An inside look: The Video Editor

Feb 7, 2017|

• Domicile

According to a study in 2016 by the TUC (Trade Union's Congress), a national trade union centre in the UK that represents the vast majority of organised workers, a staggering quarter of a million (241,000) more people work from home than a decade ago. So we decided to go undercover and take a snoop around some home offices to find out more.

First up is 38 year old Video Editor, Stuart Reid, who works from home in Walthamstow. Stuart edits corporate videos, celebrity interviews and music videos for a variety of clients.

Where is your workplace?
Right now, I'm working from home about 20% of the time. That has changed considerably over the past 12 months. I used to work from home all of the time, but ended up freelancing for a company who require me to work in their office more often. That dynamic is about to change again however, and I'll be back to working from home about 50% of the time in the coming months.

How do you feel about more people working from home?
As jobs and careers change, it's going to happen more and more. Technology now allows me to do my job as a video editor pretty much anywhere. All you need is a good, fast computer and a fibre broadband line. Ten years ago it would have been a lot harder. I also find I have less interruptions at home, enabling me to concentrate better, therefore completing projects faster.

Which room is your home office in?
Initially my home office was in one of the bedrooms, which gave me plenty of space, and also looked more impressive from a client standpoint. However, with a growing family we needed to requisition the room, forcing me into a smaller area in the dining room.

What does your home office look like?
At the moment it is simple and minimalistic in terms of interior design but we're moving home in the next month and our new property will have a designated home office built in the garden. I can't wait to do it out and add my own personal touches here and there.



What's in your home office?
Very hi-spec Windows desktop with triple monitors, large speakers for audio editing, a printer (almost never used) - and most importantly a good keyboard!

Was it easy to organise the space?
The hardest bit was finding a table with enough width for 3 large computer monitors and the speakers! There's nothing else special about the place, when you edit you need a fairly dim, plain space so you can concentrate on what's on the screen.

How tidy is your home office?
I'm naturally terribly untidy! And, because I'm quite geeky and technical there's always half-broken hard drives or video cards etc littering my desktop. Oh - and coffee cups, LOTS of coffee cups!

Do you share your home office?
NOBODY TOUCHES MY COMPUTER!

How do you plan your day?
I try to treat a working day like a working day, I'll try to concentrate on the job in hand, even if there's washing to do. After all, I couldn't do chores from the office.

Complete the sentence...'I love my home office because....?
It gives me the freedom to work how I want to work, without interruption and without the IT issues that usually plague larger companies. Plus - the commuting time is GREAT!