Video and motion picture editor to special effects artist
A video and motion picture editor already meets 66% of what the special effects artist role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
39.6/ 100
1 How much of what a special effects artist 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 special effects artist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A special effects artist role treats 12 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 · What you already bring
Of the 23 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A special effects artist 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.
- 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
- already held computer graphics information and communication technologies (icts)
All 23 carried skills, including the 12 the special effects artist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 12 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.
- still to learn adapt to type of media required
- still to learn follow a brief required
- optional, not held convert into animated object optional
- optional, not held manage feedback optional
- optional, not held manage portfolio optional
- still to learn digital arts required
- optional, not held motion capture optional
- still to learn computer equipment required
- still to learn study media sources required
- still to learn provide multimedia content required
- optional, not held receive appropriate permissions for use of recorded audiovisual examples optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a special effects artist 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 · The rest of the record
All 23 skills that carry over
- 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 digital compositing knowledge
- 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 consult with production director skill
- 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
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held convert into animated object optional
- optional, not held motion capture optional
- optional, not held receive appropriate permissions for use of recorded audiovisual examples optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held manage feedback optional
- optional, not held manage portfolio optional
32 held skills the special effects artist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise supervisors skill
- not needed by the target role animate 3D organic forms skill
- not needed by the target role apply 3D imaging techniques 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
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn digital arts required
- still to learn computer equipment required
- optional, not held motion capture optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
Other moves recorded from video and motion picture editor
Common questions about this move
Can a video and motion picture editor become a special effects artist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A video and motion picture editor already covers 66% of what a special effects artist is expected to do: 23 skills carry over, 12 of which the special effects artist role treats as required.
What skills does a video and motion picture editor need to become a special effects artist?
6 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is digital arts.
How hard is the move from video and motion picture editor to special effects artist?
Its learning distance is 39.6 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
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.