Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/915639
www.postmagazine.com 33 POST DECEMBER 2017 OUTLOOK O NEW MEDIA T he history of the media industry has been shaped by the technolo- gy it uses to distribute content — print, film, broadcast, satellite, cable — the "medium" the content is conveyed to the consumer. Today's media compa- nies were built on their ability to provide the capital needed to build those distribution infrastructures. Occasionally, a technological disruption occurs. We are at the tipping point of disruption now — driven by fast, ubiquitous Internet access, the growth in large-scale data centers and connected consumer devices displaying high-quality graphics. This is creating a new breed of me- dia company: "Silicon Valley" compa- nies like Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, Hulu and Netflix. These are IT companies, familiar with software development processes and using expertise to create differentiated user experiences. These are the companies shaping the new era of "entertainment as software," where the user experience is as important, if not more than the medium itself — the Internet. IT is also characterized by rapid change, as new generations of hardware appear and disappear every few years; software is constantly updated and technology is less standardized and less regulated. This places stress on media companies to keep their pace. In IT, new technologies and formats (like 4K HDR) tend to be implemented and adopted more quickly than is feasible in tradi- tional media distribution (i.e., HDTV took decades to implement). This provides a distinct competitive advantage to the new "software" media companies. This disruption is also impacting the content creation industry. 2017 was a dynamic year, as streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu poured money into developing original content — from Stranger Things to The Handmaid's Tale. The competition for viewers has brought production spending to an all-time high; however, succeeding in this new boom is not always obvious. Traditional business models are facing pressure from new subscription models. This is affecting areas of production, such as commercial production, while fueling growth in areas like animation. Content production is becoming more sophisticated and complex and raising questions about how to build efficient, profitable businesses. Creating a film or TV show today requires more resources than it did 10 years ago, and neither con- sumers nor distributors are willing to pay. The onus is on content creators, forcing the industry to be more strategic. For studios and facilities, taking on more work with lower margins and with- out improving processes is unsustainable. Any creative rethinking and/or indecision in the production process becomes cost- ly and disruptive, so there is a sense of urgency to gain more predictability and control in creative pipelines. The chal- lenge lies in the constrictive production process. Reducing menial tasks that tie up cycles through automation offers to improve operational efficiency; however, this technology is still emerging. Autodesk is working to improve the production process for creatives in this new era. Our aim is to help people make more sophisticated content with smaller budgets. To do that, we are investing in new creative capabilities of 3ds Max, Arnold, Flame and Maya, and also improving production management and analytics with products like Shotgun. THE NEW ERA OF ENTERTAINMENT AS SOFTWARE BY MAURICE PATEL M&E STRATEGY LEAD AUTODESK INC. SAN RAFAEL, CA AUTODESK.COM T hough the industry continues to change and shift, and agencies are under more pressure to deliver more and more content with little increas- es in budgets, the value of creative collaborative relationships is at an all-time high. The editorial process has always been one of tight collaboration, with directors working hand-in-hand with editors with a joint goal of bringing their vision to life. But lately there has definitely been a notice- able shift into more director/editor collaborations, and maintaining these kinds of partnerships are what keeps the creative editorial world alive and allow it to continue to thrive. It's about finding that dynamic synergy and trust where you are able to navigate the creative process as a pair, and eventually establish a shared methodology and vision. An increased workload across agencies, production and post production means that schedules are more strained than ever. The days of constantly having clients in the studio and spending their days in your edit suite are gradually decreasing as the demands on their time are continuing to stack up. This means that you have to be more intuitive than ever as an editor and be really focusing on fully understanding your client's needs from day one. Taking this kind of perceptive approach to the creative process can also help streamline feedback cycles and help to meet continu- ally tighter production timelines. With these kinds of industry changes, I'm being asked to wear more hats than ever. Being a partner and editor at Bandit allows me to be able to take a broader look at what we are doing and how we collab- orate with clients. On any given project, I now take a much bigger picture approach, taking on multiple roles to not only craft the best cut for the client, but also continue to evolve the overall creative aesthetic of the studio. This multitasking approach is being felt on all sides and gives us all a better appreciation for the roles of our colleagues and clients, and how they all fit into the big picture puzzle of it all. Being an editor allows me to play a big part of the creative process, but as a partner, it is also exciting to work with the entire studio to cultivate a body of work and studio environment that speaks to who we are as a company and the kind of maverick storytelling that excites us. Between continuing to cultivate ongoing partnerships, developing director/ editor/client relationships for artistic collaboration and an increasing need for creative intuition with shrinking timelines, the continually evolving landscape of the editorial process is allowing us to keep our approach fresh and meet challenges with exciting new solutions.. A BROAD OUTLOOK ON CREATIVE EDITORIAL BY JOHN PICCOLO PARTNER/EDITOR BANDIT NEW YORK CITY BANDITEDIT.COM EDITING