Video Editor

Video Editor — The Steadfast Athlete (YouTube)

About the Channel
The Steadfast Athlete is a YouTube channel about steadfast self-leadership through physical, mental, and spiritual discipline. The content is personal, documentary-style, faith-forward storytelling — not flashy fitness content or gym vlogs. Think more like a mini-documentary than an influencer video. The brand feel is dark, warm, earthy, and weathered — gritty and real, not polished or corporate.
I film on a smartphone and provide detailed edit blueprints for each video that lay out the story structure, music mood, pacing, and overall direction. I'm looking for an editor who can follow that direction while bringing their own creative instincts to the work. I want to see your interpretation of the blueprint, not a robotic execution of it.

What You'll Be Editing
1 long-form YouTube video every 2-4 weeks (8–30 minutes, documentary-style talking head + B-roll)
Optional: Short-form clips (YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok) cut from the long-form video — this is an add-on, not required from day one

What I Provide You (via Google Drive)
Raw footage — talking head and personal B-roll I've filmed
A detailed edit blueprint for each video — story structure, section-by-section instructions, music mood map, and pacing guidance
A brand package — color palette, font information, and a full set of pre-made graphics (title cards, lower thirds, end cards) as PNG files

What I Need From You
Strong Adobe Premiere Pro skills — comfortable with Lumetri color grading, keyframing, audio mixing, J-cuts/L-cuts, speed ramping, and adjustment layers
An understanding of documentary-style pacing — knowing when to let a ---------- nt breathe vs. when to tighten the edit
Music selection — I provide mood direction and search terms in each blueprint. You find and select the right tracks. The brand standard for music is Artlist. For stock footage, the brand standard is Artgrid.
Audio mixing skills — dialogue cleanup, music balancing, room tone layering
Reliability and clear communication via email

How B-Roll Works
I provide my own personal B-roll footage for each video. This should be your primary visual material — the authenticity of personal footage is important to this brand. Build the edit around what I give you.
If there's a ---------- nt where you feel additional stock footage would genuinely improve the video, you're expected to find it and include it. The brand standard for stock footage is Artgrid. If you need to use alternative sources, keep it consistent with the brand feel: dark, warm, earthy, authentic — not polished stock-photo energy.

How Music Works
Each edit blueprint includes a music mood map with the emotional direction for every section of the video — what it should feel like, when to build, when to drop to silence, and suggested search terms. You're responsible for finding and selecting the tracks. The brand standard for music is Artlist.

Bonus (Not Required)
Experience editing faith-based, personal development, or documentary content
Ability to cut YouTube Shorts, Reels, and TikToks from long-form footage
Thumbnail design skills
Color grading experience beyond basic Lumetri

Communication: Email
File sharing: Google Drive
Timezone: Flexible — I care about quality and deadlines, not when you're online

Compensation
$6 USD/hour. What I'm looking for is someone who sees this as a relationship we're building together. I take this work seriously, I'll provide thorough direction for every video, and I'm committed to making this a good working partnership for both of us. Michelle Khare on YouTube is an inspiration for me, and I want to make sure that my storytelling, pacing, and editing is as high-quality as hers as much as possible. Please only apply if you feel prepared to commit to that level of editing. I am trying to get time back on my calendar, but I want the editing to be at least as good or better than mine to grow on YouTube.

How to Apply
Send me:
A link to 2–3 videos you've edited that show your pacing and storytelling ability (YouTube links preferred)
A brief note about what kind of content you enjoy editing and why this role interests you
Your weekly availability

I'll send the top candidates a short test edit using real footage and an edit blueprint so I can see how you interpret direction while bringing your own creative instincts.