Webinars return this week with a topic I haven't covered in years: "Working with Stills in Final Cut Pro." (I've got another session planned for Premiere in the next few weeks.) Stills are a large part of many edits from photos, to maps, to graphics. In this session we'll look at scanning, color grading and animating them. And, like all my live events, registration is FREE!
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are currently THE hot topics in the creative world. Last week, I compared the impact AI will have on video creators to the transition between analog media to digital.
Philip Hodgetts took exception to this and sent the following note: "Read your thoughts comparing AI to the SD/HD transition, [but] I couldn’t help but feel you’re significantly underestimating the effect Machine Learning [will have on creators. It] is already at that level of impact, and it’s just starting. What’s already available and what’s in the pipeline are going to be more disruptive than both analog to digital and SD to HD combined. Fundamental storytelling skills won’t change that much, but everything around it is likely to."
Philip also sent a link to a Tom Scott YouTube video offering a fascinating / depressing perspective on the transition to AI. As Tom says in the video: "Everything is about to change - and, for the first time, I think I'm on the wrong side of the change." I encourage you to watch it.
Late last year, I wrote that SSD speeds slowed down a lot with the release of macOS Ventura compared to Monterey. With the recent release of Ventura 13.2.1, I decided to retest SSD speeds to see what, if anything, was different. Yup - speeds changed and I updated my article with the latest results.
Thinking of AI, I have a guest post this week that looks at how reliable AI tools are and where they are used. Given the speed that this part of our industry is changing, I thought it would be a good to provide an overview.
Guest posts - that is, articles contributed to websites by external authors - are the latest marketing tool to supplement traditional advertising. Pitches to me have gone from a couple a month to several a day. I could ignore them, I guess, but every so often there's a legitimate contributor with a point of view worth sharing. So, I put together a list of rules that I send to everyone asking about guest posts. I thought you'd like to see it.
Media is always impacted by changes in technology. That's been true ever since film was first invented. But those changes are accelerating and, now, it seems as though the creative process itself is undergoing a fundamental reinvention. Sometimes I feel excited by what's possible. Other times, I feel like a blacksmith in the age of the automobile; someone with lots of good skills that are no longer needed. I think we are at the beginning of a very wild ride. I'm looking forward - mostly - to watching it unfold.
Until next week, stay safe, stay hopeful and, most of all, edit well.
