If there is one thing that we’ve learned in history, it’s the fact that when things get tough, great ideas and innovations arise. This familiar scenario is the one that happened for medical science during WWII or when 12,000 writers went on strike for higher pay in 2007, made it possible for unscripted reality TV shows to come on board. So such developments happen because it is necessary to find a new way. And now because of the coronavirus pandemic during the strange and challenging year of 2020, the same thing happened for the media and entertainment industry to make 2021 the beginning of a new era for our industry. So let’s have a look at the industry challenges in 2020 to better understand how it will change from now on.
2020 As The Catalyst For Change
Well, first, there was a virus, the antagonist, called COVID-19, that caused everything to shut down. Movies, TV shows, concerts, you name it. Little by little, everyone in the world had to go home and stay there. So when things got tough, people from the entertainment industry started thinking about an alternative way to make their media product so the first question was how can we work together without being together? It was then that the first waves of homemade shows, online meetings, and remote collaboration got replaced by anything that contained physical presence and made it possible to continue working. But now the question was not about the how of remote collaboration, but the means of online collaboration and it was exactly at that time that new online collaboration workflow and platforms for post-production that are built around this type of workflow, reintroduced themselves to the industry to show that the benefits of online video workflow are not only good for the time of social distancing, but they are the engine of a completely innovative workflow that enhances the way media products are produced. So even shows begin to write, shoot and edit the content totally from home.
The New Cloud-Based Video Production
It was at that time that people like editors and colorists started thinking: oh wait a minute! Does that mean from now on, we can always work with our team from another location or timezone no matter what?
And then directors and producers asked themselves: wait a minute! Does that mean we can hire post-production team members from anywhere we want no matter what?
And the answer to all that is YES. 2020 pushed us to the future of post-production and filmmaking in general, to experience a new video production workflow that is powered by cloud technology and results in way more flexibility for post-production and also saving a lot of time and money for the whole film crew.
Technologies That Help Online Post-Production Workflow
Although it was the cloud technology that caused the new online post-production workflow to be born, other types of new technologies are going to help to change the game even more. For example, the spread of the 5G network is one of the technological advances that’s going to help cloud-based collaboration work much faster than before. Or the direct internet connectivity of cameras that’s becoming a new valuable feature for the camera manufacturers and is going to enhance the remote video editing workflow much more. Just imagine uploading your footage directly from the camera to the cloud servers with 5G speed. Yeah, boom!
So what we know for 2021 is that from now on, films are going to be shot in different locations while the post-production team and even producers or studio managers can review the shots on the same day from anywhere in the world. It means the post-production team doesn’t have to be in the same room in post-production houses working together at the same time to make quality films but instead they can be as flexible as they want.
Now that we look at 2020, we’re not so upset about the things that happened for our industry, because we know it’s something that is going to shape our future and lead the industry in a better direction.
