It’s pretty clear that I will not be moving past cutting assistant at my current shop and the time is coming to go take some new risks. I’ve added a decent amount of work to my reel and spent ...

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I am LA based and happy to meet for coffee if you want to network and discuss in more detail. Send me DM if you are interested

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Editor 4, I think the reason you have had success freelancing is because you had already established yourself in an edit house and then could take that cachet with you into your freelancing career. Editor 3 hits the nail on the head, I do need a better mentor and need to find a shop where I feel there will be some grooming involved. But should I approach them directly along that line of thinking?

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Hard to say which of those two options will lead to more likely advancement. You could also just sell yourself as a freelance editor and try and grab some mid level work to build up the reel by going direct to agencies.

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shoot me a dm, need an editor!

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Also what market are you working in?

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Also it can really add to your self promotion skills, and make you a more confident negotiator / comfortable with more types of clients.

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I’m in the same boat as you, @AE OP. Senior cutting assistant, 5 years experience, and despite face time with clients and consistently good edits, I think I’m another 3-4 yrs away from landing on company roster despite a solid reel... not sure whether to wait it out or take risks elsewhere. Could go freelance AE in LA, weigh company culture (i.e. do they promote from within), and get on staff on a house that has expressed interest in an AE/aspiring editor. Definitely not out of bounds to ask if they promote from within in an interview.

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...a lot of time directly with clients, but don’t think I can leverage it into an editor role at another high end shop. Should I try contacting EP’s about cutting assistant positions or go out freelance assisting and bring it up after making a good impression?

Definitely just go out and freelance as an editor if you have the chops

Out of curiosity what makes you think your current employer won’t promote you eventually?

Working in LA. I could definitely go the freelance editor route but don’t think I’ll be able to work on the same quality of work as what comes through an edit shop. My intentions with taking a cutting assistant role were to be exposed to high end work and creatives/directors.

It’s very hard to find high end work as a freelancer. I’ve been trying to get into the big commercial houses for years with very little luck, and my reel is exceptional. If you want to be an editor with your name on the roster don’t try and freelance your way into it. You should try and find a better mentor.

I have to disagree about high end work as a freelancer. (I’m in NY if that makes a difference) I actually was a rostered editor at a commercial edit house and left to go freelance. I’ve been lucky enough to do a lot of high level work and I’ve added a lot to my reel as a freelancer. Both high profile broadcast and also web. No complaints here!

I have had the personal experience that freelancing opened a lot of doors to better work. It’s not going to be national level spots, that’s for sure, but it can lead to lots of public facing low to mid level stuff and new relationships. Especially if you feel trapped as an AE.

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