Posted: 15/08/2016
I’m Nigel and I’m a post production education student. I’m constantly bombarded with new technology and told to learn dozens of new workflows. This is normal for many students, but the growth of tech in the post-production industry is on another level. I’ve found myself asking: will it still be possible to keep juggling learning with getting my work done when I fully enter the industry? This has led me to question industry professionals.
I asked the industry, what is post production like?
Most agree that the video industry as a whole is a time pressured environment. They also agree that we’re expected to produce more now, in a shorter space of time than when they were my age. So the world moves faster now, it’s just how it is. People should just get used to it, right? That’s easy to say if you’re not expected to learn on the job. We are in the midst of a technology explosion, and we’re expected to keep up.
Where’s the time for Post Production Education?
I barely have time to make breakfast let alone learn a whole new piece of software! Even though I’m a post production education student, the demands of university still make it very difficult to practice new methods and workflows. If a full-time student doesn’t have time to keep up with tech, then how can a professional in the industry? It didn’t seem possible to me, so I asked around. The majority of industry professionals I talked to told me they spend minimal to no time actually training. This is a major issue.
Are we doomed??
It might seem like we as an industry are doomed to fail due to the success of our fellow software programmers. If post production education students like me don’t have time to learn then what hope is there?
Luckily a new kind of tech is on the rise: cloud-based software. There are multiple benefits to working with a cloud-based editor as opposed to without. Here are a couple major benefits of my favourite cloud-based editor, Forscene:
- You can access your work on any Mac or PC
- It doesn’t take up any storage space on your drive
- It works smoothly, with less chance of crashing
- It’s fast
- It’s pay as you go
- It’s ideal for collaborative projects
And most important of all it’s simple to use! It isn’t like a lot of other popular software I’ve used which require multiple lectures to really get used to using it.
Take the leap!
We editors are like samurai. The different software we use our swords. Right now we barely have time to sharpen them, yet the need for sharpening is growing at an exponential rate. Cloud-based editing is like a sword which stays smooth and sharp and is easy to pick up and start making cuts with right away. Quick to learn cloud-based software is the future of editing and I welcome it. I’ve changed my workflow and become more efficient. Will you make the leap to the cloud?
Blackbird is best-of-breed
Jon Hanford - Group CTO, Deltatre