[Jim Wiseman]

[Oliver Peters] “So far the best job opportunities are in digital media. These are programs that not only teach production, but also branding, marketing, and advertising concepts. The idea is to develop well-rounded graduates that can develop strategies. Some of which includes production, but some of which may involve print, web, or social media campaigns. Other than a few traditional markets doing film and TV, that’s what I see as more future-proof in other markets.”

I think you have hit the nail on the head here, Oliver. There was a reason I named my corp DIgitalMedia Hawaii/Pacific, Inc. 20 plus years ago and not Hawaii Video Production or some such encumbering name . If you really want to make it on an economic level, the future communicators (what we currently are and these new folks hope to be) will need to have skills beyond those required by TV and theatrical release. Your enumeration is spot on. We at least need to understand how to integrate people who know these disciplines into a package worth much more than we can make on a daily rate editing or shooting. It is becoming a much larger ball game. There will be a few who can do it on their own, but not many.

I believe, however, that you use the best people and equipment you can afford in production of original and edited material. You never know where this media might end up or be of worth. Regarding the use of iPhones, etc., they will be used when spontaneity is prime or nothing else was there to get the shot. But if there is a budget, I will always choose the best that is affordable, equipment and operators, within budget reality. None of that has changed in the last 100 years. But I do keep my iPhone in my pocket and remember to shoot horizontally.

Jim Wiseman
Sony PMW-EX1, Pana AJ-D810 DVCPro, DVX-100, Nikon D7000, Final Cut Pro X 10.2.1, Final Cut Studio 2 and 3, Media 100 Suite 2.1.6, Premiere Pro CS 5.5 and 6.0, AJA ioHD, AJA Kona LHi, Blackmagic Ultrastudio 4K, Blackmagic Teranex, Avid MC, 2013 Mac Pro Hexacore, 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM, 2-D500, Helios 2 w 2-960GB SSDs: 2012 Hexacore MacPro 3.33 Ghz, 24Gb RAM, GTX-680, 960GB SSD: Macbook Pro 17″ 2011 2.2 Ghz Quadcore i7 16GB RAM 250GB SSD, Multiple OWC Thunderbay 4 TB2 and eSATA QX2 RAID 5 HD systems

[Jim Wiseman]

I understand, Aindreas. But for my situation, doing docs, no mograph or very little, ownership is way more important. Just can’t hand it over to Adobe, even if they sent Walter Murch over to do the editing. Although the conversation might be splendid. I really am committed to fighting this rental or it’s gone model. You are doing something way different than I am, and for you it might be worth it. I’m going to be working on these for years, and just can’t see giving that big a chunk to Adobe for something that I already own can do well. I have a feeling there are others like me. If I must, I’ll continue to learn X. Honestly, Media 100 could do what I need. Really hoping Resolve will save us from the clutches of Mr. Burn the Boats, but I have reached a point where I just need to get to work and not worry about the rug being jerked out. Must be my rebellious American soul. Boston Tea Partyish. Love mixed metaphors.

Jim Wiseman
Sony PMW-EX1, Pana AJ-D810 DVCPro, DVX-100, Nikon D7000, Final Cut Pro X 10.2.1, Final Cut Studio 2 and 3, Media 100 Suite 2.1.6, Premiere Pro CS 5.5 and 6.0, AJA ioHD, AJA Kona LHi, Blackmagic Ultrastudio 4K, Blackmagic Teranex, Avid MC, 2013 Mac Pro Hexacore, 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM, 2-D500, Helios 2 w 2-960GB SSDs: 2012 Hexacore MacPro 3.33 Ghz, 24Gb RAM, GTX-680, 960GB SSD: Macbook Pro 17″ 2011 2.2 Ghz Quadcore i7 16GB RAM 250GB SSD, Multiple OWC Thunderbay 4 TB2 and eSATA QX2 RAID 5 HD systems

[Jim Wiseman]

