Continuing the spin off from my conversation with Larry Jordan on the Digital Production BuZZ. Larry continued the conversation:
Everything is easier to learn when you’re younger, because first you’re sort of in a learning mode; and second, you have less baggage associated with whatever you’re working with. But it seems to me that there’s a bigger issue of how do we cope with the technological changes rocking our industry?
As you probably know, I’m a regular contributor to Larry Jordan’s Digital Production BuZZÂ talking about a variety of topics from technical to esoteric. Larry, Michael Horton and I recently started a discussion – yet again – on whether or not Final Cut Pro X was “for the pros” but fortunately moved the topic toward managing change. We all felt that the discussion about FCP X was over, since it is being used all across the professional production spectrum, but pondered why it still generates controversy.
The discussion was one of the best we’ve had on the BuZZ, and I felt that each of the questions deserved a little more depth than I could go into with a two minute answer.
Larry led off by asking:
You’ve been quoted as saying that people want things to improve but they don’t want things to change. How do you see the difference?
I was reading through “20 things 20 year olds don’t get” at Forbes and right in the middle jumps out this paragraph:
You HAVE to Build Your Technical Chops – Adding “Proficient in Microsoft Office†at the bottom of your resume under Skills, is not going to cut it anymore. I immediately give preference to candidates who are ninjas in: Photoshop, HTML/CSS, iOS, WordPress, Adwords, MySQL, Balsamiq, advanced Excel, Final Cut Pro – regardless of their job position. If you plan to stay gainfully employed, you better complement that humanities degree with some applicable technical chops.
I added the emphasis, but it’s strong evidence for my “video is just another literacy” hypothesis. Â Although in context I have to say, I have no idea what “Blasamiq” is and definitely don’t have any skills. (The others, fortunately, I do have some skills in.)
Apple must be pleased with the use of “Final Cut Pro” as a generic term for NLE!
Probably the most interesting conversation I had at NAB was Sunday night at the Independent Filmmakers of the Inland Empire KISS mini-golf event. The setting might have been unique but the problem was not: Now that Final Cut Pro 7 isn’t the default choice for colleges (and high schools) to teach, which NLE do I teach? As the conversation continued it became obvious that there were more factors at work than just taking a punt on which NLE will become the “next FCP 7”.
Last Saturday, June 4th, I had the pleasure of sharing a Keynote with Marcelo Lewin at the OC Pro Media Camp. Â The topic was re-inventing ourselves. Â This blog post is the essence of what I said in that keynote.
How do we embrace change? Wholeheartedly and with gusto. Change is inevitable. In fact it may be the only true constant. Most people dislike or even fear change, but want things to “get betterâ€.
Fundamentally there are two types of change: Continued Reinvention & Dramatic Reinvention. I’m 55 now and, as best I can count, I’m on my sixth distinct career. Many of those were a slow transition: from being a general, do anything video production company to specializing in training and education production, which lead inevitably to becoming a training design specialist. The transition from Charisma Video Productions – my first Australian company – to Charisma Digital as the first digital post house in Australia’s sixth largest market – was a significant transition, but more evolution than revolution. But the jump from the Intelligent Assistant training tools to Digital Production BuZZ was a complete re-invent.
Interns, Internships and Getting Started http://tinyurl.com/452ta3h Episode 27 of The Terence and Philip Show.
In this episode Terence and Philip are joined by Alpha Dogs’ employee Isai Espinoza in a discussion about the value of Internships to both the employer and the intern, how to get the best out of an internship, and what’s in it for the employer. In typical fashion, this quickly leads to a discussion about breaking into the business, and what it takes to make it.