Posted: 30/11/2016
Very rarely do video professionals ever pose the question “what am I going to do with myself today?” More likely, you’ll find them saying things like “how on earth am I going to get everything done this month?!” In a recent survey we carried out, 90% of professionals are in agreement that the video industry is a time-pressured environment.
The ever-increasing amount of video projects piling up at production companies and agencies means editors, producers and edit directors are struggling to keep on top of the demands of clients. What’s more, production professionals are being given less time to complete video projects, or being asked to do more complicated shoots and edits without extra time allowances. This means more often than not, professionals have to work overtime to be able to keep on top of projects.
How is it that we’ve got to this point?
10 – 15 years ago, the video industry was a different place. Professionals didn’t exactly have all the time in the world to complete video projects, but there was certainly less pressure on them. Nowadays though, productions have low budgets but high shooting ratios, as well as the added burden to produce content for many different platforms, like television, OTT and social media. Moreover, with new technology emerging that has increased expectations for faster output – equipment advancements, high-speed data links and cloud-based storage and editing products – all these demands have put increased pressure on professionals in the industry.
What is the most time pressured part of the video industry?
Different video professionals will no doubt state that their job is the most time pressured. The respondents who we surveyed had a variety of roles within the industry – from cameramen to editors and production managers to graphic artists, and everyone has a good claim on their role being the most demanding on their time. Additionally, you might be surprised by some of the answers of what are the most frequent cause of delays on a production: 38.2% said technical difficulties with equipment caused them the most delays; 40.8% felt review and approval delays in post caused the most problems; and the biggest bugbear of all with a whopping 47.4% of people in agreement – issues with talent and on-camera availability!
So, with new advances in technology being developed all the time, is the situation only going to get worse? Take a look at the full results of our survey here and see how your production time (or lack of it) fares in comparison.
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Jon Hanford - Group CTO, Deltatre