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The shape of employment ads to come?
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[Bill Davis] “Someday, maybe it won’t matter where an editor is physically located — but today, it definitely still does. : )”
Not really. Over the last 5 years I’ve been cutting a broadcast show where the production is located in Virginia, and I’m in LA. Brief lull for 1 year as they had one series cancelled, but two more picked up. I simply send them a bin of the cut (this is Avid) and it automatically links up to media on their end and they can watch, or I upload a cut…whatever.
I have cut docs from home, and gone into the office only twice a week in Los Angeles. I know many editors who do the same.
The only shows that really require you be there are ones with TONS of shared media. And even then, there are exceptions to the rule.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[Bob Zelin] “And you are done. I mean – Bill – after all – you are paying for Gigabit ethernet, that is MORE than enough bandwidth to support this workflow !”
Oh, I get this perfectly. It’s just that the “Gigabit ethernet” service I’m paying for is currently delivering between 75.3Mbps and 175Mbps at my computers input port according to Speedtest.
The IDEA of high speed remote networking is wonderful. The reality, (at least for now) a bit less so.
I had no less than 3 escalating levels of technicians trying to suss out why the wall port showed 900Mbps and yet the minute anyone plugged an Ethernet cable in and ran a speed test at the end of it – it dropped to a third or worse of the promised speed.
At the end of the day replacing nearly every bit of copper wire, we got it up to 200-300 Mbps.
Ain’t technology fun?
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Neil Goodman] “since adoption rates of FCPX at least in the markets I look at are basically null”
Well, all I know is that 15 years ago, I bought a Honda Element to haul my production gear around. Before that, I hardly ever noticed them on the streets. The moment I became an Element driver, I started to see them everywhere. That’s just how it works.
Those 2.5 million X seats are out there somewhere. As are all the Premiere Pro seats. And the Resolve seats, too.
X editors can see plenty of X folk. Premiere users see plenty of other Premiere users. And AVID and Resolve folk surely perk their ears up and pay extra attention when they encounter that tool in use.
It’s what we ALL tend to notice.
Different strokes…
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Shane Ross] “Not really.”
On one level, I agree. It shouldn’t matter.
I have exactly the same clients I did last month, even tho I’ve moved 357 miles away from where used to live.
But for some clients, location still matters.
It’s probably why you still live and work in LA. It’s a huge industry HUB.
In the Phoenix/Scottsdale metroplex where I used to live, once upon a time 95% of my clients were in state. 15 years later – 95% of my clients were out of state.
I agree I could work from anywhere. But it still seems like being major media market adjacent will be a useful thing.
Location isn’t the only thing, certainly. But it’s still a thing. Maybe. We’ll see.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Herb Sevush] “Well then, happy birthday Bill.”
Thanks!
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Bill Davis] “Shane. If you’ve got budget enough for a SD to LA train ticket and maybe some couch space if it takes overnight – I’d be happy to come up for a day or two and see if I can ease you into X. “
I lack the time. I’m going to have to slowly ramp to it by using it for family videos, watching tutorials and the like befoer bed. I barely have time for the family vacation this week. But thanks
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[Neil Goodman] “To me thats the scariest thing about today’s Job market. Anyone can learn the menial tasks at home in their underwear for free.”
This line needs it’s own thread.
It’s a long way from when I started that’s for sure.
It’s never been easier to learn our trade and at the same time I have never seen more bad work. (and good work) Go figure.
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[Shane Ross] “I barely have time for the family vacation this week.”
Totally understand. But when you DO get around to looking at it, here’s some advice.
Maybe don’t go directly to concentrating X’s core timeline operations to start with, as you might with the typical NLE.
A lot of what makes X tick is how the entire system works together to make the video assembly process flow easier.
If you start with understanding how the program imports — not just content, but the metadata associated with the content — then allows you to add more metadata to frame ranges via it’s keyword system, eventually you’ll come to find that those prep stages are driving HUGE efficiencies into your eventual storyline work.
Even if at some point you have AEs to help with a lot of the prep stuff – understanding how the “system” works will really help you communicate with them about how you like things organized.
The database in X is a blank page. It values being customized for the specific needs of each project. Beginning X editors can get annoyed by having to do what they might see as “extra prep” that other NLEs didn’t need as much.
BUT – the best X editors come to understand that by developing their own organizational strategies that work best for how they think – they can hugely minimize the time between realizing they want a particular shot for insert in their story – and getting that done.
The more you work with the system, the more you’ll refine how you like to tag and call up your shots – and most of us find the the process gets faster and faster, smoother and smoother. Eventually, the distance between the THOUGHT that you’d like to try a different shot here – or a different shot order there – or maybe “that story block might be better a bit later” – becomes a “try it – assess it – keep or dump it” cycle that gets really short and easy.
That’s often when the real fun in X editing begins.
Good luck.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Bill Davis] “But for some clients, location still matters. “
This concept is dying off fast. 80-90% of my annual work is done from home and that’s been the case for me for several years.
You also don’t necessarily need 300mbps internet download speed in order to work remotely successfully. The real key is faster upload speed for the endless posting of versions.
I too would add that the example you used to highlight the FCPX paradigm shift is no different than any other job posting. The requirements of that post have become the default norm for every project I work on and it makes no difference if it’s a Premiere project or FCPX project.
One thing about your work situation Bill that seems different than many other freelancers is that you only use FCPX. What’s becoming more the norm is being well versed in multiple NLE programs and not siloing yourself off on just one.
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Adobe CC 2018 |Renders/cache: Samsung SSD 950 Pro x2 in Raid 0 | Media: Samsung SSD 960 PRO PCIe NVMe M.2 2280 | Media: OWC Thunderbay 4 x 2 Raid 0 mirrored with FreeFileSync -
I think the point was that the post did not want a CV, it was direct questions with an answer form. Long term, this kind of thing may have implications for many traditional asks. Nobody cares about the school – so maybe focus on which gives the best education. Nobody cares about the work history, so maybe don’t bother with those jobs that promise a great notch on your CV but don’t offer any decent skills stretch or paycheck.
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