Is there any time for CPD training anymore?

One of the biggest issues that came up time and time again in the survey was the problem of wanting to do more CPD training but not being able to afford it. Whether it’s learning new tech, going on management courses or completing advanced skills, there are many different aspects to CPD training. A lot of the respondents to our survey felt stung by the fact that they’re expected to complete training outside of work; with 44.4% stating they struggle to find the time and 35.9% not being able to cover the costs.   

So with this in mind, how do professionals keep up with developments in the video industry if they’re not doing CPD training? Most of those that we surveyed find out about new technology advancements by networking with industry peers (73.9%) and by reading trade publications (57.1%). Interestingly though, less than half the respondents (43.7%) said that they learn new technology by attending trade shows and exhibitions – perhaps a telling sign that these markets are saturated and overcome with so much tech that people don’t know where to begin or what to look at? Perhaps a discussion for another time.

Is online training the answer?

Back to the issue of not having enough time for CPD training; an alternative to attending courses is the emergence of online training to learn about new technology and skills. This takes away travelling time to get to courses and spending whole consecutive days dedicated to training as they can often be completed at a pace you want. Employers may also be more inclined to cover the costs too, if you’re willing to complete the course in your own time.

What do you think? Do you struggle to fit CPD training into your schedule? See the full results of our survey here.

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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?

The post Is Cloud-Based Editing Software the Future of Post Production Education? appeared first on Blackbird.

One of the areas where we pride ourselves within the education sector is that we offer the same expertise and professional workflow to the education sector as we do the industry. However, recognising the important investment in the future generation of editors, we invest our time in training and equipping our students in this solution, so that they are ready for industry.
There are a variety of workflows, however the two most common ones are:

• Camera ingest, then upload from laptop.
• Camera ingest, connect to networked storage (such as SAN, Edit Share, NAS or Avid ISIS) then upload using a Forscene ingest server installed on the campus or venue of choice.

With all of these different ways of working, it culminates in content being transcoded in the cloud. This system doesn’t need a high level of upload speed, around 1.5mbps connection will suffice, as 15:1 proxy versions of the original media are uploaded to the Forscene cloud instead of the original high-res source. Forscene supports a whole host of formats and there is a list of them available, should you be interested – just contact me.

What should you do if you need to do a final edit or use a third party NLE tool like Avid, Adobe or Final Cut? There are ways of exporting an AAF or XML from Forscene and conforming the original media for the finishing touches. The majority of our education clients use Avid, for example, and this is one way of relinking media within the Avid environment.

The process would involve ingesting an Avid MXF to Forscene. Forscene picks up and stores all the information needed to generate an AAF already linked to the source material in Avid Media Composer. It might be necessary to open a bin containing the material before it becomes visibly linked. Avid Media Composer stores separate tracks into separate files, and Forscene will re-combine these files into one item during it’s ingest. It will refuse to ingest and notify you if some of these files are missing:

1. Re-linked
i. Ingest to Forscene and ingest to Avid independently from camera source files.
ii. Generate AAF in Forscene and import it into Avid Media Composer. You have to relink the clips and sequence to the ingested material in Avid Media Composer, and that depends on reelname and disk label matching up. Some cameras generate (non-Avid) MXF files and these contain a unique ID for the media that Forscene uses.

2. Import workflow
i. Ingest to Forscene from camera source files and generate an AAF that relates to filenames of the material.
ii. Import AAF to Avid and then use “Bulk import” in Avid to ingest the material.
iii. At the moment Forscene only includes the filename, not the directory into the AAF, so be sure to set up multiple cameras to generate unique filenames!

3. Mixed
Any mix of the above as long as filenames and/or reelnames are the same.

One of our longstanding clients, Ravensbourne has successfully used Forscene to integrate within their pre-existing workflow and to maximise their infrastructure. From the aspect of the financial investment in Forscene, the level of results and impact felt by their students has been high, especially considering the low levels of investment when compared to other products on the market. The relatively low cost of the solution, is due to our investment in cloud technology that minimises the necessity for physical infrastructure.

If this has got you thinking about your own workflow, please contact me to see how Forscene can be integrated into your higher education institution.

Enoch

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Cloud-based video production with Forscene is useful to the Higher Education sector because it allows for multiple account users and easy sharing of clips. There’s a comment track for review, as well as a private chat window for quick support communication. Students can chat amongst themselves and discuss the direction of a particular edit or simply tell each other where to find or share certain rushes within their grouped account. You have control of your account with visibility and role management, so users can only see or use certain features in the editor. Using Forscene gives students a good introduction to the media industry, as they learn the fundamentals of logging, editing, review and search in an easy to use platform.

When students make that vital decision of selecting a particular College or University, it normally leans on what the course entails or whether it has the right resources, skills and training to equip them for a successful career upon graduation. Due to a high number of quality courses provided by renowned Higher Education Institutions, lecturers and course leaders are always looking to teach and equip students with intuitive, innovative and cutting edge tools. As a widely used Cloud-based Editing Platform in industry, Forscene seamlessly bridges the gap between learning the craft of editing and flexibility, whilst dispensing that knowledge.

Feedback from Higher Education Institutions

• “Forscene has proven to be a flexible, indispensible tool for teaching media students about video editing, and an integral part of our real-world approach to education” James MacDonald Associate Lecturer, Northumbria University
• “The students are still in awe that they can edit anywhere and anytime with Forscene as long as they have access to a web browser” Steve Keeler Director of Telecommunications and Electronic Media Programs, State University of New York (SUNY)

Also check out this video case study from Ravensbourne:

https://youtu.be/IJiZdNT0Md0

If you have any queries or want to find out about a tailored quote for your institution, please do contact me.

Enoch

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