I began working professionally as a video editor just 5 years ago, but in that time, I’ve experienced some significant changes to the way I do my work. When I started, I used a $30,000 AVID in a large, climate controlled edit bay. Now I’m on a $4000 laptop in an open office environment. All my work used to be output to tape, now that process has been replaced by uploading projects online. While it’s amazing that a portable device can do (most) of the job of a large, expensive desktop machine, and the cost savings have made video production available to clients that otherwise couldn’t afford it, there have been some tradeoffs. Due to the limited cooling ability of the slim laptop casing, I recently fried a graphics card, sending my machine to the shop for a week. The laptop is much slower at hardware intensive tasks like compressing video, and serious graphics programs like Apple Motion run about as smoothly as the cinematography in a Paul Greengrass film. I also miss the solitude of a dark, quiet edit bay, which allowed serious concentration and immersion into a project that’s hard to get in a bustling office.
Now comes Apple’s new iPhone 4, along with the requisite chorus of ohhs and ahhs. Don’t get me wrong, I get excited about new Apple gear too. I’ve carried an iPhone for years, and have owned a handful of their laptops, desktops and iPods. But while watching slick demos of the iMovie App, I’m struck wondering, “am I looking at my next workstation?”
It’s almost unthinkable that a computer that fits in a front pocket will someday be used to produce professional video content, but that’s the same sentiment of the editors who first demoed Final Cut Pro running on a laptop. Granted, both the laptop and desktop share the same input devices—mouse and keyboard, but remember, for most of the history of motion picture editing, we haven’t been using computers at all, rather a flatbed and film splicer. So if the entire way we work changes, it won’t be for the first time.
Yes, I’m almost certain to be more comfortable editing with my laptop then with an iPhone (or iPad or iPod). But I was more comfortable on the desktop in the edit bay then my laptop as well, yet economic conditions dictate change, and I’ve adapted.
I’ve heard old film editors complain about how quickly they’re expected to complete projects on non-linear machines. With the flatbed, the technology was slow to use, but the extra time allowed thoughtful consideration of each edit, and their work was better for it. Just because we can work faster, should we? Economics says yes. And if we can work cheaper, yes to that as well.
So I’m excited to see the iPhone 4 on June 24th, and to try editing on the clever little device—2 of them have already been preordered in our office. But as far as professional video work? You’ll have to take the Macbook from my cold, carpel-tunneled hands.
