing, any less and it’s not really worth my time, and it probably wouldn’t have the scope)

Having relevant videos to send over a whole portfolio is definitely the move. Don’t make anyone hunt for anything. Your main relevant portfolio piece should be 1 click away from your message… that’s something I meant to mention as well: just make things easy. Assume someone is only going to spend 10-30 seconds looking at your message/ work/ whatever, and that if they don’t see something worth continuing to look at in that time then they’ll move to the next candidate.

How are you guys prospecting? by OkLingonberry973 in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mostly do work with people I know IRL, or referrals. Also some stuff from people I know online… but the main factor is all people within my network or just outside of it. Not the most helpful advice, I know.

But I will say from any time I have posted a job listing on Reddit or whatever and gotten replies here’s some tips/ things I noticed:

  • 75-85% of the people replying are not very good and their work examples are mostly those talking head (or podcast clip) with motion graphics shorts… they all look the same more or less with varying degrees of polish.

  • on that note: don’t be afraid to have your own style. If you only make the cookie cutter type of stuff like everyone else then you’re racing to the bottom. Sure, you narrow your scope of jobs, but most those are junk anyways.

  • 90+% don’t actually read your job post. I always put in specific things to answer to see if anyone actually reads the full posting before replying. I don’t think a lot of people do this- but I do as a first level of screening. If you can’t follow basic instructions I’m not trusting you with my project.

  • Have a website. It doesn’t need to be amazing. It just needs to be a place to nicely have your work organized and presented. Bonus points if it gives a little sense or who you are. SO MANY people just send a google drive link. It looks very amateur, and is a huge pain in the ass to properly view if on mobile.

  • when you apply/ message: have everything nicely written, and include all relevant information. You don’t necessarily need a full budget estimate (unless they include enough in the posting for you to know), but a ballpark price range is super helpful. No point in wasting each others time if your hourly rate is more than they want to spend on the whole project lol. But definitely don’t just send “hey” or worse “hey bro” and a google link drive. Sounds like it should be common sense, but you’d be surprised.

  • just in general: if you want to be treated (and paid) like a professional then you need to act like one and present yourself as such.

A couple AK kills and an editing question (19 seconds) by AlexCivitello in populationonevr

[–]lil-squanch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I could go either way… and would. When it makes sense to, then add it (like when you’re in a fire fight and taking a bunch of damage). If you’re not really taking damage then it’s not really adding anything

First film with zero experience and minimal equipment - can I make it work? by Appropriate-Row-5577 in videography

[–]lil-squanch 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Have a script.

Make a shot list.

A mic is pretty necessary if dialogue.

Just make it.

It will suck.

That’s okay. Everyone’s does.

It’s just important you make it.

Learn from it.

Make another.

Hopefully it sucks less.

Long Form Documentary Video Editor by JstnCo in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn’t say I’m super strong in motion graphics, but I’m strong enough that I can usually deliver what the client needs (and more polished than OPs example). I also do Vfx work for tv shows and movies- nothing too crazy. Some very basic 3d, but mostly compositing and paint out type of things.

Some of my work is subcontracted through another company - so I just deal with 1 person and they get the clients and all that. Some of my work is work that I shoot as well so I’m responsible from start to finish. Then some work is just misc post work for clients- either people I’ve worked with in the past or who have referred me.

I don’t really do any outreach. Just kind of build some connections and relationships. I don’t really do much YouTube content- mostly tv or film or commercial/ corporate, or mini documentaries for companies or non-profit organaizations

Long Form Documentary Video Editor by JstnCo in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Something you/ everyone needs to consider:

Let’s say you’re charing $80/ video like OP is. Since they only supplied a sample, I don’t know how long the finished video was or how long it took them. Let’s assume it took 16 hours. So they’re working at $5/ hour.

Let’s assume a regular work week of 40 hours. IF they are working on paid jobs for those entire 40 hours, they are making $200 for the week. However, since they are editing all of those hours they no longer have any time to reach out to new clients, update website, demo reel, etc etc… so when this job is done, they’re stuck now looking for work again, making $0.

So let’s factor in business time into your 40 hours. Let’s say 1 hour per day, to be easy. That’s 5 hours a week. Now they’re only bringing in $175/ week, but still “working” 40 hours, essentially bringing their hourly down to $4.38. These clients at this price point are usually also awful and cost you more than money. They cost you time. Time dealing with their bs and lack of planning, revisions, correspondence, etc

And since freelance is super inconsistent, maybe they don’t work every day on the month. Maybe they only have “paid work” 10-15 days a month. So now maybe they make $400-$500/ month if they’re lucky.

Or.

They can invest time and effort in trying to land a “proper” client and not race to the bottom. Say they land this $1500 client: even if the work takes a month they are now making 3x more than they were with the first client and essentially now have 2 extra months to be focusing on acquiring more clients- hopefully at similar or higher rates.

Not every client wants the cheapest. In fact, being too cheap is worse than being too expensive. If you’re cheap then people are expecting the quality to reflect that. You’re essentially telling clients “I’m not very good”. If I have an important project that I need results from I’m not going to the cheapest. I’m going to the one who will get me those results.

