Bailey Edge

Bailey Edge

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When graduating from MSU, my dream goal was to work in film and television production. I had loose plans to do this by writing, but was also beginning to work on video editing. I’m happy to say that that is where I’ve landed.

Name:

Bailey Edge

MSU Degree:

BA in English, 2017

Current Position:

Assistant Editor

Organization:

Overtime

 

When you graduated with a degree in English from MSU, what were your plans for your future?  Has your career path mostly realized those early plans, or have you discovered new plans and goals along the way? 

When graduating from MSU, my dream goal was to work in film and television production. I had loose plans to do this by writing, but was also beginning to work on video editing. I’m happy to say that that is where I’ve landed: I’m an assistant editor at a sports media company called Overtime, where one of our projects is creating a docuseries for Amazon Prime.

 

What is your current occupation, and what does your work mostly consist of? 

As an assistant editor, I help organize footage, watch footage to select the best parts, and edit short pieces or work longer scenes or videos. I do this for our docuseries, live broadcasts, and YouTube.

 

Which skills that you learned as an English major do you use most in your job? 

I chose English as a major because I love storytelling and analyzing stories; having a good foundation of how stories work has helped hone my eye for good stories. Though filmmaking is a collaborative effort and I am not the only one creating a story, as a video editor, your job is taking the pieces of a story, choosing the best ones, and putting them together in the best way to achieve the purpose of your story. This is especially true as I work in the unscripted world, where there is no written story to tell, and you must observe reality and then select the most relevant and important parts to tell that story to an audience.

 

What additional skills did you need to learn in order to do your job, and how did you learn them? 

To be a video editor, one of the most important skills is knowing video editing software. I have always used Adobe Premiere Pro and use it at my job now. I learned it on my own with online classes and tutorials, and also attended a short workshop offered on campus.

 

In what ways does your career enrich your life and help you to achieve your personal as well as your professional goals? 

I’ve always loved film and especially television, and it makes me happy to be a part of that world. I think of video editing as a puzzle: you get the pieces and get to put them together until you’re happy with the final picture! I really enjoy that process and find it rewarding to see a completed project, whether it's a 2-minute video I created alone or a whole show made with a team.

 

What advice do you have for undergraduate English majors right now who might want to follow the career path you did? 

I would say for your English classes, strengthening your analytical skills will help you to apply that analysis in stories going forward. Don’t forget to be a good communicator and good teammate as well. Video editing can seem like a solitary job where you sit at a computer alone, but video production is a very collaborative field. Even if you are an editor working alone (for example, on a freelance project), you will still need to communicate with clients and constructively take their notes to apply to your project.

I would definitely look into the film minor at MSU as well. We did not have it during my time at State, but I did try to supplement my English classes with some Communications classes as well, and take relevant classes offered like Literature and Film. Even if you don’t complete the minor, take advantage of some of the classes offered. I would also get involved in the filmmaking organization. While I was in school I was part of a film club where we watched and discussed films and also made a few short films. Even though I was not the editor on these films, it was still a good experience in the process and brought me together with like-minded students. 

You can also begin learning editing software on your own. Library computers should have Adobe Premiere available, and Adobe also offers discounted prices for students. Their website also has many tutorials and is a great place to start learning on your own. There is other software out there you may try and prefer (Avid Media Composer, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro) that also have online resources.

 

[Updated March 2025]