Struggle with landing full-time jobs editing in Vegas Pro

BiswasArt wrote on 12/10/2023, 12:42 AM

I started out as a hobbyist photographer 8 years ago in mainly landscape & wildlife genre here in Nepal.

In order to earn a living after high-school I eventually got into Wedding Photography which was a difficult task for a person with mild anxiety in a place where photoraphers are the heros of the day(mad world). While I pushed myself to do a few gigs and save enough cash I noticed something about videographers and the lack of attention they got from guests. It looked like my perfect job and it really was a huge weight off the shoulder so I decided to switch to videography.

After an extra learning curve on videography I then had to choose a easy-to-learn reliable video editing software. I looked around how-to's on youtube and there I saw Vegas Pro which had a simple interface and easy cutting style. I also liked how easy it was to fade in and out from the timeline. I was hooked.

I'd done quite a few gigs and had happy clients to be able to go for a full-time job at an average company but it was to my surprise that most people here have never even heard of the software I used as my main editing program. So I had to learn basics of Premier Pro at home and I continued my trial at the company but I was miserable at editing in Premier Pro and my work was painfully slow. I wasn't feeling good about myself. It was during the wedding season so I decided to continue alone in the journey with Vegas Pro.

I have since landed many important jobs for NGO's and Weddings since the last time I searched for a full-time job 4 years ago. I'd also gotten used to color-grading in Davinci Resolve until I was introduced to a plugin called FIlm Convert Pro after which I continued to use Vegas Pro as my only editing program.

Off-seasons here are longer than 4 months in a year so I recently decided it was time to look for a full time job again but the situation has gotten far worse that companies cannot hire someone that doesn't work in Premiere Pro (old companies), Davinci Resolve(windows) or rarely Final Cut Pro. So more than 5 years have passed I have been doing Pro-Video work and the future is not looking too bright for me. The thing is I enjoy editing in Vegas Pro but I find myself at a crossroad here.

I am facing some diffculties managing my limitations in Editing and I sometimes browse the reddit forums as well but I rarely find people talking about their career with Vegas Pro.

Comments

mark-y wrote on 12/10/2023, 12:57 PM

There are almost no gigs listed for video post production on Craigslist, nor have there been since 2020.Vegas' current marketing focus is social media producers, that might be a viable direction for you.

BiswasArt wrote on 12/10/2023, 10:35 PM

thank you for the advice...I will still continue with freelancing for some time but the issue is that I first used Vegas Pro when it was still owned by sony and It will be a pain if my editing program is not Vegas Pro....this was the reason I recently bought a windows laptop rather than going for the efficient macbooks.

mark-y wrote on 12/13/2023, 8:24 PM

I adopted Vegas Pro (then Vegas Video 2) in 2001 when it was owned by its creators, Sonic Foundry in Madison, WI.

I use Windows, I had Premiere for a while, I don't use Resolve because the menus are too small. I also still rely on 1996 Photoshop every day of my life. I've earned all or a portion of my living for each of the last 50 years from imaging; I've long since learned that pricey tools and stylish appearance do not sell your work, it all comes down your skills and adaptability. And commitment.

BiswasArt wrote on 12/14/2023, 1:31 AM

Thank you @mark-y for your answer. My real struggle has been collaborating with other editors liviing in this same country. I have never in my life met another person who uses vegas pro and companies have strict policy to hire only people with experience on Premier and Resolve. That leaves only a freelancing as the only option here. This is why I created this topic if the situation is different in other places. Also I devoted to vegas pro only so I can develop proper skill but it seems like magix decided to focus the youtubers and such. I am in a dilemma in chosing careers but I hope I can make things work out soon.

RogerS wrote on 12/14/2023, 5:39 AM

It's basically the same globally. If you work for a company you use what they use (I had to use Premiere).

If you work for yourself it doesn't matter.

Dexcon wrote on 12/14/2023, 6:23 AM

I would place the employment opportunity far and away first in importance. The employer will be paying you a salary to use whatever technology that they use no matter whether that's an NLE, word or spreadsheet processor, email client, etc. Usually, it's up to the candidate at a job interview to impress the potential employer of his/her ability to fit in to the employer's workplace culture including the company's technology as well as the ability to adapt to changes in technology.