By writing apps and working for Google. 😉

Jim Wiseman
Sony PMW-EX1, Pana AJ-D810 DVCPro, DVX-100, Nikon D7000, Final Cut Pro X 10.2.1, Final Cut Studio 2 and 3, Media 100 Suite 2.1.6, Premiere Pro CS 5.5 and 6.0, AJA ioHD, AJA Kona LHi, Blackmagic Ultrastudio 4K, Blackmagic Teranex, Avid MC, 2013 Mac Pro Hexacore, 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM, 2-D500, Helios 2 w 2-960GB SSDs: 2012 Hexacore MacPro 3.33 Ghz, 24Gb RAM, GTX-680, 960GB SSD: Macbook Pro 17″ 2011 2.2 Ghz Quadcore i7 16GB RAM 250GB SSD, Multiple OWC Thunderbay 4 TB2 and eSATA QX2 RAID 5 HD systems

[Jim Wiseman]

I dropped that years ago, Gary. And it was a lot less than $2500. Last time Production Premium was an under $400 upgrade. CS6. Still working what, three years later, though I don’t really use anything other than Photoshop and Audition very occasionally. No future in Premiere for me.

Jim Wiseman
Sony PMW-EX1, Pana AJ-D810 DVCPro, DVX-100, Nikon D7000, Final Cut Pro X 10.2.1, Final Cut Studio 2 and 3, Media 100 Suite 2.1.6, Premiere Pro CS 5.5 and 6.0, AJA ioHD, AJA Kona LHi, Blackmagic Ultrastudio 4K, Blackmagic Teranex, Avid MC, 2013 Mac Pro Hexacore, 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM, 2-D500, Helios 2 w 2-960GB SSDs: 2012 Hexacore MacPro 3.33 Ghz, 24Gb RAM, GTX-680, 960GB SSD: Macbook Pro 17″ 2011 2.2 Ghz Quadcore i7 16GB RAM 250GB SSD, Multiple OWC Thunderbay 4 TB2 and eSATA QX2 RAID 5 HD systems

[Jim Wiseman]

Read the first paragraph again. Self explanatory. Competition from new usually younger people is going to limit our income. Rental is bad for those whose cash flow is limited or sporadic. New people coming in creates pressure on older users whose earning power is going down because of changes in the marketplace, forced layoff, and eventual retirement from commercial work. With competition willing to work for little or nothing, we are not as likely to be in a position to keep renting for access. Because the new arrivals are not as likely to be able to afford the initial capital investment required by Perpetual License software, a $50 a month rental seems cheap. These are the legions of new users being discussed in this thread. I have already made that initial investment and could continue to use my perpetually licensed software as long as necessary, upgrading when necessary for a reasonable amount. I was then in a better position to compete with these new arrivals in the market. Definitely on topic.

I want to work with software that will work for multiple years, as long as my computer systems will support it. I am invested in such systems. When competition in the marketplace cuts your business income drastically (Bob’s fear) and you may even face retirement or layoff, your cash flow can drop to Social Security plus savings. Even though you have the personal work you really cared about all those years when you had to work commercially, the opportunity to finish it is practically stolen from you by forced rental because your software stops working without a payment which you can no longer afford. Perpetually licensed software would keep working.

And definitely on topic: That is why I am leaning toward FCPX (the debate of which is in the title of this forum) or other software with a perpetual license, say Media 100, which I own, or new software like Resolve. I still like the track metaphor as well.

I’m eliminating Adobe software from my workflow. At least until they come up with a perpetual license once again. The topic Bob started is a large part of my reasoning. I just want my software to keep working without constant financial pressure. Then I can remain competitive with my own current clients and will also be able to finish my own long put off personal projects. Quite simple.

