I’m a member of the IMUG mailing list, which has lots of interesting discussions on media, gear, and life. This morning, Carey Dissmore, Principal of Carey Dissmore Productions, Inc. and a co-founder of the IMUG, sent out a post that I found so compelling, I wanted to share it with you. So, with Carey’s permission, here it is.

There’s nothing brand new or earth-shattering about stating that technology moves really fast in this business. It’s been true of computers and software for awhile but it’s now also true of cameras and video formats.

I’ve often stated about any piece of gear: “It will always do what it always did”, implying another cliché “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. But that only works in a world that is standing still, and today we’re in a world that is moving faster (and becoming more fragmented) than ever, from a technology point of view. It also only holds until something DOES break, and then you’re really screwed trying to get parts (or the high, ROI-insane cost of said repairs) for old gear.

Nowadays, it’s getting very difficult to buy a camera, much less a cell phone that is NOT high-definition. It’s also hard to find one that shoots tape. The complete transition to a high definition, tapeless world is pretty much complete, and has brought radical changes to how we all do our work–not always adding speed or efficiency. This transition has also added a whole lot of media-management responsibilities at every step of the production workflow, particularly at the front and back ends of it.

So far I haven’t said anything most of us don’t already know. But sometimes it’s just good to talk about it.

But here’s the point: There are definite sweet spots (windows in time) to own and use gear. Implying all else is sour. Perhaps that’s a little strong, but let’s explore this a bit.

Bleeding edge/Early adopters: The pain of early adopters generally centers around infant hardware death, driver issues and software bugs. Being an early adopter can be a competitive advantage but tends to be most suited to those who are savvy enough to provide their own support–shops that are small and savvy enough to be flexible in dealing with hiccups and work around issues that arise. These are generally people who are already pushing the limits of their current technology pretty hard and need all the faster/better they can muster. Or they’re just tech geeks, or both, like me

Both the single system owner and the large “sausage factory” ends of the production business can be really hurt by bleeding edge issues. What is a minor inconvenience for the folks above can be devastating. The single system owner has no alternative systems to work around the problem and the “sausage factory” mega-shop basically shuts down because the large staff of “working class” employees probably don’t have the training or the analytical & technical skills to work around issues. Result in either case: Production grinds to a halt.

(Almost) Everyone else: Just behind them is a broad swath of general adopters. Where exactly these folks fall on the adoption curve is determined by project and budgetary cycles, but they’re all still kind of “in the zone” with reasonably current gear.

Then there are the technology Luddites (both witting and unwitting)…

I’ll directly address the Mac users. In the Mac-centric video world we’ve been through a lot of changes in the past 5 years. We’ve been through the PCI to PCI-X to PCI-Express transition, which made a lot of us have to buy new video I/O boards. We’ve been through the PowerPC to Intel transition (software upgrades), (Snow Leopard as well). Rapidly changing and fragmenting standards in storage connectivity, the move to multicore, the move to 64 bit, the move to GPU-centric software. It’s a lot. Fall too far behind on eBaying the aging gear to flip to the new gear and this big ballooning monster of total obsolescence will build up and crush you. (aka “Unwitting Luddites”)

Upgrade decisions are often driven by how closely one’s ability to get clients and work is tethered to your ability to support the latest production standards. The hobbyist who makes side income has a completely different threshold than someone who’s entire livelihood depends on continuing to secure more work. And therein lies the rub, because the upgrade cycles have slowed down for everyone in this economy, while the progress of technology, formats, cameras, etc. has surged. This makes for some hard choices. Sometimes it feels like trying to outrun an avalanche, but it’s better than being buried by it.

But there definitely comes a point, despite one’s budgetary challenges causing delay of investment in new gear, where you are expending so much time and effort to bootstrap old gear, trying to make it work with current standards, while being unaware of how much of the tangible (and intangible) benefits are to be had with upgraded kit. Somewhere in that mix also lies opportunity cost of jobs you could be getting if it weren’t for old gear. Tough to manage it all sometimes, but this is a terrible place to find oneself.

That doesn’t mean I’m not all about “bang for the buck” aka “value for money” and “the right tool for the job”. There IS such a thing as overdoing it. Everyone’s needs are different. A honest assessment of the work you do (and are likely to get) is required to match the right gear to it. For example, there are a lot of people in production who would do well to look at iMacs on “value for money” standpoints. iMacs don’t have the expansion options of the MacPro towers, but can do a lot for less depending on the kind of work you do. They can also be great support systems as long as you already have one MacPro configured with the necessary video I/O, which nowadays is more about driving displays than capturing anyway.

Now please excuse me, I’ve got an avalanche to outrun!
Carey

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Thanks, Carey, for writing this and allowing me to share it. As always, I’m interested in your comments.

Larry

Recently, Philip Hodgetts began writing about “The Death of Advertising” in his blog. His thoughts resonated with me because, like many of us, I’m looking for ways to reach new customers, and to help other companies reach new customers through me.

Clearly, traditional audiences for print and broadcast media are melting away, along with ad budgets forced to contract in this recession. However, the need to find new customers for companies large and small does not go away, even when economic times are bad.

You can read Philip’s original blog here: What Will Replace Advertising?

Last Thursday, Philip was on the Digital Production BuZZ with further thoughts on this subject that I found interesting and want to share with you.

Click here to listen to Philip’s interview on The BuZZ. (TRT: 6:00 – 7.8 MB)

After the interview, Philip sent me a link to a presentation that provides more details, which you can view here.

I don’t doubt that Philip is correct – advertising is and must change. But here’s my problem with his proposed solution: as ads get woven more into the fabric of the communication – TV show, radio program, website – it becomes harder and harder to distinguish what is advertising and what is “programming.”

