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Fifteen years ago, the nonlinear revolution swept through post production, first with tape-based systems and later with digital versions. Most editors wondered if they would make it through the transition with careers intact. We've now largely digested that revolution. But just when you thought it was safe to settle in, a series of technological changes are ushering in a second phase. I participated in two seminars this November that together highlighted the speed at which this second revolution is taking place. Quantel held a two-day symposium at the DGA featuring a series of panels on the rapid evolution of post-production workflows. And on the night that event closed, the Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA) sponsored a discussion on the changes that the post industry will be facing in the coming years. (See Tech/News) Three technologies -- 24P video, digital intermediate and high-speed networking -- are all starting to mature. Many new TV shows this season are being shot on 24P, a growing number of features are using digital intermediate to give cinematographers an expanded visual palette, and more and more shows are seeing dailies delivered over a wire. Film probably isn't going away soon as an acquisition (i.e. production) medium, but for many features it may go away as a viewing medium, with HD video used for dailies, editing and previews, and digital mastering replacing negative cutting and film timing. We're going to need new tools to do this, and a host of manufacturers are busy creating and refining them. It's not yet clear how these changes will affect Guild members. For example, will the post house of the future absorb some of the assistant editor's job, digitizing or transferring camera originals directly to disk? Or, as tape is replaced with inexpensive hard drives, and full-resolution materials become easier to manage, will syncing and transfer move back to the cutting room, along with some functions now done in online, leaving post houses with less to do? No one knows yet -- but I suspect the answer will be a little of both. Many of the predictions made in the early '90s about the non-linear revolution didn't turn out to be true. It seemed like non-linear tools would make our lives easier -- but, in fact, they made our work much more complex. Moving to fully digital post production is going to entail some of the same changes. It probably won't be simpler or much cheaper. But it will produce greater flexibility and speed, and it will allow us to put a new level of polish on our work. Our challenge as editors and as a union is the same: to learn as much as possible so that we can make the technology work for us -- and work for us creatively. We've done very well in the digital revolution so far, and our union has grown into a modern organization with a great deal of influence. Other groups are just now beginning to tackle some of the technical hurdles that we've largely overcome. But we can't be complacent. We succeeded in the first phase of the revolution -- now we just have to do it again. |
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