I have a profound interest in disruptive technologies… in predicting… watching the industrial, social and economic effects of revolutionary technological “advancements”. I equate it to a scientist in a lab coat watching a H-bomb explosion in slow motion with the task of analysing and categorizing the destructive capacity, and the short, medium and long term fallout.
The digital revolution in cinema/television/video has brought about some real madness, mad sheep disease I think because it affects sheep… which constitute the vast majority of the new-blood digital cinema “workforce”, on the image acquisition side and the post production side. I’m tired of it, and while I cannot change anything with a blog, I can notice it, call it what it is and disassociate myself from it as a professional and a artist.
This madness is a trend that is not limited to digital cinema, the madness is spreading to all kinds of industries but requires a special set of circumstances to breed and become an epidemic.
In fact I would go as far as saying the entertainment industry itself at it’s highest levels has become contaminated, and I for one have had enough.
Some may call it democracy… access for all, but I call it dishonest opportunism… and it costs real professionals their jobs and livelihoods. You don’t give a 18 year old kid with a fresh driving license a Porsche as his training wheels and yet that’s what has happened in this industry. I’m seeing a whole lot of carnage as a result… real people who have worked harder than anyone that are losing their living, stuck with a skill set that has become obsolete or worthless.
There’s a few examples I want to use. The first is the D.I.T., the Digital Imaging Technician. When Red Digital Cinema started shipping the Red One, suddenly there became a huge market demand for digital imaging technicians… and there weren’t any. A new technology had created a new job description overnight at the level of a traditional experienced camera assistant and it was open to anyone with I.T. skills willing to take on the acronym regardless of experience.
So, a vacuum was opened up, and suddenly there were D.I.T.’s… where did they all come from? Like a land run, where free titles were being awarded to the first suckers to stake their claim in the ground, a stampede of young and inexperienced opportunists armed with a Macbook downloaded the freely available tools, some sample media and read up the lingo… and so became D.I.T.’s.
If a “D.I.T.” could talk the talk… with enough confidence, they could talk their way into almost any shoot… because producers, line producers, D.P.’s… nobody had a cooking clue what any of the jargon meant, how these cameras worked or what to do with the data.
These fly by night opportunists… who would otherwise be cutting their home movies on pirated software, had access… access to free tools, to free information (the Reduser forum was a pretty good school) and because the technology and workflow was intuitive enough to this type of mind, these young nobodies were suddenly on film sets, right by the camera, earning daily rates that many on set could only dream of after many years of ladder climbing.
By now, many of them are legitimately qualified… their training has been on the job, but the traditional hierarchy to a profession in a highly regarded industry was turned on it’s head.
Camera assistants, loaders, and D.P.s stunned in horror and disbelief that such a thing was possible now had to catch up with the technology or risk being made redundant… which was a very real threat when Canon launched the 5D MkII.
Now we have sheep with large format cameras that cost a fraction of the $25,000 for a basic Red One setup.
The low to mid level videographer is no longer a viable profession in my opinion, and neither is a low to mid level editor… because everyone with a DSLR and a iMac is both. The barriers to entry have been demolished and the noise floor has risen. If you want to be paid… it had better be because you can deliver far beyond the norm… and that is harder than ever.
In my opinion this awful trend has become an expected norm… the new modus operandi for an entire industry and it’s soul has been lost… at least for a period of time, without a mention or acknowledgement of it’s passing.
Take the recent explosion of stereoscopy for instance. I have largely ignored it because I saw it coming and knew what it was… dishonest opportunism masked as art. The technology was the catalyst but the insatiable appetite for greed in a panic stricken industry amidst the worst economic decline in it’s history has really been something to behold.
The number of self proclaimed D.I.T.’s who suddenly became overnight steroscopy experts has been an astounding thing to watch… I think the only real qualification was to know what the word stereoscopy meant, or be able to pronounce it properly but if you could set up a impressive website or blog as well, man… that was proof. It was another perfect opportunity for a generation of desperate techno con men to make a lot of money from a stupid slow moving animal that is slowly bleeding itself to death to these parasites.
The only winners are the blood sucking technology manufacturers. They are the real culprits because they sell to the producers and the consumers. The companies making and selling the latest cameras and 3D flat screen TV’s in higher quantities and cheaper than ever are the only winners.
The rest of us… all of us are losers.
That’s my glass is half empty view of where things are at but that’s not where it ends.
There is a ray of sunshine, a opportunity for a select few to turn the tables and rise to great heights. This dream that many of us “filmmakers” pursue is still a game, it always has been and the game is not over. For those who have what it takes to stand out, the playing field could not look better.
I’m looking out over a vast and endless sea of losers, losers who are all capable of producing good work but won’t be able to earn a cent from it. The expectation has risen… the 35mm cinema look is now expected, a fantastic cut… expected, good lighting and creative cinematography… expected.
Many… the majority won’t be able to rise above it because that’s all they have. The tools were given to them overnight, and access to the “high end” look that is becoming the norm has been brought down to everyone’s modest abilities. This is now the lowest common denominator… it’s the floor.
For those that can push higher… above the floor, in creative imagery… in storytelling, there is great and fantastic opportunity with none of the traditional barriers to entry.
The real top level professionals have nothing to worry about, and will always be in demand because it is their art that is in demand… their voice, not their cheap tools.
