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Become a Short-Form Video Editor
By the end of this course you will edit short-form video like a professional: hooks that hold attention, captions people actually read, and a system that ships a week of content in a day — plus the portfolio, pricing, and client pipeline to get paid for it. Every rate in here is a real 2026 market number, from first $30 clips to the retainers behind editors earning $5,000+ months.
Module 0
Module 0: Start Here
Before rates, tools, or timelines — what this job actually is, the two ways it pays, and the setup you need before your first practice edit. By the end of this module you will have your software installed, your first spec edit assigned, and a clear picture of the work ahead.
Module 1
Module 1: The Job in 2026
Who hires editors, what they are really buying, the money — worked in full, with real 2026 numbers — and the styles of editing that command the best rates. This is the map of the market you are entering.
Module 2
Module 2: Watch Like an Editor
Before you touch a timeline, learn to see what strong editors see: why a video holds or loses a viewer second by second, what a clean export actually requires, and how to take apart ten winning videos in your niche so their patterns become your instincts.
Module 3
Module 3: The Cutting Craft
The core hands-on skills, in the order an edit actually happens: tighten the talking head, lay in B-roll that proves the words, add simple motion graphics that guide the eye, and mix sound that survives a phone speaker. This module is the craft everything else in the course stands on.
Module 4
Module 4: Captions and Polish
The cut gets a viewer to stay; the polish decides whether the video looks like it came from a professional. This module covers the three finishing skills clients notice most — captions people can actually read, honest cleanup of rough phone footage, and a pre-delivery pass that catches your mistakes before a client does.
Module 5
Module 5: Speed Systems and Tools
Clients pay for reliability at volume, and volume comes from systems, not stamina. This module builds yours: templates that make every edit start half-finished, a batching workflow that turns a client's week into one sitting, and an honest account of what the new tools do for you — and what they can't.
Module 6
Module 6: Portfolio and Proof
Nobody hires an editor from a résumé. They hire from proof: footage you've visibly made better. This module builds that proof without waiting for permission — spec edits that show the upgrade, a portfolio organized the way clients actually scan, and breakdown posts that prove your judgment out loud.
Module 7
Module 7: Pricing and Packages
Editing skill gets you hired once; pricing gets you a living. This module walks the 2026 rate ladder, does the retainer math in the open with a calculator, and installs the scope armor — revision rules, rush fees, footage rules — that keeps the money you quoted from leaking away.
Module 8
Module 8: Find Clients
A portfolio gets you believed; this module gets you paid. Where editing work actually comes from in 2026, the pitch that doesn't read like spam, trial edits that close instead of donating your time, and an onboarding process that makes a new client feel handled from day one.
Module 9
Module 9: Keep Clients and Scale
Getting a client is a transaction. Keeping one is a system. This module covers the communication habits that make editors un-fireable, a sane way to raise rates as your proof grows, and the honest math of going from solo editor to a small studio.
Module 10
Module 10: Find a Job
Freelancing isn't the only exit from this course. Agencies, studios, and big creators hire editors onto payroll — steadier money, no client hunting, and a team around you. This module covers where those jobs live, applications that get replies, edit tests, and negotiating from what your output is actually worth.
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