All things change. No question. We are certainly not the same company that we were when we started out 11 years ago and we have pivoted and changed as the market, technology and circumstances shifted around us (Coronavirus - who knew eh?).
Our favourite technologies are the disruptive ones. They come along and are genuinely new or perhaps approach things in a different way allowing for greater creativity, flexibility and even bringing things that were previously the preserve of high end TV and documentary makers into arena of corporate and social media video producers.
A good example of this is the humble drone. Up until relatively recently to get great results these were heavy (for endurance) and required a number of operators (pilot, camera operator etc). Not to mention the licensing requirements. This was very much a premium service offered as a clear and costly addition to the filming budget. Now companies like DJI have brought us progressively smaller, lighter, faster and visually stunning devices that have brought amazing shots
well into the mid and low budget video sectors. Legislation has allowed operators to ensure people are qualified and safe with a much more cost effective investment in online education. Some areas of the market now offer drone shots as part of a wider production something we often do as a value add.
Another great example we have invested in is the portable motorised jib system. We’ve all seen the large three person systems used in movies and TV (Camera operator, Jib Operator and focus puller) that produce those fantastic “movement shots”. Certainly not the preserve of the medium to low budget corporate and social media video market. However
there have been a number of recent systems to enter the market recently that allow a single crewed operator to carry a smaller motorised system that happily sits on a sturdy camera tripod and can be automated with smooth repeatable moves (for B shots and B Roll ) while the main camera operator concentrates on monitoring the main interview or A shots. All perfectly portable and packed into one case. Again bringing higher end production values into the mainstream mass video market.
One last interesting example that is particularly relevant at the moment is the online event technology that has needed to mature very fast. Now there are many, many advances here for dedicated online platforms to the advent of zoom BUT... One thing still stands
true from the advent of computing and that's “garbage in - garbage out”. Blackmagic Design has helped fix this by bringing the ability add professional studio video mixing, switching and effects to the world of live-streaming and online events. Connect a few good cameras (even smaller consumer units), arrange your “ studio room” well and you’ve got an amazing broadcast setup that's streets ahead of peering owlishly down your fuzzy laptop webcam with a badly flickering software (Zoom/Teams/Skype et al.) beach background! It's now within the reach of many more small companies to provide anything from a “posh Zoom” to a fantastic studio quality feed to a large online event audience.
Let's hear it for the disruptors!
We would love to hear about the new advances technology that have helped your business over the past year and are they here to stay?