Growing pains - the desktop video identity crisis
PVC by Chris Zwar
The agony and the angst of beginning a new career with new technology
Some of the most confusing aspects of a job have nothing to do with hardware problems or software upgrades. Everyone using After Effects knows that Video Copilot produce great tutorials, but none of them tell you how to deal with a co-worker who has bad body odor, or what to do if a client hasn?t paid your invoice.
Since the emergence of desktop video, technical help, product reviews and tutorials have only been an internet search away. But the internet is often less helpful when it comes to subjects such as finding work, different business models and dealing with clients. To an individual working in the video production industry, these personal issues can be more significant to their day-to-day life than decisions such as choosing which camera to buy.
When I look back at the first few years of my career, I can clearly see that the most difficult things for me weren?t related to computers or the basic technical aspects of how to do my job. The bigger frustrations I had were to do with struggling to understand where I fit into the industry, and even what the industry actually was.
In the time since I started my first job ? now approaching 20 years ? I?ve often recognized the same issues, questions, doubts and angst that I felt at various times also being felt by friends, co-workers and even random posters on internet forums.
With the benefit of hindsight ? and, I hope, a little wisdom that comes with age ? I can see that a lot of the uncertainty can be traced back to two basic origins: read more...
Leave a comment