The Video Boom - Growing Fast

In the 90's we saw the internet come to life. From 1995 - 2006 we saw real estate go to the roof.

But i think that video since the advent of YouTube is the new boom. Its just now starting to be considered in areas that previously used print. Also its usage growth has increased by at least 35% every year since 2003.

Now we find ourselves at a cross roads were video is ahead of the net. Net resources are being taxed because of the amount of video on the web is pushing sales and capacity.

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Technology
Internet

Video boom threatens to gridlock the internet

Online video and streaming TV are draining the internet's capacity and clogging its copper arteries. David Smith, Technology Correspondent, reports on an impending global snarl-up on the information superhighway... read more

At Cisco, Online Video Boom Helping Router Sales

It shouldn?t come as a surprise, but the online video boom is helping Cisco Systems sell a lot of its top-of-the-line CRS-1 routers.

The San Jose-based router and switch maker said that the total global cumulative shipments of CRS-1 Routers have doubled in less than nine months, rising from a total of 900 units shipped through June 2007 to more than 1,800 units shipped through March 2008. This shouldn?t come us a surprise. It was back in June 2007 that irst signs started to point to video (any kind of IP video) as the savior for Cisco....... read more

Global video boom, local underpinnings

Cambridge firms vie for position
By Robert Weisman, Globe Staff | July 11, 2007

CAMBRIDGE -- Millions of Internet videos are being recorded worldwide, from the beaches of Rio de Janeiro to the US campaign trail. They're popping up on laptops, cell phones, and desktop computers everywhere.....read more


I think that it will be video, net techs and green jobs that refuel the economy in the US and other places. Eventually most parts of the world will be on live feed for security purposes.

And what even crazier we are just 1 codec and 1 internet bandwidth upgrade from the moment most of us editors become video millionaires.

I just want to know what you guys think about the Video Boooooom.

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

[news.bbc.co.uk]

Peter

idustrial revolution

There are at least two interesting trends-- the internet TV boom and the feature documentary boom. People enjoy seeing real life on the big screen and the small screen.

How to model business on either is the rub.

- Loren
Today's FCP keytip:
Set Video In & Out separate from Audio with Control I & O !

Final Cut Studio 2 KeyGuide? Power Pack.
Now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com

Thats exactly what i think. It was no coincidence that apple tv was launched. I saw that as the 3rd choice after cable and satellite tv.

Add Vonage to the mix and now the net delivery systems almost have to be beefed up. Both upload and download speeds have to be nearly doubled. Imagine a home with Vonage , Apple TV, and 2 or 3 surfers. That is what the future of households will be.

Servers holding video are just fine as far as i know but a server that can not access more bandwidth is the problem. the cables that carry the data is what is lagging systems world wide.

Korea i believe has 100% T1 access thru-out the entire country and run on hi capacity fiber optics. so where i am paying 52 bucks for 6.0 dsl service they are paying half of that for 8.0 and better T1.

my website froze last year due to traffic and bandwidth issues. at that time i only had 20 vids on the site. I am 80% done with my new website abd it will have about 45 vids on it to start.

YouTube has the highest capacity video server in the world but when they decide to go for the cable users markets they will need to upgrade also.


The usage of video is nowhere near a peak. if the peak is 10 then we are at 6 right now.

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

The rise of the internet is an interesting topic. As an internet (free choice) vs broadcast (authoritative voice). I remember the days when it was looked upon as a way to sell your product to the world. Some places saw it as an alternative to mainstream media, a true democratic world, where people are no longer told what to listen to. And i remember bumming around kronosonic.com, which was an online forum for fringe musicians, and some of those guys were good! There were discussions on the black hole, some pretty avant garde theories, along with music... But effectively, the internet as a new way to reach the average consumer, was not to be. The internet overwhelmed the consumer with choice, and an overabundance of it may not necessarily be a good thing. Instead of having an authoritative voice tell you what the best song is (billboards), you are now allowed to judge millions of songs to determine which ones you like. Kronosonic.com eventually folded after releasing an album which i recall didn't exactly assume supernatural sales. The verdict is that people still need an authoritative voice to tell them what to watch, what to listen to, what clothes to wear, etc. It will be interesting to see what this new authoritative voice becomes in the next 10 years.

As for the future of video... Let's look into music. For quite a while, there are dolby 5.1 systems, DVD audio at 96kbs/24 bits, but yet, the biggest format in today's age, isn't a higher quality format, but rather, a lower quality format- mp3. The result of mp3s, isn't to increase the quality of studio recordings, but it works the other way. The better your speakers the better the format, the more noticeable the difference in recording quality. The mp3 generation spawned millions of online 'garage' bands; the proliferation of online piracy which has yet to be resolved since the 1980s (is it viable to shell out money to buy music in a lower end format?); the "big 5" became the "big 4" with the merger of Sony and BMG with rumours of an EMI merger, effectively making it the "big 3" in the long run. Even though online sales is increasing, the music business is changing. Will music ultimately be as profitable to record companies as they have been, in the long run? Effectively over the last 40 years or so, it has been about 10% of bands generating enormous profits for the major record labels. The other 90% fades into obscurity. With the advent of the digital era, garage bands are making headway in an never-before-seen rampage. Many of them are unlikely to see the success of their predecessors, some will be heard, but it also likely means a shrinking of the big studios, at the expense of indie bands. This is largely due to the nature of the medium and the affordability of digital recording equipment.

Video and film, with their differences. Will it head into the same straits as the music industry? The CD is based on technology built in the 70s, the cinema experience has remained largely unchanged in the last 80 years. With iMovie, and various consumer cameras being more affordable for the average consumer what will the bearing be for the video editor of the future? Already we are seeing the face of video editing change in many circles- the rise of the NLEs are making the KEM a part of history... Will Blu-ray survive, or will it assimilate the same fate of DVD audio, being unable to replace it's predecessor the CD? Of course, shooting a video requires substantially more people and resources than recording an album. Next to that, one of the main income of networks is via advertisements, but that is broadcast. The internet operates on a different scale, with different results. Will editors of the future be required also to do website designing?

