The future of post production

Traditional production methods face change both from the downward pressure on budgets and the increasing ability of desktop systems. Is, as some have predicted, the future for post really as a cottage industry, with producers and editors working in numerous stand-alone suites? Or will, perhaps the increasing bandwidth available from the telcos enable all these individual suites to be connected as if in a super facility? Either way, conventional broadcast structures and facility companies look doomed. Yet the above scenario ignores the opportunities offered by new technology to the existing production facilities that allow their knowledge and tradecraft to be applied more efficiently than at present. Opportunities that will allow facilities to meet the demands of lower production budgets without fragmenting resources or ignoring quality issues. This paper examines how conventional broadcast facilities can adapt to change by using new technology to their benefit and offering services that simply will not be available on the desktop. The paper will conclude that the future is not necessarily on the desktop and will detail the many advantages of ensuring the future for post is not as a cottage industry