Jim Wiseman
Sony PMW-EX1, Pana AJ-D810 DVCPro, DVX-100, Nikon D7000, Final Cut Pro X 10.2.1, Final Cut Studio 2 and 3, Media 100 Suite 2.1.6, Premiere Pro CS 5.5 and 6.0, AJA ioHD, AJA Kona LHi, Blackmagic Ultrastudio 4K, Blackmagic Teranex, Avid MC, 2013 Mac Pro Hexacore, 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM, 2-D500, Helios 2 w 2-960GB SSDs: 2012 Hexacore MacPro 3.33 Ghz, 24Gb RAM, GTX-680, 960GB SSD: Macbook Pro 17″ 2011 2.2 Ghz Quadcore i7 16GB RAM 250GB SSD, Multiple OWC Thunderbay 4 TB2 and eSATA QX2 RAID 5 HD systems

[Jim Wiseman]

Glad you are young enough for this not to make any difference to you. I think it goes straight to Bob’s point. Thanks for the reiteration, but you left out the first paragraph.

Jim Wiseman
Sony PMW-EX1, Pana AJ-D810 DVCPro, DVX-100, Nikon D7000, Final Cut Pro X 10.2.1, Final Cut Studio 2 and 3, Media 100 Suite 2.1.6, Premiere Pro CS 5.5 and 6.0, AJA ioHD, AJA Kona LHi, Blackmagic Ultrastudio 4K, Blackmagic Teranex, Avid MC, 2013 Mac Pro Hexacore, 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM, 2-D500, Helios 2 w 2-960GB SSDs: 2012 Hexacore MacPro 3.33 Ghz, 24Gb RAM, GTX-680, 960GB SSD: Macbook Pro 17″ 2011 2.2 Ghz Quadcore i7 16GB RAM 250GB SSD, Multiple OWC Thunderbay 4 TB2 and eSATA QX2 RAID 5 HD systems

[Jim Wiseman]

The answer is to find a niche and be the best. Who thought it would be easy? As more people have tools it gets more difficult. Sorry, you just have to be good with talent, smelling out opportunities, and getting the tools. People will always want to watch something good, and you have GOT to be flexible enough to see the opportunities. That may matter most after you get some chops down. And don’t be afraid of things you haven’t had complete experience with. FCPX comes to mind. iPhones, Apps. It is always a new world out there, every day, if you want to stay in the game. At some point you will have to invent your own semi self-contained game without as much commercial potential. Aging is inevitable.

May I make the observation that the older we get, the more threatening the rental model is? If you are working on the projects you consider your legacy, can you really afford to be paying monthly for your software to keep your projects alive? I have been lucky, I have gotten to this point in my life and career (yes, I still have one,fortunately) where future cost REALLY matters. If I have to pay constantly to keep my projects alive, then it will all not be finished, as my ability to keep projects going will exceed my income. I have made a very good living being on the cutting edge since the early’70’s. First broadcast video on PortaPaks by Sony and on from there. Being on the cutting edge with talent is the only way to make a decent living or even a VERY GOOD one, but you need to own your business.

But now it is time for me to catch up with the editing of a LOT of important video footage I’ve shot and photos I’ve taken that need fine art printing (paper is still the best storage format for photos, HDs go poof without curation, same with video). We’re talking a gallery in London that wants my Jimi Hendrix, Dead, Stones photos, and that is just the R&R. Historic video footage of Pacific island cultures, video synthesizer work, etc.

Just don’t take away the tools I thought I already had to squeeze a few more bucks out of me. That is what makes me angry. Guess I should have been in something more mature, like wood working.