For those creatives that can put it all together and go beyond there are real rewards, because they are the same rare and valuable assets to the industry that they have always been… to producers and also to an expansive audience that is rapidly becoming de-sensitized to the glossy 35mm “film look” and clever post production.
The audience will soon demand more, and if you take steps to position yourself as a creative that can deliver much more, not just lean on the crutch of your 5D MkII you will be a long term winner and build a life long career.
If you’re leaning on your tools right now… you may have a small window to make a quick buck… but playtime will soon be over. You must know that every new DSLR sold is reducing your market value, every new copy of Final Cut installed is reducing your market value… and it’s already almost zero.
It’s not a career, you are not becoming a cinematographer, or a editor, you saw a vacuum and you ran to fill it like all the other sheep.
Just because you have a camera does not make you a photographer. You are not your camera, your camera is not you… you need to be more… you need to see subject matter, create, craft and tell story… and I’m afraid those skills cannot be bought or pirated.
That is the only barrier to entry any of us need to worry about because it’s no longer about the technology… the technology is nothing… less than nothing.
I agree with pretty much all of this Rich – and was thinking much the same thing recently as I became aware of how many ‘video companies’ have sprung up in my area working for ridiculously low rates, churning out very mediocre results for clients who by and large don’t care – as long as they are getting it cheap.
It’s getting harder and harder to get paid for experience built up over many years which translates into quality work and reliability in sometimes difficult situations.
Dude! I am amazed at how much I disagree with the first half of what you have said. Maybe I’m thinking the same thing that you are and just saying it differently but, I think that you have things some things backwards. Now before I get going, let me say upfront that I am one of those people taking advantage of the quality and power provided by this digital revolution. I am not yet a full member of the industry but, I am working to become so.
I agree with you that the industry has allowed a lot of no talent upstarts to come in and provide content and services that have had a negative impact on those already in the industry but, I don’t agree on why it’s happened.
You point to D.I.T.’s in your first example. I submit that these know nothings weren’t sheep taking advantage of a situation, they were wolves, preying on those who knew less than they did about the new technologies. While many in the industry were bashing the new digital equipment and pledging their allegiance to film, these kids were buying dv cameras, reading articles and manuals and learning in forums and then rubbing shoulders with the producers who hired them because the people who should have known (the D.P., cameraman, assistants, and loaders) didn’t. Seeing an opportunity, they took what should have gone to others because the others were either too busy working, or couldn’t be bothered with the new tech. The industry started to change and the senior people weren’t keeping up, leaving a vacuum for those less qualified to fill it.
And, you speak of expectations having risen for the 35mm look, good lighting, editing, creative cinematography, etc… again, I disagree, I think it is the acceptance of anything less than the 35mm look in anything but the highest end motion pictures and television shows along with no or poor story, lighting, cinematography, editing, colour correction, visual effects, sound design, music, and so forth that is killing the industry. When you have projects like Paranormal Activity making a hundred million dollars and most hundred million dollar movies barely clearing the cost of production and advertising, the accountants that are running the studios these days start looking for more of that kind of high return on investment no matter what the quality. When I look at the number of “reality” shows that are on nearly every channel I don’t see a rise in production value but, rather the opposite. Also, have you seen some of the movies that syfy channel has been showing in the last few years. Syfy channel buys them and people watch them. Talk about sheep!
I grew up watching Lucas and Spielberg movies and wanting to make those kind of movies myself. Now at last I can afford and have purchased equipment that will allow me to produce movies at a quality and cost that I never could have imaged but, as you point out, having a camera doesn’t make you a cinematographer nor does Final Cut Pro make one an editor. And so we come to the second half of your article where I do agree with you…partially.
I do agree that the most talented people will always be in demand for their skills and will always be able to get paid since knowledge, skill, and the ability to accommodate and communicate is always valuable. But I think the industry is separating into two extremes with few people in the middle, i.e. the coming destruction of the middle class. You will be either at the low end having only one well honed skill (let’s say editing) and are struggling or at the high end where you can do several things (editing, sound design, and colour correction) and are doing well. Or, for those rare few who can do nearly everything and make something great for near nothing and release it in the wild and get a return a hundred times what it cost them to make the first film (because you know there will be a more expensive sequel, right), I think this is what the industry is looking for with this revolution and what is killing our experienced professionals. You need to be able to write, direct, light, photograph, edit, do VFX, sound, everything, for what hollywood considers pennies. And if you do well, the studios will give you ridiculous sums on money to do it bigger and better for them. I think these are the success stories that are putting your jobs at the greatest risk.
Well, I actually agree with everything you have written, I think when I wrote this article, firstly I was having a bad day (it happens to everyone and clouds the thinking… I should have slept on it before I hit “publish”), and secondly I was missing some key ingredients, which I believe you have covered quite well. Thank you for your response! I’m going to write a follow up article which I believe will be a lot more balanced, and I will make mention of some of your points if you don’t mind me including them!
Thank you again for your comment!
Hey, no worries man, we all have sour days. But, don’t be too hard on yourself either. Alot has changed in the last 10 years and when you’ve just figured out how to work at a professional level doing it the way it was for the last hundred years and then everything begins changing in a single decade, it’s bound to get under your skin every so often. I have a great admiration for all of you living the dream on a daily basis. As to my comments, use whatever helps, friend. Cheers