Buttons are awesome. With one click, a phone can call someone anywhere in the world. No letters. No postage. No delay.
Repurpose those button pushes and suddenly a wealth of information is at your finger tips: tax calculators, cooking recipes, cat videos, automated video applications. It's all right there - at the push of a button.
As a video editor, new methods are (almost) always better. If fewer hours can be spent in a dark room staring at a computer, all the better. Plus, that's the way our market is going. Old fashion editing is phasing out (slowly, but it's happening) for quick automated editing. For an example, check out GoPro's Quik application for iPhone and desktop. Drop a few clips in and the program edits for you - pretty slick.
These changes are not restricted to editing. Computer programing, photography, phones, computers, toasters, coffee-makers, cars - Changes like this are indeed inevitable, so saddle up and get ready for it. There is however at least one problem slowly manifesting under the surface of our technological revolution to be cautious of: romanticizing end results and not learning and working a craft.
When someone uses the GoPro applications for example, they don't learn to edit: they learn to rely on a computer to edit. I need not give an appendix of examples for you to understand. By trusting modern technology (whatever it may be) to do most of the lifting, we don't get to work our muscles. I'm all for quicker workflows, but if the workflow is used without understanding the underlying process, you may be left without a solution if that process breaks down.
I worry that the generation coming behind me (I'm a millennial by the way) is not learning the skills needed to troubleshoot problems because of an over reliance on automated systems. When the button does not work - how does one get it working again? Troubleshooting as a skill is independent of technology, but it's the advancement of technology which can suppress our need to learn troubleshooting. If the button does not work, we wait for an update or an expert to effect repairs.
When on a production set filming, if I wait for someone else to fix the problem - I've lost my job to them (and should for not putting in the work to learn my craft better). If you can't figure it out, Google it. Learn it. Do it.
Don't wait for other people or "newer" technology to fix your problem if you can help it. Would you rather be dependent or independent?
Devon Young ~ devon@layoungmedia.com