Jim Wiseman
Sony PMW-EX1, Pana AJ-D810 DVCPro, DVX-100, Nikon D7000, Final Cut Pro X 10.2.1, Final Cut Studio 2 and 3, Media 100 Suite 2.1.6, Premiere Pro CS 5.5 and 6.0, AJA ioHD, AJA Kona LHi, Blackmagic Ultrastudio 4K, Blackmagic Teranex, Avid MC, 2013 Mac Pro Hexacore, 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM, 2-D500, Helios 2 w 2-960GB SSDs: 2012 Hexacore MacPro 3.33 Ghz, 24Gb RAM, GTX-680, 960GB SSD: Macbook Pro 17″ 2011 2.2 Ghz Quadcore i7 16GB RAM 250GB SSD, Multiple OWC Thunderbay 4 TB2 and eSATA QX2 RAID 5 HD systems

[Jim Wiseman]

Too bad Premiere CS6 was the last version to not require perpetual rental with your projects going “poof” when you quit paying. Otherwise keep forking it over to Mr. Burn the Boats like some hypnotized lemming. Won’t be getting to try that CC 2015 experiment.

I work for myself, a corporation of one. Fortunately, I get to make my own decisions for this company. Prejudice clearly stated.

Jim Wiseman
Sony PMW-EX1, Pana AJ-D810 DVCPro, DVX-100, Nikon D7000, Final Cut Pro X 10.2.1, Final Cut Studio 2 and 3, Media 100 Suite 2.1.6, Premiere Pro CS 5.5 and 6.0, AJA ioHD, AJA Kona LHi, Blackmagic Ultrastudio 4K, Blackmagic Teranex, Avid MC, 2013 Mac Pro Hexacore, 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM, 2-D500, Helios 2 w 2-960GB SSDs: 2012 Hexacore MacPro 3.33 Ghz, 24Gb RAM, GTX-680, 960GB SSD: Macbook Pro 17″ 2011 2.2 Ghz Quadcore i7 16GB RAM 250GB SSD, Multiple OWC Thunderbay 4 TB2 and eSATA QX2 RAID 5 HD systems

[Jim Wiseman]

At $299 for FCPX, software that will always work on my system, force away, Apple. Even with Motion and Compressor thrown in for $49.99 each I’m up and running for $400 dollars, with free updates, so far. No rental, my projects will always open. I can stand that kind of coercion, especially since that is my platform of choice. Rental makes absolutely no sense for me.

Jim Wiseman
Sony PMW-EX1, Pana AJ-D810 DVCPro, DVX-100, Nikon D7000, Final Cut Pro X 10.2.1, Final Cut Studio 2 and 3, Media 100 Suite 2.1.6, Premiere Pro CS 5.5 and 6.0, AJA ioHD, AJA Kona LHi, Blackmagic Ultrastudio 4K, Blackmagic Teranex, Avid MC, 2013 Mac Pro Hexacore, 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM, 2-D500, Helios 2 w 2-960GB SSDs: 2012 Hexacore MacPro 3.33 Ghz, 24Gb RAM, GTX-680, 960GB SSD: Macbook Pro 17″ 2011 2.2 Ghz Quadcore i7 16GB RAM 250GB SSD, Multiple OWC Thunderbay 4 TB2 and eSATA QX2 RAID 5 HD systems

[Jim Wiseman]

Or have as much incentive as Adobe’s forcing rental of CC on us. That has been a big incentive for me to learn FCPX and look forward to Resolve. Adobe, for me, is no longer an option.

Jim Wiseman
Sony PMW-EX1, Pana AJ-D810 DVCPro, DVX-100, Nikon D7000, Final Cut Pro X 10.2.1, Final Cut Studio 2 and 3, Media 100 Suite 2.1.6, Premiere Pro CS 5.5 and 6.0, AJA ioHD, AJA Kona LHi, Blackmagic Ultrastudio 4K, Blackmagic Teranex, Avid MC, 2013 Mac Pro Hexacore, 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM, 2-D500, Helios 2 w 2-960GB SSDs: 2012 Hexacore MacPro 3.33 Ghz, 24Gb RAM, GTX-680, 960GB SSD: Macbook Pro 17″ 2011 2.2 Ghz Quadcore i7 16GB RAM 250GB SSD, Multiple OWC Thunderbay 4 TB2 and eSATA QX2 RAID 5 HD systems