… for Random Weirdness

Tip #975: How to Succeed Even With Competition

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Competition challenges us to focus on what we do best.

A couple of years ago I wrote an article: “How to Succeed When There’s So Much Competition.” Finding consistent paying work back then was hard, today it is even harder. Here are my thoughts.

A reader asked: “How can editors retain their important role and convince the client that they are still important and worth their normal rate?”

DaVinci Resolve is free, Adobe Premiere is available on a subscription basis, and Final Cut Pro X is affordable for just about anyone interested in editing. Therefore, everyone now has the tools necessary for professional video editing. Does that make them an editor?

No.

In my workshop, I have a hammer, a saw and a level – but I can’t build a house. I have the tools, but not the skills.

This illustrates a problem we’ve had for a long time. All too often, video editors define themselves by the tools they use, not the skills they have. If you define yourself solely by the tools you use, you’re going to be competing with the next college graduate that has Photoshop, or Final Cut, or Premiere installed on their laptop. And you are going to lose.

It isn’t our tools – it’s the stories that we tell, our dependability, and the client relationships that we build that sets us apart. The more that we focus on creative story-telling – in all of its different phases – the more people will demand our services.

EXTRA CREDIT

Here’s the full article.

And here’s a follow-up: Tips to Build Your Media Career.