Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Sound editor to video and motion picture editor

A sound editor already meets 32% of what the video and motion picture editor role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From sound editor
32 % overlap
Distant match
To video and motion picture editor
13 You already bring
12 Still to learn
55 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

73.8/ 100

1 How much of what a video and motion picture editor is expected to do is already part of a sound editor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the video and motion picture editor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A video and motion picture editor role treats 9 of its required skills as things a sound editor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • analyse a script
  • consult with production director
  • familiarise with personal directing styles
  • film production process
  • finish project within budget
  • follow directions of the artistic director

What stands in the way is 12 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A video and motion picture editor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a sound editor background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held synchronise sound with images working with computers
  • already held file-based workflow arts and humanities
  • already held familiarise with personal directing styles communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held search databases working with computers
  • already held archive documentation related to work information skills
  • already held consult with production director communication, collaboration and creativity

All 13 carried skills, including the 9 the video and motion picture editor role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 42 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 arts and humanities 4 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn digital media required
  • still to learn graphic design required
  • still to learn motion graphics required
  • still to learn multimedia systems required
  • optional, not held colour grading optional
  • optional, not held 3D lighting optional
  • optional, not held digital compositing optional
  • optional, not held photography optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 11 supplementary
  • still to learn consult with motion picture producer required
  • still to learn watch scenes required
  • optional, not held apply colour grading optional
  • optional, not held advise supervisors optional
  • optional, not held animate 3D organic forms optional
  • optional, not held create moving images optional
  • optional, not held create subtitles optional
  • optional, not held develop animations optional
  • optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
  • optional, not held operate 3D computer graphics software optional
  • optional, not held work with the camera crew optional
  • optional, not held design graphics optional
  • optional, not held render 3D images optional
03 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 required, 8 supplementary
  • still to learn ICT software specifications required
  • optional, not held Adobe Illustrator optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
  • optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
  • optional, not held Microsoft Visio optional
  • optional, not held SketchBook Pro optional
  • optional, not held Synfig optional
  • optional, not held graphics editor software optional
  • optional, not held computer graphics optional
04 working with computers 1 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn put uncut recordings into computer required
  • optional, not held apply 3D imaging techniques optional
  • optional, not held colour grade images with digital intermediate optional
  • optional, not held digital content creation optional
  • optional, not held perform video editing optional
  • optional, not held convert different audiovisual formats optional
05 management skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn supervise video and motion picture editing team required
  • optional, not held manage staff optional
06 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn cut raw footage digitally required
  • optional, not held assist multimedia operator optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a video and motion picture editor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 13 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held analyse a script skill
  • already held consult with production director skill
  • already held familiarise with personal directing styles skill
  • already held film production process knowledge
  • already held finish project within budget skill
  • already held follow directions of the artistic director skill
  • already held follow work schedule skill
  • already held search databases skill
  • already held synchronise sound with images skill
  • already held archive documentation related to work skill
  • already held draw up artistic production skill
  • already held edit recorded sound skill
  • already held file-based workflow knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 constructing 1 required
  • still to learn supervise equipment required
08 handling and moving 1 required
  • still to learn create rough cut required
30 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held apply colour grading optional
  • optional, not held colour grading optional
  • optional, not held 3D lighting optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Illustrator optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
  • optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
  • optional, not held Microsoft Visio optional
  • optional, not held SketchBook Pro optional
  • optional, not held Synfig optional
  • optional, not held advise supervisors optional
  • optional, not held animate 3D organic forms optional
  • optional, not held apply 3D imaging techniques optional
  • optional, not held assist multimedia operator optional
  • optional, not held colour grade images with digital intermediate optional
  • optional, not held create moving images optional
  • optional, not held create subtitles optional
  • optional, not held develop animations optional
  • optional, not held digital content creation optional
  • optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
  • optional, not held graphics editor software optional
  • optional, not held operate 3D computer graphics software optional
  • optional, not held perform video editing optional
  • optional, not held work with the camera crew optional
  • optional, not held computer graphics optional
  • optional, not held convert different audiovisual formats optional
  • optional, not held design graphics optional
  • optional, not held digital compositing optional
  • optional, not held manage staff optional
  • optional, not held photography optional
  • optional, not held render 3D images optional
20 held skills the video and motion picture editor role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role attend music recording sessions skill
  • not needed by the target role audio editing software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role collaborate with music librarians skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate music with scenes skill
  • not needed by the target role copyright legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role draft music cue breakdown skill
  • not needed by the target role engage composers skill
  • not needed by the target role film music techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role musical genres knowledge
  • not needed by the target role musical instruments knowledge
  • not needed by the target role musical notation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role musical theory knowledge
  • not needed by the target role organise compositions skill
  • not needed by the target role purchase music skill
  • not needed by the target role rewrite musical scores skill
  • not needed by the target role structure soundtrack skill
  • not needed by the target role synchronise with mouth movements skill
  • not needed by the target role transcribe ideas into musical notation skill
  • not needed by the target role transpose music skill
  • not needed by the target role work with composers skill
17 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn ICT software specifications required
  • still to learn digital media required
  • still to learn graphic design required
  • still to learn motion graphics required
  • still to learn multimedia systems required
  • optional, not held colour grading optional
  • optional, not held 3D lighting optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Illustrator optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
  • optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
  • optional, not held Microsoft Visio optional
  • optional, not held SketchBook Pro optional
  • optional, not held Synfig optional
  • optional, not held graphics editor software optional
  • optional, not held computer graphics optional
  • optional, not held digital compositing optional
  • optional, not held photography optional
Index

Other moves recorded from sound editor

Full index of moves from sound editor

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a sound editor become a video and motion picture editor?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A sound editor already covers 32% of what a video and motion picture editor is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 9 of which the video and motion picture editor role treats as required.

What skills does a sound editor need to become a video and motion picture editor?

12 required skills are missing, plus 30 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by arts and humanities. The single most important is ICT software specifications.

How hard is the move from sound editor to video and motion picture editor?

Its learning distance is 73.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.