If a potential employer doesn't use Vegas Pro, you can still continue to use Vegas Pro for your personal projects.

mark-y wrote on 12/14/2023, 7:22 AM

If I purchased Premiere or Resolve Studio in hopes of learning their complexities rapidly, in order to be able to collaborate with more experienced colleagues in a salaried work pool, I would be wary of being passed over and becoming disappointed due to the level of expectations, labor constraints, and gloves-off competition that dominates deadline-driven work environments.

Video post-production is not a good career opportunity for entry level employees right now; if I was unretired, I would probably remain independent and explore emerging markets and outlets for my work, or continue with teaching and technical training, which I did for fifty years.

As it stands, I am having a lot of fun and satisfaction producing short-form content for social media, something I never took an interest in when I was working. There seem to be some wrinkles to be ironed out between Vegas' historical role as a prosumer "some-training-required" production application and its current multinational marketing thrust for social media content creation and hobbyists.

Reyfox wrote on 12/14/2023, 8:04 AM

@mark-y...There seem to be some wrinkles to be ironed out between Vegas' historical role as a prosumer "some-training-required" production application and its current multinational marketing thrust for social media content creation and hobbyists.

Agreed! With the collaboration aspects of 365 starting to happen, I see no reason why Vegas can not be a "player" in the indie production world. But the elephant/800lbs gorilla is Resolve.

I was an independent person doing event work. All referrals. From corporate to the typical wedding/events since 1990 going back to the Amiga/Video Toaster and a/b roll days.

I never worked as an editor with other people. And while I guess it can be challenging and exciting, it wasn't for me. So, corporate work (international and national) along with event work was what I did. Oh, and I had a "real" job besides. I've used many different editing software over the years. No one ever asked what I used. They were interested in the finished results and fast turnaround time.

I would consider continuing doing what he is doing and building on that, creating a portfolio of work and a demo reel. I know someone on LinkedIn that has gotten work this way in addition to local work.

BiswasArt wrote on 12/14/2023, 11:24 AM

Thank you guys...some amazing insights here....I guess I will keep doing my thing and improve on it....and hopefully someday I start landing big jobs consistently. I wish magix would cut down on the purchase fee significantly and make it always free to upgrade once bought. It would really bring magix to another level with engagements from a lot of users. Like I said I did not enjoy editing in Premier Pro or DaVinci Resolve but lets see what the future holds.

Reyfox wrote on 12/14/2023, 12:07 PM

In order to have a free upgrade, you need another source of income that would cover that cost. Vegas doesn't have that and rely solely on purchases users make.

What happens if no one purchases it anymore? How are the people that work so hard behind the scenes get paid? Resolve has all that hardware sales that funds Davinci Resolve, so BMD can offer a free version and, for the moment, updates for "nothing". The cost of updating Vegas isn't that much for the most part. No, it's not free. But what can you do with what you have? It's the person using the software that creates the video.

Nothing is free... someone is paying for it somewhere along the line.

mark-y wrote on 12/14/2023, 3:55 PM

I was an independent person doing event work. All referrals. From corporate to the typical wedding/events since 1990 going back to the Amiga/Video Toaster and a/b roll days.

I never worked as an editor with other people. And while I guess it can be challenging and exciting, it wasn't for me.

Things didn't really start happening online until Mpeg-2 compression became affordable with the availability of software codecs -- they were all onchip hardware encoders, and expen$ive.

I had the luxury of producing media for my own regional performance company, and I never had to face pressures of a competetive work environment or clients breathing on my neck with all their edit decisions and whims, seems like an "all of the authority and none of the responsibility" setting, of the kind that could keep me clench-jawed all week when I worked in the film industry.

Reyfox wrote on 12/14/2023, 4:04 PM

I was fortunate where I could be selective since I had a "real" job.I had my price, and if someone didn't agree with it, they could always go elsewhere, and I wasn't upset. Doing a wedding for instance. In NY, the happy couple would be willing to pay the band/dj more, who would only work 4 hours, and the videographer (I also would shoot stills for the video) would be there from morning until everything is done. Then have hours of editing to do. I thought my prices were fair. As for corporate work, if they suggested something that I thought would not work, I would explain why, and they were good. They were great to work for.

Now, I work for "me", showing people back in the States what the country looks like where I live. Being retired has it's perks.