Let me give two specific examples from my personal experience. I believe that it is important for video production professionals to have access to (as best as can be obtained) unbiased opinions and reviews of products and technology. That what caused me to start my Final Cut Studio newsletter over six years ago, and continues as the driving force behind much of what I do in my writing, training, and broadcasting work today.

However, all of us need to eat, including me, so I’ve been contacting potential sponsors to see if there are ways we can work together. Their replies have been interesting.

Many want to rent my email list to create their own promotional blasts. However, my list is not for rent. Never has been. Never will.

Others want to pay for me to review products in my newsletter. However, any review that I write about is based either on gear that I’ve purchased, or which is loaned to me for the purposes of the review. I don’t accept payments for a review – that becomes a very slippery downhill slope.

I’m currently investigating a radio show focused on video production – but sponsors are unwilling sponsor unless I talk ONLY about their products. Or, include personal testimonials endorsing their products. This creates a VERY fine line between providing information and becoming a shill.

If I were doing entertainment programming – adding a product placement or creating a scene around a product – probably wouldn’t bother me, its only “entertainment” after all. But the situation changes as we move out of entertainment into information and news. Here, the changes Philip suggests don’t work as well.

How do we interest a sponsor in funding news that isn’t always good? How do we fund sources on the web that work hard to deliver meaningful information? If web ads don’t work, and I agree with Philip that their usefulness is very limited, what can we do to attract attention to sites that deserve it, as opposed to sites that are just making noise?

It is a very puzzling situation – one that I am still working to figure out. In fact, we are all trying to find answers to the marketing puzzle. I thought Philip’s thoughts were useful signposts along the way.

I actively encourage your comments and feedback, using the links below. As always, I love hearing from you.

Larry

= = =

UPDATE – Nov. 3, 2009

Philip Hodgetts sent me a new link that furthers the discussion on how we are going to collect, distribute, and pay for news. You can read it here:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/170942-the-future-of-journalism-is-entrepreneurial?source=feed

For me, the key phrase is in the second paragraph: “Advertising won’t be one-stop shopping anymore and that means it may support news less.” And the thought that if news becomes entrepreneurial, it becomes very, very easy for the large to intimidate the small. Imagine what would have happened during the McCarthy era if CBS News was a one-person operation run out of a basement. Or if the Washington Post was two-people, and no lawyers, looking into the Watergate break-in. Or, when Apple took on two rumor sites a couple of years ago for reporting gossip — in this last case, both sites stopped publishing.

What we are potentially losing is the balance of size and power necessary between the media and the companies, and governments, they report on. Big is not better – but it does make intimidation harder.

More things to think about.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know when I say that earning a living will be a challenge in 2009. In times like these, folks are saying “No!” first, then thinking about your question later.

So, today, while we have some time off, I wanted to share some ideas on how we can improve our business in this new year.

The first comes from an interview I did for tonight’s Digital Production BuZZ podcast, with Brent Altomare, founder of “Groovy Like A Movie”, a production company in San Diego. Unlike many of us, Brent started his company because he likes running a business, then discovered that production was what he liked doing. (In contrast, I discovered that I liked teaching and training, then started a business to allow me to do that.)

We spent time in the interview talking about the business of running a production company in this economy. We talked about what’s he’s done to grow his business and how he plans to respond to the economy going forward. I think you’ll find his ideas interesting and worth considering.

Here’s the link to listen to Brent’s comments. (TRT:17:21 6.7 MB)

Also on tonight’s show is an extended interview with Norman Hollyn, head of the Editing Track at the USC Film School, about improving the craft of editing. Plus, a discussion with our team of regulars — Philip Hodgetts, Michael Horton, Bruce Nazarian, Jonathan Handel, and Stacey Parks — discussing what we can expect in 2009.

You can hear the entire show tonight at 6 PM PST, or anytime after about 7:30 PM on iTunes. Click here for more information on tonight’s show!

Finally, for those looking for ways to grow, or maintain, revenue this next year, I’ve put together three half-hour illustrated lectures filled with ideas on how we can grow our business. The first show focuses on networking, client management, and looking for work. (Here are two tips from this first show that I share with my students: “Never ask for a job, ask for an opinion.” And, second, “The first person to mention money loses cash in the negotiation.” I explain these more in the programs.

The second show, hosted by Bill Frank, looks at techniques you can use to improve your marketing.

The third show, also hosted by Bill Frank, looks at ways you can improve your sales.

These three titles have been very popular these last few months, and they are especially relevant in today’s economy.

Here’s the link to Show 1 – Finding Work.

Here’s the link to Show 2 – Improving Marketing.

Here’s the link to Show 3 – Improving Sales.

Finally, as we recover from 2008 and move forward into 2009, Mike Horton’s comments from last week’s BuZZ can be reassuring. He said: “Creative people work best when there are challenges.” In which case, I’m expecting 2009 to be phenomenal!

I’m not telling you anything new to say times are tough. The problem is, we still need to pay the rent.

Last week, on the Digital Production BuZZ, I spoke with Steve Cone, author of “Powerlines: Words that Sell Brands, Grip Fans, and Sometimes Change History.”

We began by discussing tag lines – phrases that describe the unique benefits of a company. Steve shared a number of examples – both good and bad – from the large corporate world of Coke, American Express, and many others. It was fun listening to how many times “the big boys” screwed up.

But that didn’t help someone trying to market a small business, like a production or post-production company. So, I asked Steve for advice that would help smaller businesses improve their marketing. I was so struck by what he said, that I wanted to share it with you here.

Click here to listen to Steve’s comments (TRT: 4:29, 2.1 MB QuickTime movie).

Click here to listen to the entire interview.

Click here to learn about Steve Cone’s book.

Click here to learn more about the Digital Production BuZZ.