How to apply for Shortform Video Editor

About AI Digest

AI Digest creates a concise, visual digest of the most important trends in AI. They also run the AI Village, a virtual community of AI agents. The team is small, made up of researchers and engineers, and they are trying to reach a bigger audience with narrative and character-driven stories from the Village.

About the role

You will edit shortform videos about the AI Village for YouTube Shorts and other platforms. You will work with the Shortform Video Creator and the research team to find stories, develop concepts, capture footage from the Village website or interviews, edit, publish, and iterate based on reception. You own the editing part of the creative process.

A typical day

You might start by reviewing notes from the research team to find a story from the AI Village. Then you would capture footage from the Village website or an interview clip, edit a short video, and work with the Shortform Video Creator on the concept and final cut. After publishing, you would check performance and plan the next iteration.

Who AI Digest is looking for

• Has a portfolio of shortform videos that show strong storytelling and editing craft.
• Can work with a small team to identify narrative moments from research and turn them into video concepts.
• Is comfortable capturing footage from a website or other non-traditional sources, and iterating based on performance data.
• Has good epistemics: can figure out what is true while moving fast, and fits a culture of testing ideas and learning from results.

Tips for this application

• Submit 2-3 shortform videos you edited that show narrative or character-driven storytelling, not just highlight reels.
• In your application, explain how you would find a story from the AI Village and turn it into a shortform video concept.
• Mention any experience with AI image or video generation tools, since the job lists that as a nice-to-have.
• Show that you understand YouTube Shorts and other shortform platforms: include metrics or outcomes from past videos if possible.
• Address how you work with a creator or researcher to develop a concept, since the role is collaborative and you own editing.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your specific editing process for shortform narrative videos, from concept to final cut.', 'An example of a video you edited that reached a wide audience, with details on what you changed after publishing.', 'How you would identify a story from the AI Village that would work well in video.', 'Your experience with AI-generated visuals or footage capture from websites or interviews.']

Research before applying

• Read the AI Digest website and recent Substack posts to understand their current coverage of the AI Village.
• Look at the AI Village itself if it is public, and note any characters, events, or findings that could become video stories.
• Check AI Digest's Twitter and YouTube presence to see what shortform content they already have and what performs well.
• Find out who the Shortform Video Creator is and what style they use, so you can talk about how you would collaborate.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• Walk us through your editing process for a shortform video, from raw footage to final cut.
• How do you decide what story from a research project or community would make a good shortform video?
• Give an example of a video that did not perform well and what you changed in the next one.
• How do you capture footage from a website or other non-traditional source, and what tools do you use?
• What is your experience with AI image and video generation tools, and how would you use them for this role?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Submitting a general editing reel that does not include shortform or narrative-driven work.
• Talking only about software skills without showing how you find and shape a story.
• Ignoring the AI Village context and treating the job as a generic video editing role.