Here's an old article on Mark Cuban's website.
[www.blogmaverick.com]

Quote
stypes
Will editors of the future be required also to do website designing?

Yes and that would be a heavier educational load that a person has to assume to be a editor. Right now i design my own website, media materials, music and video productions. I dont have to sell as much as last year but still i do that to.
An editor needs to wear many hats and once those hats are broken in then its time to get a new one. I still have 3 apps to learn (C4D, Adobe CS3, Maya) before my editing is a complete arsenal.

Quote
stypes
Already we are seeing the face of video editing change in many circles- the rise of the NLEs are making the KEM a part of history...

This is only partly true. Though the NLE is giving novice a chance to edit, most of them will not take the proper steps to educate themselves on technique and additional apps.
Once they start seeing the math and science of editing, most of the just playing around editors will stop there. The amount of apps you must learn to be a truly effective editor is another mountain to climb. And as shane often reminds me video editing is expensive. Even with cheaper apps you still are in the realm of 15 - 25k to get geared up ( not including footage buys, rentals, contractors and peripheral apps ).
You really have to like editing to do it at a pro level. It has to be somewhat of a calling.

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

>The amount of apps you must learn to be a truly effective editor is another mountain to climb.

Hmmm... that depends in large part on how you define "a truly effective editor". I think perhaps "editor" is the misnomer here.

For a relative newcomer looking to be as widely employable as quickly possible, expecting or intending to set up as a one man personal production studio, or to freelance in a saturated market and therefore needing to compete against an already established and more experienced workforce, perhaps against others with better but smaller skill sets ... in that sense it may make you more employable, especially to smaller shops, or (frankly speaking) cheaper clients, but I don't see it making one a more effective "editor".

That said, there's no argument with the ethic J, none at all.

i guess i have been a one man band too long. However, i will say that the 2 - 10 man crew is getting payed big these days. Guinness used a small shop for the brilliant ads. Cavemen against Gieco was a less than 12 man idea.

As the long term contracts wear out you will find companies looking for less bloated shops. At least in my market i see it happening. Sorta like what's happening in music. Large companies are really just finding smaller do it all labels, giving them a consultant for marketing and a budget equal half of what they were spending on the old school practices.

I will say that the full length motion picture still has massive crews and rightfully so. They have to fill 75+mins with nearly flawless performances. However when looking at the short/long commercials it doesn't take 50 people to make that happen.

So, since there are 5x as many commercials as entertainment i think the smaller shop with good clients and multifaceted people isn't that bad of a choice. I have a friend who started a 7 man shop in Chicago like 4 years ago. He spent 200k staying alive for the first 2 years ( he made like 1/3 of that ). Now he is starting to move into clients with 5 - 6 digit budgets and just purchased that largest flat i have ever seen ( have only seen about 4 flats though ).

I guess i don't know how people in large zillion dollar companies do things in relationship to workflow. I know that having the latest technology and best cam-men would be a wet dream for me.

I have always pictured big company editors as having less space for creativity and a lot of money (200k Plus). I also think that those editors are better versed because of those creative restriction. They have to find smoother ways to get their digs and tricks into the production. They have company backing to further their edit education in a lot of cases. But i am only speculating their position. I could be completely incorrect about it.

I have always wanted to work in a situation like that but i cant walk away from money for 0 dallars to get in the door. If they could pay i would know buy now.

Even so, video is the next big thing and somehow everyone in it who put their heart into is about to get paid.

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

>Yes and that would be a heavier educational load that a person has to assume to be a
>editor. Right now i design my own website, media materials, music and video productions.

There has been ongoing debates about the role of an editor. Are editors supposed to do motion graphics, offline, online edits and audio mixing? Where i come from, I see students coming out from media schools, and these guys know how to use Adobe Illustrator, 3D max, Final Cut, Dreamweaver, Pro Tools, etc... but then again, having seen how some of their works. Many of these guys have no inkling what the French New Wave was, or have a firm grasp on storytelling techniques, or a good understanding of the post production workflow. And frankly, i don't consider someone an editor unless they fully grasp the aesthetics behind cutting a film. And as Derek mentioned some time ago, he knows of AE/FCP editors who would spend time polishing up an effect when the content isn't right. There's a difference between working in a big set up and a small one.

In a larger set up, you're free to concentrate on a particular aspect of a workflow (eg. script logging for the loggers, assemble editing, fine cutting, graphics, etc). but in a smaller set up, your roles are usually expandable- besides logging and digitizing, you'll do the assemble, the fine cutting, some cases, motion graphics, color correction, mastering... So, when you place yourself as a colorist vs someone who has been doing nothing but color correcting for the past 8 years, you're likely to come off much worse as a colorist. But if he was to run his own post production show, he's unlikely to be able to deliver a complete product by himself.

As for wearing many hats, I believe the only guy who's a known guru in 2 fields, is Walter Murch (both sound and film editing). It's hard to understand all the aesthetics across the broad spectrum of Media.

Frankly, although editing gear is expensive, the price has dropped drastically over the years, the same with audio equipment. Years ago, you'll shell out 10k just get that Lexicon reverb, and 6 digits for an open reel recorder. Today, a Logic Pro system costs just a fraction of on open reel recorder. Video equipment? remember the days of the old Avid system? The effect is that it makes entering the market a lot easier. Of course, this also means that there is likely more entry level companies and professionals than would otherwise be the case.

I don't think I would be afraid of working for 0. I'm willing to go for that the moment i can.