While eating breakfast on location in Washington DC last week, I was reading USA Today. An article mentioned that Google was wiring Kansas City with their own fiber system that would deliver Gig E speed. That’s about 100 times faster than the current “fast cable” system. It dawned on me that ”it” is finally here. (Geezer alert.) “It” being the future of editing that I daydreamed about 20-plus years ago. I did not get all of the details right, but as they say, close enough. I figured in the future the local big post houses would be obsolete. A person would somehow upload their tapes (like I said, 20 years ago) via AT&T to a “service bureau” and direct the edit session without having to leave the comfort of his/her office. No infrastructure to worry about , no systems engineer to employ, no hassle.
So you’re saying , you are way off. Well… not really. Up until now, the web has been the bottleneck. But with Gig E speed, I can upload my 2k and 4k digital source files to an editor, FX house, music composer, etc. anywhere (as long as they have Gig E access.) With the right streaming media technologies employed, my client and I can watch playback , make comments in real time and then have finished product delivered to the web, museum, movie theater, corporate meeting — wherever there is a digital screen, projector or server set to receive the data stream.
Are we there yet? Yes, sort of. We are already sending lower res files to various editors, compositors, musicians and clients to collaborate on. Our XDCAM decks and cameras have IP addresses built into them so an editor across the world can access raw footage right off the camera or deck. However, with a truly high speed workflow, everyone can collaborate in real time. It is reaching the point where maintaining an edit suite may not be necessary. Need more storage space for a project? Rent it in the cloud. Need more render power? Again, go to the cloud.
Don’t feel like paying an editor? Then use artificial intelligence to cut. Not that I would do such a thing — I like the creative process. I recently downloaded an app for my iPhone called Magisto. It will take the video clips on your phone and, using AI, put together a finished video. I used to joke about NLE’s when they first arrived on the scene as being analogous to loading footage into a Cuisinart and hitting frappe. This app is close to that realization.
It’s a brave new world for workflow and I am excited about the possibilities. So, what does the next 20 years hold? Hopefully it will be about conforming workflow to fit your project, instead of the other way around.