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Senior video editor vs freelance producer

The differences between senior video editors and freelance producers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a senior video editor, becoming a freelance producer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a senior video editor has an average salary of $112,084, which is higher than the $62,218 average annual salary of a freelance producer.

The top three skills for a senior video editor include motion graphics, video content and adobe premiere. The most important skills for a freelance producer are music videos, news stories, and video content.

Senior video editor vs freelance producer overview

Senior Video EditorFreelance Producer
Yearly salary$112,084$62,218
Hourly rate$53.89$29.91
Growth rate12%8%
Number of jobs5,3999,703
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 76%Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Average age3740
Years of experience612

What does a senior video editor do?

A senior video editor manipulates and enhances video clips to achieve a predetermined message, concept, or idea. The role of the video editor is vital for creating video material for advertising and marketing. The video editor is also needed for media broadcasts and in the post-production phase of a filmmaking project. The senior video editor coordinates all people in the editing team and leads them to accomplish goals and meet the project's desired timeline and deadline.

What does a freelance producer do?

The responsibilities of a freelance producer are so broad that they can be tricky to define. Broadly, a freelance producer is responsible for finding, launching, and completing a project. They primarily handle logistics pertaining to the creation of various pieces of content. This content may include television shows, advertisements, or audio/video presentations. They also manage finances, keep the production within the allocated budget, and hire all key staff, crew members, and post-production teams. They may also have to scout for shoot locations.

Senior video editor vs freelance producer salary

Senior video editors and freelance producers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Video EditorFreelance Producer
Average salary$112,084$62,218
Salary rangeBetween $73,000 And $171,000Between $33,000 And $113,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CA-
Highest paying stateOregon-
Best paying companyAmazon-
Best paying industryMedia-

Differences between senior video editor and freelance producer education

There are a few differences between a senior video editor and a freelance producer in terms of educational background:

Senior Video EditorFreelance Producer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 76%Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Most common majorPhotographyPhotography
Most common collegeNew York UniversityHarvard University

Senior video editor vs freelance producer demographics

Here are the differences between senior video editors' and freelance producers' demographics:

Senior Video EditorFreelance Producer
Average age3740
Gender ratioMale, 81.2% Female, 18.8%Male, 58.7% Female, 41.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 7.1% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 6.3% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage10%14%

Differences between senior video editor and freelance producer duties and responsibilities

Senior video editor example responsibilities.

  • Manage and resolve editorial disagreements across relevant departmental staff to join up an organizational narrative on each output.
  • Produce segments & graphics for both television and Youtube platform.
  • Maintain video archive system and retrieve important clips when necessary.
  • Serve as DV, HD, and DSLR video camera operator.
  • Edit, encode and enhance content for DVD and web delivery.
  • Hold responsibility in transcoding, encoding audio and video files, and uploading media to YouTube.
  • Show more

Freelance producer example responsibilities.

  • Drive engagement by managing the brand's YouTube channel, as well as all other social media outlets.
  • Manage production shoots for image campaigns and monthly communications meetings for CNN newsroom and internal in-house creative services department.
  • Manage creative release process working closely with site merchandising, content engineering, release engineering, QA, buyers and marketing.
  • Manage the QA process including test/debug cycles and platform compliance/compatibility testing.
  • Produce for Chubb s website, YouTube, Facebook and on DVD.
  • Help maintain social media presence on Facebook and Instagram.
  • Show more

Senior video editor vs freelance producer skills

Common senior video editor skills
  • Motion Graphics, 14%
  • Video Content, 12%
  • Adobe Premiere, 11%
  • Color Correction, 7%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 6%
  • Animation, 6%
Common freelance producer skills
  • Music Videos, 20%
  • News Stories, 6%
  • Video Content, 5%
  • Video Production, 4%
  • Live Events, 4%
  • Photography, 4%

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