Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Video and motion picture editor to animator

A video and motion picture editor already meets 57% of what the animator role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From video and motion picture editor
57 % overlap
Partial match
To animator
25 You already bring
6 Still to learn
48 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

49.8/ 100

1 How much of what an animator is expected to do is already part of a video and motion picture 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 animator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An animator role treats 11 of its required skills as things a video and motion picture editor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • ICT software specifications
  • analyse a script
  • computer graphics
  • create moving images
  • design graphics
  • develop animations

What stands in the way is 6 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 25 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An animator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a video and motion picture editor background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held animate 3D organic forms communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held digital compositing arts and humanities
  • already held create moving images communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held motion graphics arts and humanities
  • already held 3D lighting arts and humanities
  • already held develop animations communication, collaboration and creativity

All 25 carried skills, including the 11 the animator role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 23 missing skills fall into 7 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 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 9 supplementary
  • still to learn adapt to type of media required
  • still to learn create animated narratives required
  • still to learn follow a brief required
  • optional, not held convert into animated object optional
  • optional, not held create 3D environments optional
  • optional, not held create original drawings optional
  • optional, not held create sketches optional
  • optional, not held help the programmer define an artistic vision optional
  • optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
  • optional, not held create 2D painting optional
  • optional, not held manage feedback optional
  • optional, not held manage portfolio optional
02 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn computer equipment required
  • optional, not held Capture One optional
  • optional, not held augmented reality optional
03 working with computers 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn provide multimedia content required
  • optional, not held create 3D characters optional
  • optional, not held rig 3D characters optional
04 information skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn study media sources required
  • optional, not held study relationships between characters optional
05 arts and humanities 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held motion capture optional
06 assisting and caring 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held receive appropriate permissions for use of recorded audiovisual examples optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an animator 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 25 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held ICT software specifications knowledge
  • already held analyse a script skill
  • already held computer graphics knowledge
  • already held create moving images skill
  • already held design graphics skill
  • already held develop animations skill
  • already held finish project within budget skill
  • already held follow work schedule skill
  • already held graphic design knowledge
  • already held motion graphics knowledge
  • already held multimedia systems knowledge
  • already held 3D lighting knowledge
  • already held Adobe Illustrator knowledge
  • already held Adobe Photoshop knowledge
  • already held GIMP (graphics editor software) knowledge
  • already held Microsoft Visio knowledge
  • already held SketchBook Pro knowledge
  • already held Synfig knowledge
  • already held animate 3D organic forms skill
  • already held apply 3D imaging techniques skill
  • already held consult with production director skill
  • already held digital compositing knowledge
  • already held graphics editor software knowledge
  • already held operate 3D computer graphics software skill
  • already held render 3D images skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held copyright legislation optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held Capture One optional
  • optional, not held convert into animated object optional
  • optional, not held create 3D characters optional
  • optional, not held create 3D environments optional
  • optional, not held create original drawings optional
  • optional, not held create sketches optional
  • optional, not held help the programmer define an artistic vision optional
  • optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
  • optional, not held motion capture optional
  • optional, not held receive appropriate permissions for use of recorded audiovisual examples optional
  • optional, not held study relationships between characters optional
  • optional, not held augmented reality optional
  • optional, not held copyright legislation optional
  • optional, not held create 2D painting optional
  • optional, not held manage feedback optional
  • optional, not held manage portfolio optional
  • optional, not held rig 3D characters optional
30 held skills the animator role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise supervisors skill
  • not needed by the target role apply colour grading skill
  • not needed by the target role archive documentation related to work skill
  • not needed by the target role assist multimedia operator skill
  • not needed by the target role colour grade images with digital intermediate skill
  • not needed by the target role colour grading knowledge
  • not needed by the target role consult with motion picture producer skill
  • not needed by the target role convert different audiovisual formats skill
  • not needed by the target role create rough cut skill
  • not needed by the target role create subtitles skill
  • not needed by the target role cut raw footage digitally skill
  • not needed by the target role digital content creation skill
  • not needed by the target role digital media knowledge
  • not needed by the target role draw up artistic production skill
  • not needed by the target role edit digital moving images skill
  • not needed by the target role edit recorded sound skill
  • not needed by the target role familiarise with personal directing styles skill
  • not needed by the target role file-based workflow knowledge
  • not needed by the target role film production process knowledge
  • not needed by the target role follow directions of the artistic director skill
  • not needed by the target role manage staff skill
  • not needed by the target role perform video editing skill
  • not needed by the target role photography knowledge
  • not needed by the target role put uncut recordings into computer skill
  • not needed by the target role search databases skill
  • not needed by the target role supervise equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role supervise video and motion picture editing team skill
  • not needed by the target role synchronise sound with images skill
  • not needed by the target role watch scenes skill
  • not needed by the target role work with the camera crew skill
5 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 computer equipment required
  • optional, not held Capture One optional
  • optional, not held motion capture optional
  • optional, not held augmented reality optional
  • optional, not held copyright legislation optional
Index

Other moves recorded from video and motion picture editor

Full index of moves from video and motion picture editor

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a video and motion picture editor become an animator?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A video and motion picture editor already covers 57% of what an animator is expected to do: 25 skills carry over, 11 of which the animator role treats as required.

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

6 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is adapt to type of media.

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

Its learning distance is 49.8 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.