The Business & Craft of Trailer Editing, Making Your Side Hustle Your Career, and Staying Motivated Along the Way | with Chris MacDonald

Chris MacDonald is an experienced veteran trailer editor who has worked at Universal Pictures and other major studios such as Sony, Disney, Paramount, and trailer houses such as MOcean and Aspect (to name a small few). Chris is also the co-founder of the wildly popular online editing school, Film Editing Pro, and today’s discussion balances a combination of understanding how to build a career as a trailer editor as well as making the transition to building your own business if that is the right path for you.

Whether you work in a creative industry as a craftsperson, or if you’re an entrepreneur running your own company (no matter how big or small), you are the CEO of your business. In today’s gig economy where the next job is never promised, you must learn the necessary skills and mindsets to run your business and present your services effectively in order to survive. And in today’s conversation with Chris he and I discuss perhaps the most important key mindset to learning, growing, and succeeding whether you are a craftsperson or entrepreneur - “The Beginner’s Mind.”

Given that Chris and I both agree the fastest path to success is failure and having a willingness to accept there is always more to learn, we dive deep into navigating the politics of the trailer world, managing studio & network notes, better understanding how to approach the creative process, and the best (and WORST) parts of working in advertising. Then we discuss his path from trailer editing to teacher, mentor, and entrepreneur - specifically how he became the creator of one of the leading schools in the world teaching the creative side of editing both short form and long form. But of course none of this came without its share of doubts, obstacles, and a raging case of imposter syndrome, all of which you’ll hear about today.

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Here's What You'll Learn:

• The key differences between long form editing, short form editing and cutting trailers (that aren’t so obvious)
• The one thing that marks the difference between a good trailer editor and GREAT trailer editor
• The percentage Chris says you should be working hard (it’s not 100%)
• How you can tell a lesser experienced trailer editor from a more experienced one (and it has nothing to do with skill)
• The one thing you can do that will make your work, no matter what it is, better
• How to deal with imposter syndrome while working to advance your career or side hustle
• What it takes to keep working towards your side hustle when you’re out of motivation
• Why maintaining a ‘beginner’s mindset’ leads to success more than being an expert
• The importance of maintaining relationships through all networks, even if you expand out into a separate side business
• The importance of being a ‘do it all’ when you begin entrepreneurship before hiring staff
• Why you should never let steep competition deter you from starting your own business

Useful Resources Mentioned:

Tim Ferriss and The 4-Hour Workweek

Ramit Sethi Podcast Interview on Forging Your Own Rich Life

filmeditingpro.com/zack - Free Giveaway of an hour’s worth of courses on the website

Film Editing Pro YouTube Channel

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Guest Bio:

Chris MacDonald

Chris MacDonald started his career in entertainment fresh from college and held various jobs in the industry before working his way up to staff editor at Universal Pictures.

He then held positions throughout Hollywood, focusing primarily on trailer editing for studios like Sony, Disney, Paramount and many more. With 15+ years editing experience, he’ll be the main voice and guide throughout the training courses at Film Editing Pro.

Show Credits:

This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared by Debby Germino and published by Glen McNiel.

The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet).