The Art of Game Planning and Editing: A Guide to Success in the Industry

When it comes to game planning and editing, there are certain strategies that can help you succeed in this competitive field. The key is to understand what makes content good and why people like watching it. As a freelance shooter, your goal is to create something that a brand will like and then write them a check for it. This means being able to think critically about the type of content you're creating and how it can appeal to a wider audience.

Another important aspect of game planning and editing is learning to edit. When you're just starting out, you're going to be shooting a lot of stuff for free, which is a period of building your portfolio. Think of it as an apprenticeship that you're paying yourself for. As you gain experience and build your skills, you'll begin to see the value in editing and how it can elevate your content. Pay attention to what makes good content and why people like watching it. This will help you develop a keen eye and an understanding of what works.

When it comes to being successful in game planning and editing, there are several key takeaways. First and foremost, be persistent. There is no predetermined path to success, and the journey is different for everyone. You'll need to feel out your own strengths and weaknesses, but ultimately, something will present itself eventually. Don't overdo it, don't be annoying - simply remind people of your existence, because that's what will get you noticed.

Finally, find a job where you can go home happy on a regular basis. This is worth more than any fancy job title or high-paying salary. When you're doing something you love, you'll be able to put it into your work, and that's when the magic happens.

In addition to these general tips, there are several specific strategies for breaking into the game planning and editing industry. One of the most effective ways is to find a school with a Formula SAE team. This competition allows college students to design, build, and race their own cars, which can be an incredible way to gain experience and make connections in the industry. Other key takeaways include being persistent, finding internships, and being open to new opportunities.

For those who are passionate about engineering and want to break into the automotive industry, becoming an engineer typically requires a formal education - usually a degree in mechanical engineering to start. However, there are many different paths to success, and one of the most important things is to find an opportunity that allows you to integrate yourself into the company culture and learn from experienced professionals.

Ultimately, the key to success in game planning and editing (or any industry) is persistence. It's not always easy, but with hard work, determination, and a willingness to learn and adapt, anything is possible. Don't be discouraged if things don't happen right away - keep pushing forward and know that your dream job will eventually present itself.

Big Announcement

We've got some big news for our viewers. One of our hosts has moved on to bigger and better things - but we're looking for new people to join the team!

Donut is looking for new co-hosts, and if you love cars, do you know how to work on cars? Do you have a potentially unhealthy desire to be the center of attention? Then we want you! Check out our link in the description below or click the link to submit yourself as a host.

One of our former hosts, Zach Jobe, recently submitted an audition video for us. We were blown away by his skills and sense of humor - and we think he could be next on the show!

The last time we did this, we met both Zach Jobe and Jeremiah, two incredibly talented individuals who are making waves in the industry. If you're one of them, or if you know someone who is, be sure to submit yourself for a chance to join our team.

Big Shoutout

We want to thank Mitch at Stewart Haas Racing, John Benton at Benton Performance, Vincent Vigil, Austin Gesso, Adam Knappick, Zach Jobe, and Jesse Wood for their help on this episode. We couldn't have made it without you guys!

For those who are new to the Donut Media universe, check out our social media channels @donutmedia. Follow us for exclusive content, behind-the-scenes peeks at our latest projects, and plenty of car-related fun.

Finally, be kind, follow your dreams, and I'll see you next time!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- So, you like cars so much, you wantto make 'em your career, huh?Well, you came to the right place.Today, I'll tell you how,whether you have a degreeor no experience at all,everything from workingin lube shops, theaftermarket, service centers,racing, sales, even media.I talked to a bunch ofpeople who have done it alland are waiting to workwith the next generation.Let's make it happen.(funky music)- Thanks to Keeps forsponsoring today's video.Ever since I moved back to my parents,I've been spending time goingthrough all my memory boxes.Last night, I found myyearbook and some nice legs.(whistling)Hello, they were mine, but this morningI found something evenbetter, my old basketball.Those were the days.When I had thick luscioushair, I would dominatethe paint in high school.No one could touchUncle the Birdman Jerry,and I was going to the NBA,but then everything changedwhen I became one of thetwo out of three guysto experience some formof male pattern baldnessby the time I was 35.If only I had used Keeps.See, Keeps makes hair loss prevention easyby giving you accessto real doctors online,plus they'll ship youyour hair loss medicationdirectly to your door every three months.So get off the bench, you benchwarmer and get in the gameof hair loss prevention from home.Go to keeps.com/wheelhouse50,or click the linkin the description to receive50% off your first order.Thanks for the memories, Mr. Basketball.Hey, at least I still got good legs.(falcon cawing)Oh, shut up, Dave.You don't have a urethra. (laughing)(video beeping)- First things first.If you're still in schooland have the opportunityto take an auto shop class,take the auto shop class.This is where you can getyour feet wet and workwith a bunch of toolsyou probably wouldn'thave easy access to.After you graduate, now what?Well, you can go to college orgo right into the workforce.If you want to work for a bigmanufacturer as a designer,engineer, or in theirmarketing division or whatever,pretty much have to go to college,but we'll talk about that later.There are a lot of waysto get into the industrythat don't require a formaleducation, but first let's talkabout the mindset you need to have.Coffee's hitting, dude.Don't think of your job search as findinga job in the auto industry.That's too broad and won'thelp you get focused.Think of it as findinga job you'd want anywaythat happens to be centered around cars.Once you decide on what kindof work you want to be doing,you got to have a plan orat least a goal in mind.It's okay if you don't havean entire timeline laid out.I don't really either, butif you don't at least havean idea of where you wantto end up, you run the riskof falling into a rut witha job you don't really love,and I don't want that for you.So let's talk about a great first stepfor someone who wants to work with carswho has no experienceor college education.Oil and tires.Changing oil and installingtires might not be the mostglamorous gig in the world, but you don'thave to do it forever.These are entry level jobs.Think of them as your educationon how to work and behavein a shop environment, whichis valuable experience.These businesses haveno problem hiring peoplewith limited skills, evenif you're a teenager.If you stick around in alube shop or tire shop,you might be able to workyour way up to a manageror you can put your experienceon a resume for a new jobin say, the aftermarket.If you don't want towork with oil or tires,there are plenty of entry-level jobsin the automotive aftermarket.I'm talking about allthe businesses that buildall the cool parts yousee Zach Jobe or Gingiumor Mighty Car Modsinstall in their builds.All of those came fromdedicated manufacturersthat you could work at,but without experience,you got to start at thebottom which in many casesmeans working in the warehouse.Now, just because youaren't product planningor making sales doesn't meanthat working in the warehouseis a bad place to getyour foot in the door.You're going to be packingboxes, moving pallets around,taking inventory, maybemaking some shipping labels,and gaining significant forearm strength.Yeah, I remember using the pallet jack.I'll never forget you, Maggie.You're also going to be learning perhapsthe most valuable knowledge of knowinghow the company operates and integratinginto that company culture.From a warehouse position,you can probably work your wayinto the sales department,where you can focus oneither retail or wholesale,selling directly to customersversus selling to other businesses.The cool thing about salesis that you don't needspecialized technical training.You just need to be goodwith people, and if you showinterest in that sort of work,your employer willprobably train you in it,and that doesn't just go for sales.Say you think you havegood ideas for products,and your employer does too.It's likely they'll show youhow to develop those skillsif you show you have the drive to learn.(video beeping)If you're liking these jobs sofar, how about you do the jobof hitting that likebutton, really helps us out.Thank you.(video beeping)Let's move on to a more obviousway to work around cars,working at a dealership.The most well-known car jobbesides mechanic is probablycar salesman, but there areplenty of jobs at a dealershipthat require little experienceand that you probablydidn't know you could get paid to do.You could work inside adealership answering phonesfor their business development center.You can work in the backoffice handling DMV paperwork.Some dealerships are sobig that they need someonejust to move cars around the lotand shuttle customers around town.They usually call this position a porter.You can also work in dealershipfinance, but that does takea bit of previous experience.Okay, so what if you actually wantto work with the inventory?You can get your foot inthe door detailing the cars,making them all nice and shinybefore they leave the lot.If you're handy with acamera and have a portfolioto prove it, you can work ina dealership's photography department.Many luxury car dealersneed someone to shoot carsin their onsite studiosbecause their inventoryis constantly shifting.Then of course, there's car sales itself,which does require experience.Some states require a licenseto become a car sales rep,but the dealership wouldprobably help you get thatand train you for the job ifyou already work for them,but what if you want to work on cars?Then you need to getinto the service center.Here, you'll be doing regularmaintenance on customer carsor work your way up to serious repairslike replacing drivetrain components.Entry-level jobs atservice centers includelube and tire tech positionswe discussed earlier,but there is room for growth.Now you can become a mechanicjust by working on stuff,but dealerships really value somethingcalled ASE certification.The National Institute forAutomotive Service Excellence,or ASE, is a nonprofit orgthat tests and certifiesautomotive technicians soyou know that they knowwhat they're (bleep)they're doing to your carwhen it's in the shop.You don't technicallyneed to be ASE certifiedto be a mechanic but it'sreally good to have it.Shops and dealerships onlyneed one ASE technicianto put up an ASE plaque,but the more the better.Dealerships will train you and pay foryour ASE certification because it's intheir best interest to do so.The more people they have certified,the better it looks on the door.The cool thing aboutdealerships in my eyes is thatthere's a good amount ofupward mobility withinthe business if you dedicateyourself to the work.It's totally possible to gofrom driving customer shuttlesto a high position inthe service department.My buddy Vincent did just that.I had another friend whowent from being a porterto taking pictures to becoming a salesman.It's really on you to getafter the job you want.Okay, so what if youwant to build cars like,learn how to work withmetal, learn how to wire upan electrical system, build some engines,and show some artistry.How do you get a job in a custom shop?It's not like if you get adegree in hot rodding, right?In my experience, theseare the kinds of businessesyou have to approach inperson and flat out askif you can work there.It varies from shop to shopbut it really helps to havea prior relationship withthem or know an employeewho can get you an introduction.Many of these custom shopswill train you on the fly,according to a sink or swim mentality.The people that run theseshops will skip having yousweep floors and get youon a project right awayto see how you react.Attitude is more important than skillwhen you're first starting out.You have to be teachable.A big thing for me wasgetting over my desireto look like I knew what Iwas doing and ask for helpand actually taking in whatmy boss was trying to teach meinstead of saying, yeah,yeah, yeah, I know that.Yeah, oh yeah, yeah.Getting over that is very important.I asked my friend, John Benton,owner of Benton Performancedown in Anaheim, what helooks for in candidates.He said besides basic tradeskills, he refers to a signposted in his shop, and here it is.(static buzzing)Like I said, these placesvalue attitude very highly.(funky music)Let's talk about racing jobs.It is possible to get paid for racing,just probably not how you expect.Very, very few people actually get paidto be behind the wheel.Short of top tier series like Formula 1,the NASCAR Cup series andIndy Car, not a lot of driversget paid to drive.In fact, a lot of drivers pay to drive.We actually talked aboutthat a few weeks ago.Still, you can have a career in racing.If you're already versedin a trade like weldingor machining, that does makeit easier to get in the doorat a race team, and I'mtalking like a pro levelrace team like NASCAR.If you don't have the skillsthough, you can still get in.If you happen to be a collegeathlete watching this,a NASCAR or Indy team islooking for your talents.Most of the pit crewsin the NASCAR Cup seriesare former college athletes,and if you get recruitedto a Cup team, that'sa full-time paid job.You can still get paidto be on a pit crew,but if you're not at the Cupseries, if you're workingon Xfinity or Truck or ARCAseries, like, you're movingaround a lot getting alot of gigs, all right.Once you get to the Cupseries, that's when it's like,okay, you're on the team.That's full time, boom, you're in.Like a custom shop, don'tbe afraid to approach a teamand ask if there's anythingyou can do to help.They're probably not gonnaannounce any job posting.Just go to a team and introduce yourself.These teams do have positionsthat are like internshipsor apprenticeships where you'regoing to be doing odd jobsaround the facility likesweeping, taking vinyl offa race car, or helpingorganize the office.The cool thing about someracing organizations is thatyou don't necessarily needto know a lot about racingto work for a team.As much as racing is aboutstrategy and skill on the track,teams are always looking for new ideasto help optimize their organization.NASCAR itself is famous forhiring people outside the sportto keep it fresh andmaintain its relevance.Once you're in an organization,cultivate a circle of peoplethat can begin to trustyou and your abilities.Don't be afraid to ask questions and askif you can try something out.Might be good at it, youmight not, but at leastyou showed initiative, whichrace teams value immensely.Like many of the otherjobs we've talked about,there's no textbook for this career.A ton of learning ishands-on, which brings meto my next job.I bet there's a few of you watching thiswho want to make carvideos