Editing Reaches the Masses

by Steven J. Cohen

A little over two decades ago, a word processor was a refrigerator-sized mini-computer that did nothing but manipulate text and print it. The personal computer revolution doomed those expensive machines to the dust bins of history, and a word processor is now simply a piece of software that runs on an ordinary PC. That same transformation — from “big iron” hardware to off-the-shelf software — is moving into our world. Like it or not, we will soon be able to put an entire editing room into a suitcase or laptop, with few compromises and excellent quality. This will make it possible for us to take our equipment home — and high-speed networking will make it possible for us to function there effectively and share our work with others.

The same forces will let all kinds of new people learn to edit. Folks who otherwise would never have put two shots together will soon be cutting elaborate videos for school or work. Most of them will share their efforts with no one but family or co-workers. But some will want to make their careers in post production, and their presence will inevitably create increased competition in our world. For better or worse, we’ve gone from using razor blades and scotch tape doing work that was inscrutable to average people, to using tools that are considered glamorous and futuristic doing work that a growing number of people understand and respect.

Whatever we think about it, the dual forces of democratization and decentralization are coming, and there’s not much we can do about it. Standing in the way of the train means being run over by it. Instead, we have to continue to figure out the best ways to embrace technical and structural change and take steps to make them work for us.

The Guild has made some fundamental shifts that are going to pay off in this new environment. Our long merger process, now coming to a conclusion, has given us much more power and positioned us to represent all post production professionals, wherever they are in the U.S. Just as important, we long ago opened up the roster, which has made it much easier for us to bring in new members. This magazine is another foundation for our future: not only do we endeavor to create compelling content for members, but we also project a modern and open image to non-members. The same is true of our web site. Over 900 people now visit us every day, and for many of them, the site is their first and perhaps only impression of the Guild.

We’ve also been doing the most basic and important work unions can engage in: aggressively seeking out the non-union community and organizing it. Tris Carpenter has been doing a terrific job leading the old-fashioned grass-roots work that a drive inevitably comes down to: talking to people and convincing them one by one that they can trust us.

There isn’t any near-term end to this process. That’s what makes it exciting and challenging. All we can do is predict the future as accurately as possible and build a contractual and organizational foundation, one brick at a time. We’ve done very well recently. If all of us work together and stay smart, that success will continue. We welcome your ideas.