We here at Zelda Universe are always looking for ways to reach out to our fans and share the wholesome goodness of The Legend of Zelda with all of you. One of our ways is through our YouTube channel ZeldaUniverseTV. From our weekly news show to our voice-acted fan dubs of your favorite games, we try to offer a wide variety of content. All of that takes a lot of work and cooperation, which is why we’re now looking for volunteer video editors to join our media team.
Interested? Read on for our comprehensive FAQ to learn more!
General FAQ
Q: How does the Media Team at Zelda Universe operate?
The Media Team at Zelda Universe is broken up into three distinct departments: YouTube, Twitch, and Podcast.
- Our YouTube team handles all of the video content that you see go up on YouTube, and promoted on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. This includes Palutena’s Guidance/Hades’ Misguidance, Zelda News, and the multitude of dub works we’ve produced over the years.*
- Our Twitch team consists of our team of streamers who help provide content for our Twitch channel every week. We stream six out of the seven days of the week!
- Our Podcast team consists of the producers and hosts that make our ZUCast podcast happen on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen to your favorites like Oh, Hello: The P’dcast.
As you can probably see, the Media Team does a lot of stuff, so we use a few apps to make sure everyone is on the same page. The majority of our communication is done using an instant messaging application called Slack. If you haven’t used it, think of it as Discord, but with a business-like design, with various channels for each team.
To coordinate all of our drafts, projects, and ideas, we also use Trello. Each team has its own board.
And lastly, we use Zoom for remote meetings to further talk and coordinate projects and make sure we are all on the same page. You may already be familiar with Zoom given the current pandemic, but if you’re not, it’s a video-conferencing application that’s free to sign up for.
We’ll get you all set up with all of these apps so you are given access to our relevant Trello boards and channels. Best of all, all of these apps are free!
*Note: Hades’ Misguidance, Palutena’s Guidance, and the dub projects are produced by a separate team within the YouTube department.
Q: I love to make videos but I don’t have much past experience. Will I still be considered?
Yes! While we would like to see previously published work you have, there are a lot of ways you can demonstrate your editing ability.
On a technical side, we are searching for those who have an intermediate level of skill with the Adobe Creative Suite. However, we’re also looking for those who show a clear passion for editing; the kind of people who let their personality inform the edit and let that show in the final product, even if their knowledge of the software is basic.
Q: I am interested in video editing but I am nervous about taking this step and/or I am very anxious in general. Would this be a problem?
Absolutely not. At its core, we at Zelda Universe are just a bunch of nerds of all ages who love the Zelda franchise. Everyone on the team is incredibly friendly and approachable. We love making new pals, and we’re all more than happy to answer any questions and help you make the best content possible. As long as you love to create content and love the Zelda franchise, you’ll fit right in.
The majority of our communication is through Slack (our instant messaging service of choice), and we don’t require anyone to speak to us through a headset or appear in a video call if they don’t want to.
Q: My time is limited and I’m not sure I can commit. How much am I expected to contribute?
We understand that, as volunteers, you are donating your free time to support the website. We respect this, and we realize that there will be times when life gets in the way and you may need to take a break. Self-care is so important, especially in the weird and uncertain time the world is in right now.
With that being said, we are asking our video editors to be capable of editing 1-2 videos per month, with occasionally more depending on what’s happening (expect more content leading up to Breath of the Wild’s sequel, for example).
This doesn’t mean we’re going to be strict about schedules. Things happen. What we do ask, however, is that you keep in consistent contact with us and let us know if your availability changes.
Q: What are the perks of editing for Zelda Universe?
Zelda Universe has a fairly decent presence on social media. We have over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube alone, with even more on other social media platforms, and you can gain decent exposure for your work as a result. You will have a decently sized platform to establish a respectable body of work for yourself.
Experience is essential for those seeking work in this industry, and our staff are more than happy to help you improve your editing skills as you go. We have had a number of Zelda Universe staff members go on to gain amazing positions in the industry, including jobs at Nintendo.
We also regularly promote our most committed staff members with editor roles. Those with leading roles on the site are often given the chance to attend E3, PAX, and other events with the Zelda Universe team.
Q: I’m interested in applying but I’m just too busy at the moment. Can I apply at another time?
Of course! Media positions don’t open up that much, but we accept new volunteers all year round!
Q: I’m not interested in this position, but I would still like to contribute to Zelda Universe in some way. Are there any other positions available?
Yep! While we’re primarily looking for video editors at the moment, there may be other positions available on our Volunteer page. If you prefer writing long-form, in-depth articles on Zelda, you can apply for the Features team, for example. If you want to use your extensive knowledge of Zelda games, you can apply for the Guides team.