and get paid for it.I'll tell you what our creativedirector Jesse told me,because he's been inthis game for a while.The most direct way to makemoney shooting car contentis to shoot for brands as afreelancer, but unlike some ofthe other paths I've talked about so far,this one's gonna take a lot of persistenceand doing stuff for free.If you want to make car videos for money,you better make sure you'regood at making any kind of videowith any kind of equipment.Too many people get caught upchoosing gear when they havea phone in their pocket the whole time.Starting with subpar equipmentis how you hone your craft.You learn how to work around constraints.Once you've mastered the basicswith your phone or a GoPro,then move up to a dedicatedcamera like a DSLR,preferably used because youdon't need the best stuff.You're still learning.Now you can do what a lotof my friends have doneto fund their car contentand that's shoot weddings.It pays pretty good.You do it on the weekend and you'll learnhow to become a filmmaker.To that point, film schoolis beneficial for sure,but there's also a ton offilmmaking resources on YouTube.You can totally teachyourself how to do this.All right, it's time toshoot some car stuff.You're going to have to goto where the cars are at.Go to tracks, go to meets, wherever,but don't go in without a plan.For your work to getgood, you need to havea vision for what you're trying to makebefore you even start shooting.It can evolve on location,but have that game plan.Otherwise, what are you going to edit?Oh, also learn to edit.When you're just starting out,you're going to be shootinga lot of stuff for free.This is a period ofbuilding your portfolio.Think of it as an apprenticeshipthat you're paying yourself for.Another thing, you gotto watch a lot of stuff,but not passively.Pay attention to what makes content goodand why people like watching it.If you want to get paid for your work,you need to understand whatmakes something appealingto a wider audience.Remember, we're not makingstuff just because we like it.We want to make stuff thatother people will like,and in the case of beinga freelance shooter,you're making somethingthat a brand will like,and then write you a check for it.Finally, what if youactually want to design cars?Unlike most of the jobsI've talked about so far,becoming an engineer doesrequire a formal education,usually a degree in mechanicalengineering to start.Try to find a school thathas a formula SAE team.Formula SAE is where collegekids get to design, build,and race their own race cars.It's really sick.Big shout out to MatadorMotorsports at CSU Northridge.Formula SAE competitionsare regularly scoutedby recruiters from theautomotive industry.So that's a great placeto make an impressionand also just gain a lot ofexperience designing a car,but it's not the only way.Last year, David Tracy wrotea really great story on howeight different engineers gottheir start in the industry.I'll link it down in thedescription right now.The common thread in everystory is that they all studiedsuper hard in collegeand got any internshipsthey could in the industry.They might not have landedtheir dream job right away,but internships allowyou to integrate yourselfinto the company cultureand find out how thingsreally work in the office.Another key to breaking intothe biz doesn't just applyto working in an OEM, butmany, many other industries,and that is being persistent.The truth is, there'sno predetermined pathto your dream job, and the journeyis different for everybody.You're going to have to feelsome things out on your own,but something we allpossess is the abilityto keep on trying until you get there.You might not have the skillsright now to do what you wantto do, but that doesn'tmean that you never will.You've got to write someemails, call some people up,knock on some doors and an opportunitywill present itself eventually.It pays to be professionally persistent.Don't overdo it, don't be annoying.Certainly don't harassa potential employerbecause that's bad, but doremind people of your existenceand something shouldhappen, but maybe the mostimportant thing to keepin mind is to find a jobwhere you can go homehappy on a regular basisbecause that's worth a lotmore than a fancy job title.So whatever it is you want to do,I sincerely believe in you.You can do it.- Big announcement.- Donut is looking for new co,sorry, can you go back to the beginning?(video beeping)You guys, Donut is looking for new hosts.Do you love cars?Do you know how to work on cars?Do you have a potentially unhealthy desireto be the center of attention?Perfect, then go here or click the linkin the description below.We're looking for the funniestperson in the pit crew,the most hilarious person in the shop.If this is you, submit to be a host.If this sounds like someone you know,encourage them to submit to be a host.The last time we did this, we met bothZach Jobe and Jeremiah.- Thank you guys so much forwatching my audition video.- Hello Donut Media.My name is Zach Jobe.- You could seriously be next.So go ahead and click thatlink or send it to a friendand let's make videos about cars together.- Goodbye.- Thank you very muchfor watching Wheelhouse.I hope you enjoyed this oneand I hope you go out thereand do it, whatever it is you want to do.Big thank you to Mitchat Stewart Haas Racing,John Benton at BentonPerformance, Vincent Vigil,Austin Gesso, Adam Knappick,Zach Jobe, and Jesse Woodfor your help on this episode.I couldn't have made it without you guys.If you're a Donut superfreak and want to connectwith other Donut fans around the worldand get exclusive content,check out the Donut Undergroundby hitting that join button down there.Follow Donut Media on allsocial media @donutmedia.Follow me @nolanjsykes if you like.Be kind, follow your dreams,and I'll see you next time.