Barriers are falling

When you look back at what sparked major changes in an industry, more often than not the actual shift was barely perceived as it was happening. But this time around, as I write this, events are unfolding so quickly that it is hard to miss that a major shift in the way we receive and create media is happening right now. Slightly buried in all the NAB 2009 impromptu video blogs was an on camera realization/confirmation by a Da Vinci rep that RED Camera is the new standard for filmmaking. Savvy DSLR camera manufacturer reps are getting prototypes into the hands of talented DP's and letting them blog their cameras into fame (or failure). Millions of viewers now prefer watching their favorite content via an internet connected device in the now standard (4) 15 sec commercial per hour format. Barriers to entry are getting low enough that a very large amount of new content providers may enter the market very soon.

There are a few key reasons this is happening:

1. Innovation (RED camera) has sparked competition, which has added filmmaking features to their competitors low cost cameras.

2. Web based video and delivery mechanisms have started to mature and flourish.

3. The once young kids that cut their teeth using and creating all of the software tools needed to make a digital film are now older, wiser, and ready to do something different - Mark my words, these people may well be the most creatively talented workforce for the next 30 years.

4. We are probably near or at the bottom of a global economic downturn, which, as history has proven, leads to an explosion of innovation and creativity.

Get ready. Here we come.