There are also many other opportunities at Zelda Universe, including design and development positions.
Q: I have another question that hasn’t been addressed here.
If there is anything else you would like us to clarify regarding the position(s) described here, please send us an email to jobs@zeldauniverse.net with the subject line “Application question,” or feel free to reach out to me on Twitter.
Q: I applied before but was not accepted. Should I try again?
Definitely! Don’t be discouraged if you didn’t make the cut before. Give it another shot.
Video Editing FAQ
Q: What equipment and software will I need for this position?
We operate a bit like a production house wherein we’re creating all sorts of content, and if you’ve done content creation, you probably know that there’s a lot of stuff that goes into it.
Zelda Universe’s Media Team produces the vast majority of its content using Adobe Creative Cloud’s suite of software — primarily Adobe Premiere Pro CC. You can just subscribe to Premiere on its own, but you can also subscribe to get the full suite of software, which we recommend, as sometimes our videos require use of them.
Video editing requires a decent amount of computer power, and while you can find the minimum system requirements from Adobe directly, here’s what we recommend you have for a laptop or desktop computer (we’re going to presume you have internet):
- Processor: 6th Generation Intel Core i7 or newer / 2nd AMD Ryzen 7 or newer
- Memory: 16 GB
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX/RTX series or an AMD Radeon RX 5700XT
- Storage: 256 GB or higher (An SSD is super helpful here).
- Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080
For the most part, our videos are produced at 1080p, but we could possibly move to 1440p in the future.
Since Adobe Creative Cloud is the same on both Windows 10 and macOS, the operating system you choose doesn’t matter, as long as the hardware can run it. Premiere will run fine on a base MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar, but having higher specs is super helpful in the long run, especially when working with multiple assets that can take a while to render.
We also recommend everyone has a good pair of headphones and a microphone. You can go in a lot of ways for this: You can use a Razer’s Kracken headset and a Siren USB microphone and do really well, or you can get an audio interface and an XLR mic (like the Audio-Technica AT2020) and pair it with a pair of monitoring headphones like Audio-Technica’s ATH-M50X. Heck, you can even go with a Zoom H4n Pro or Zoom H6 audio recorder and interface. If the audio quality is good, then that’s all that matters.
There’s also some stuff that you don’t necessarily need to have but it may help you out a lot, like a good capture card. We rely heavily on game footage for a lot of our work at ZU, from grabbing screenshots for our guides to the shows we produce. Having a capture device like the HD60S or HD60 from Elgato is useful.
Again, do you need a capture card to work with us? Nope. But if you get an idea and need a specific piece of gameplay, it is nice to have one available just in case.
Q: Do I have to use Adobe Creative Suite?
The Media Team used to use whatever the respective people had available, and we ran into a lot of problems because not every video editing software is compatible with both Windows and macOS — and that made trying to send projects and files insanely difficult. You can’t just send someone running Windows 10 a project that was cut in Final Cut Pro X, for example, because Final Cut Pro X is exclusively on macOS.
This was the main reason why the Media Team switched to Adobe Premiere and the Creative Suite as a whole. Because the software itself is the exact same, you can easily send projects to other people, and as long as they have access to the assets used, they can pick up right where you left off.
You’re free to use equivalents for Photoshop, but you absolutely need Adobe Premiere.
How to Apply
If you are interested in this position, please send us your application to jobs@zeldauniverse.net with the subject header “Video Editor Application.”
Please include:
- Your name.
- Your age.
- Your resume (or an overview of your qualifications and work experience).
- A few samples of your work.
Here’s what we’re looking for:
- An intermediate level of skill with the Adobe Creative Suite (CC 2019 or 2020).
- We at Zelda Universe use Adobe Premiere Pro primarily, however, any knowledge of After Effects, Audition, and Photoshop is a massive plus.
- Basic knowledge of JPEG vs. PNG vs PSD file types.
- Knowledge of basic animation.
- A passion for film editing.
- The ability to take direction and notes and work well within a team.
- Teamwork is a big deal for us.
- The ability to maintain frequent communication with the rest of the staff through Slack, Discord, and Zoom.
- The ability to work in a timely manner and meet deadlines.
- You’ll be editing 1-2 videos a month at the bare minimum, with occasionally more depending on what’s going on.
- The ability to follow branding guidelines.
- A capture card (like the Elgato HD60S) is not required but is nice to have.
It may take us a little while for us to select the most suitable applicants, so please don’t feel discouraged if we don’t respond straight away. It may take up to a week or longer before we select you.
We’re very professional about what we do here, but we also have a ton of fun while doing it! We have a highly talented and very friendly team ready to welcome you.
Thank you for reading, and best of luck to all of our applicants!
