Senior Video Editor (Adobe Premiere & After Effects Specialist)

Senior Video Editor (Adobe Premiere & After Effects Specialist)

Hiring a Senior Video Editor who specializes in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects brings cinematic polish, efficient workflows, and advanced motion-graphics capability to your projects. Below is a concise profile that outlines skills, responsibilities, workflow, deliverables, and how to evaluate candidates — suitable for a job posting, portfolio page, or hiring brief.

Role overview

A Senior Video Editor crafts compelling narrative and visual experiences from raw footage, combining editorial judgement with technical mastery in Premiere Pro and After Effects. They lead post-production for campaigns, films, and social content, ensuring brand consistency, pace, and technical quality across deliverables.

Key responsibilities

• Lead editing of long- and short-form content: commercials, promos, documentaries, social clips, and corporate videos.
• Create motion graphics, titles, and visual effects in After Effects; integrate compositions into Premiere sequences.
• Color correct and color grade footage for consistent, cinematic looks using Lumetri and third‑party tools (DaVinci optional).
• Manage multi-cam edits, proxies, and large media assets; maintain organized project folders and version control.
• Mentor junior editors, establish best-practices, and streamline post pipelines.
• Deliver final masters in required codecs, aspect ratios, and platform specifications.
• Troubleshoot technical issues (audio sync, codec incompatibilities, render errors).

Essential skills & tools

• Expert: Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects.
• Strong: Adobe Media Encoder, Photoshop, Audition, and familiarity with DaVinci Resolve.
• Proficient with codecs, color spaces (Rec.709, HDR basics), frame rates, and aspect ratios for broadcast and social.
• Advanced editing techniques: multicam, nested sequences, masking, keying, Rotoscoping basics.
• Motion graphics: expressions, parenting, pre-comps, tracking, and particle systems.
• Workflow: proxies, XML/AAF exchanges, versioning, metadata, and LUT management.
• Soft skills: storytelling instincts, clear communication, time management, and collaborative leadership.

Typical workflow

1. Ingest and organize media; create proxies for heavy formats.
2. Sync audio and assemble a rough cut focusing on story and pacing.
3. Refine edit, tighten cuts, and implement feedback rounds.
4. Develop motion-graphics elements and VFX in After Effects; import dynamic links or render comps.
5. Color correct and grade; finalize audio mixing and sound design.
6. Export masters and platform-specific deliverables; archive projects and assets.

Deliverables & formats

• Master deliverable (ProRes/DNxHD/MP4) plus platform-specific exports (YouTube, Instagram Reels, TikTok, broadcast).
• Closed-caption files (SRT), thumbnails, stills, and social-format edits (9:16, 1:1, 16:9).
• Project files and organized asset folders for handoff.

How to evaluate candidates

• Portfolio: variety across formats (long-form, short-form, motion-graphics).
• Test edit: 1–2 hour timed task to assess speed, choices, and Premiere proficiency.
• Technical interview: troubleshooting scenarios (codec mismatch, render errors).
• References: past leadership on post pipelines and team collaboration.

Hiring tips

• Prioritize storytelling and editorial judgment over plugin-driven effects.
• Require demonstrable AE projects with expressions/tracking to prove advanced motion-graphics skills.
• Offer a trial project that mirrors your typical workload and deliverables.