-
please explain the new business model to me
-
[Bob Zelin] ” So lets say in 2018, we have the iPhone 8, which will be the same quality as today’s Blackmagic entry level camera (who knows, maybe better) – and you can store, and share to iCloud via h.265, so it will be fast. And every 23 – 24 year old – and I mean EVERY 23 – 24 year old knows how to use FCP-X, at least a little bit, not just people that studied video production in school. So, someone with an iPhone 8 and a Thunderbolt 3 Mac Pro, and a 350 Mb/sec internet connection can do everything that you can do”
If they can do what i can do, and they will work cheaper, then they should get my job. However I haven’t met too many kids who can do what I do. My biggest fear is losing the clients that can appreciate the difference. At my age, losing established clients to retirement and/or the mortuary is a much greater fear than worrying about the onslaught of younger competition. Young producers want to work with their peers, for the most part, not an AARP curmudgeon, so the real work is in trying to stay relevant. As a dig, I might also state that if all these young editors are learning FCPX, than I have nothing to worry about.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
[Herb Sevush] ” As a dig, I might also state that if all these young editors are learning FCPX, than I have nothing to worry about.”
Why? do you feel FCPX will somehow inhibit them creatively?
-
[Steve Connor] “Why? do you feel FCPX will somehow inhibit them creatively?”
Mostly I said that as a joke (a “dig.”) For the record, I don’t think X will inhibit anyone creatively. It might inhibit them commercially. For the moment, none of my shows are cut with X, none of the shows my freelance editors work on elsewhere are cut with X, none of the shows my producer friends in NYC work on are cut with X – but hey, as this thread is testament to, things change.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
Bob’s question is perfectly valid as we all hurtle into the future. It used to be that entry costs were barriers- remember buy a SD Sony 600 or equivalent for $40K and then a lens or two and some batteries, tripod etc?
Cost of entry has tumbled so a lot more people can get in and buy an amazing camera for a fraction of the price 20 years ago.
I’m a DP first and travel quite a bit for work especially the last few years. and have had occasion to hire crew all over the US. I can tell you that even with the lower cost of entry the talent pool is pretty thin in a lot of places, thinner than even I imagined it would be. Once you’re out of major markets, the amount of crew that is available for hire is pretty inexperienced or has largely done one thing as the basis of their professional experience. I’m talking shooting side now.On the editorial side the picture is a little different because even if you’re cutting wedding videos in Nashville, you’re getting seat time with the tools and can get pretty good at using them even though from a story perspective, you’re doing the same thing over and over again. One of the key things I have found about working in this business is getting experience in many different situations whether it is editing or shooting or what ever your chosen field of endeavour may be.Unfortunately this thing – widely varied experience in one’s chosen field is not easily bought. You have to make some horrible mistakes that might cost you a client or two a long the way, and you have to survive doing what you’ve chosen to do long enough to be compensated in away that is sustainable.
So while some barriers to entry have been lowered like the cost of an NLE license and some hardware to run it on, or the cost of a Canon C300 and some support gear, relative to what those things might have cost in the past, the time and persistence to acquire the skill set and business relationships to support oneself and make a decent living in the biz hasn’t really changed.
-
[Gary Huff] “I can see where you are coming from. That a professional might do it “better” is entirely subjective to the person making the money decision who may not have any taste. They may think that they got more than their money’s worth from a nephew who is just messing around than what they would have paid someone who has to make a living at it.
The final product may actually be inferior, but if the client ultimately does not care about the difference, then there’s nothing you can really do.”
Completely true! Over the years I’ve gotten horrible footage from vendors; green skin tones, yellowish tinted people, etc. In all of those situations I was able to fix or improve the picture, but I would also show the uncorrected footage to my coworkers and recommend that we not use those shooters again. Their usual response… “I don’t see the difference”.
Shawn
-
[Herb Sevush] “For the moment, none of my shows are cut with X, none of the shows my freelance editors work on elsewhere are cut with X, none of the shows my producer friends in NYC work on are cut with X – but hey, as this thread is testament to, things change.”
Yes, they do. Here’s a couple more X shows… https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/ae-and-lmn-to-revisit-o-j-simpson-trial-with-anniversary-specials-1201580206/
————————————————————-
~ My FCPX Babbling blog ~
~”It is a poor craftsman who blames his tools.”~
~”The function you just attempted is not yet implemented”~ -
Bob,
You answered your own question. Unless you are in features and TV, and even there the studios grind your rate to shreds– no negotiating anymore, you really can’t make a living.
I have people coming to me on the non-union jobs and they don’t want to even see my reel. They just want to know the rate– I call that rate trolling. They don’t want the best or even good, just the cheapest. Then they turn to someone else and say, ‘I found this guy who’ll do it for X, will you do it for X-50.’
We are competing with people who don’t know why or how to cut, but they have the tools so they are a DP or editor or fill in the blank. It’s just the wave of the future.
My 2¢
Warren Eig
O 310-470-0905email: warren@babyboompictures.com
website: https://www.BabyBoomPictures.comREEL: https://www.babyboompictures.com/BabyBoomPictures/Reels.html
For Camera Accessories – Monitors and Batteries
website: https://www.EigRig.com -
Just a muse on the cost of entry point – could it be that the lower cost of equipment is actually hurting startup businesses more than helping them because they don’t start to budget for the absolute minimum that a day of filming or editing would cost? If you’ve dropped £100k on cameras, lenses, edit equipment etc, would it protect your investment more by charging a fair amount or turning work down? Is it easier to shoot and edit for £200 per day if you have only invested £5k on all the equipment you own?
Co-owner at Pollen Studio
http://www.pollenstudio.co.uk -
[Warren Eig] “Unless you are in features and TV, and even there the studios grind your rate to shreds– no negotiating anymore, you really can’t make a living. “
Finally, someone gets it…
The fundamental misunderstanding here, that repeats itself over and over again, is NOT that the older guys here, myself included, are afraid of change and hate new technology, but simply that we have seen this business go from one where virtually anyone with talent could get rich, to one where almost no one can get rich.
There is no doubt the democratization of video and the tearing down of barriers to entry has benefited creativity and created many new opportunities, however, the older of us have been witnesses to (or victims of) the devaluation and commoditization of talent, which has made it far tougher for anyone in this industry to build and maintain a truly sustainable career.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist & Workflow Consultant
David Weiss Productions
Los AngelesDavid is a Creative COW contributing editor and a forum host of the Apple Final Cut Pro forum.
-
Well said, David!
Just the sad state of affairs…
Warren Eig
O 310-470-0905email: warren@babyboompictures.com
website: https://www.BabyBoomPictures.comREEL: https://www.babyboompictures.com/BabyBoomPictures/Reels.html
For Camera Accessories – Monitors and Batteries
website: https://www.EigRig.com
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up