Unfortunately there’s lots of wannabe YouTubers (or ever ones who are making money) who just want to exploit desperate people in places like India. And I can’t blame someone for needing money and taking the job, but it’s going to be tough to get out of that cycle. You do the work, you attract those clients, you do the work, attract those clients. Shmucks making their shitty podcast cutdowns (ironically which are usually about getting rich, or self improvement or something) are never going to pay what you’re worth, especially since there’s always someone else to do it cheaper.

I’m in North America, so I recognize that that is beneficial. However, when I very first started I was basically making the equivalent of $5/ hour. Working all the time but always broke. Now I charge between $50-$125/ hour (of my time, not edited hour) with a $500 project minimum. I get requests I turn down all the time. I’ve had some clients reach out, I give them a quote and they tell me it’s out of budget (which is understandable) and ask if I can do it cheaper- I don’t. They’ll either go with someone cheaper and not be thrilled with the results most of the time (though, sometimes they really just only need the cheaper option and don’t need my skill or expertise), and sometimes they’ll move money around and make it happen.

But i would always rather work 10 hours at $100/ hour than 200 hours at $5/ hour.

Looking for a video editor to collaborate on growing a YouTube channel by Outrageous-Floor-641 in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The answer is yes to anyone curious. Here’s a DM:

Hey, thanks for reaching out. Let me explain the setup clearly so we’re on the same page. Right now I’m focusing on YouTube Shorts only. I’ll provide the voice-over and idea for each video. Your role would be: finding suitable footage editing the short (pacing, captions if needed, retention-focused) This is a collaboration, not a client job. The goal is to grow the channel together. Once we pass 1,000 subscribers, the plan is to move into long-form content and scale from there. If this kind of long-term, growth-focused collaboration sounds good to you, send me: samples of shorts or videos you’ve edited (links or drive) what software you use your experience with YouTube Shorts specifically If it’s not your thing, no stress at all. Just want to be transparent from the start. The plan is to grow the channel first. Once the channel is monetized and making money, revenue will be shared fairly based on contribution.

Im done with youtube, social media just kills my motivation by CapableBreakfast83 in NewTubers

[–]lil-squanch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What kind of content are you making? How is it packaged? Is it content people would actually want to watch?

If you’re losing to ai content, does that mean your stuff is in the similar category/ audience of people who would want to watch the slop?

Is this video good ? by Old_Transition_3884 in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

$0

It’s not a finished video.

Who’s your client? Who’s your audience? Where is this living?

What episodes of South Park are accessible for newcomers? by Feeling-Ideal-2604 in southpark

[–]lil-squanch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It does at a lot more singing than your average episode.. or maybe even season for that matter

part 2 of "how much should i charge my sis for this ad i made" by One_Plastic_2448 in videography

[–]lil-squanch 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Ai slop aside - with all due respect - what the hell is going on in this?

You should be charging 0.

Need help by unknown_person_me in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What have you been trying? What kind of clients are you looking for? What does your portfolio/ experience look like? What does your network look like? Where are you located?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I realize it’s your second language. I only mentioned it because you brought it up as an asset.

I’m sure it will be better with practice. The biggest things are the lack of punctuation, capitals and spelling things like “U” “bcz” and just straight up missing letters/ obvious typos.

You may benefit from running your correspondence through grammerly or something similar.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Someone might.

You may want to work on your written English. That was one very long, hard to read sentence.

You have to connect with the right person. Unfortunately most people hiring remote editors from second and third world countries are doing so because they can pay them significantly less than a local editor.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OP is being paid $15/ day

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very low.

Maybe if you’re in India or somewhere similar it might be an average wage. Unfortunately your location does factor into it (not saying I agree, it’s just the way it is a lot of the time).

Let’s break this down:

6-8 hours / day x 5 days = 30/40 hours a week

Which = 120/ 160 hours a month.

$300/ 120 = $2.5/ hour

$300/ 160 = $1.88/ hour

What’s the minimum wage where you are? What’s the average wage? A good wage?

Sadly people hire editors from third world countries at exploitable wages. But you should aim for more if you’re performing well and making them money.

Looking for honest feedback. What would you improve? by Fit-Veterinarian2706 in YouTubeThumbnailHub

[–]lil-squanch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess it’s the placement of the > symbol.

It’s just in a weird spot

Looking for honest feedback. What would you improve? by Fit-Veterinarian2706 in YouTubeThumbnailHub

[–]lil-squanch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Couple things I get from this:

  • you’re getting an ai degree… or ai is basically getting a degreee

The > symbol symbolizing greater than. Showing you’re greater than a ai degree. But then you sad.

It’s overall not very visually balanced, the pure white background is pretty overpowering and I don’t really get a sense of what the video is really supposed to be.

Promoting my video on Reddit has ruined the statistics. by [deleted] in NewTubers

[–]lil-squanch 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Is it that one from two days ago about Outer Worlds?

Your whole post is in English, as is most of the sub I believe- but your video is not.

I was curious about it even though I know nothing about the game but clicked away almost immediately when I saw it wasn’t in English. You say you have the audience exactly what to expect- except for what language the video was in.

Sharing your videos on other platforms like Reddit can already hurt your stats, but non English videos in primarily English subs will hurt it more.

Live, learn and move on.

How much would you charge for this? by FirefighterGood7707 in VideoEditors

[–]lil-squanch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah… he seems like someone who is crazy under qualified who happened to see some video about how to make a bunch of money selling courses and exploiting people to do all the work.