Re: [Avid-L2] Re: Not to say "I told you so...."

One
thing that hasn't been emphasized that much is the distinction between
different types of post - is sending your 3D work or rotoscoping to India the
same as outsourcing the crafting of your corporate message or the story
structure of your documentary? I think not. One is probably a good deal more
feasible than the other.

"At
some point it's best to be face-to-face. When I cut spots for agencies, I react
as much to what is not being said as to what is."

Absolutely
right, and it reminds me of the value of eye contact back when I was teaching.
I would ask "Any questions?" and I would look around the room as my
students sat there mutely. I could tell by the looks on their faces who was confused and who wasn't; then it was time to start the gentle digging that revealed the confusion. Students who opt for web based learning may gain certain benefits, like being able to learn at home, proceed at their own pace, etc., but they won't have me trying to shake what they don't understand out of them. Likewise with clients, I can read their body language and facial expressions and tell when something's bothering them that they can't put a name to. I'm with Scott (and probably most editors) in that I don't feel a need to have the clients around for every minute of every cut, but at some point their presence is vital, and currently there is not electronic medium that will reproduce the subtlety and spontaneity of real human interaction.
I talked about this with a technical writer I know, and she said that the tech sector went through a similar outsourcing change. Now, you'd think that if anything could be outsourced to India it would be technical writing, but apparently some companies found the time difference and the cultural difference to be more trouble than it was worth, and a certain amount of that work ended up back in the states. I have no figures here, but it seems this insider view still tells us something. I suspect that in our industry, some types of work will tend to be outsourced and others won't, and as Oliver points out, the outsourcing will occur more in some sectors of the industry than others.
Shirle´

-----Original Message-----
From: Oliver Peters <oliverpeters@oliverpeters.com>
To: Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tue, Oct 27, 2009 8:05 am
Subject: [Avid-L2] Re: Not to say "I told you so...."

> Posted by: guanacaa
> I'm much better at sucking up in person than I am via web. I haven't
> yet learned how to convey my own, wacky, "je ne sais quoi" essence
> via Facebook, Linkedin, etc., which I guess means I'm just old. Oh
> well. Maybe there's a class somewhere in web charm. I'll try to
> remember the part about subtlety.
> Shirley

I am with Shirley on this one. (Or is that Shirlé - or the artist
formerly know as ... ). Anyway, I too, prefer the human interaction of
being at a facility with other people. Sure, clients can hover and
that gets annoying, but I want their input and feedback. Doing that
over the web doesn't cut it. At some point it's best to be face-to-
face. When I cut spots for agencies, I react as much to what is not
being said as to what is. But more so, I like the ability to bounce
ideas off of other folks working at the facility. Plus the general
community environment of a place. I work out of the house sometimes,
too, and it takes a lot of discipline to actually get started with WORK.

The general tone of this thread seems to be one of outsourcing as it
affects individual editors and small shops. I'm not so sure that's
what's happening. Take a look at the players. It's large post-house
conglomerates like Ascent and major studios. These are the folks that
have the ability to move post halfway around the world. This is for
several reasons - lower operating cost, lower salaries, direct cash
incentives and tax incentives. It's really about how these companies
operate and not whether they opt to use a small shop overseas instead
of a small shop locally. Small, indie producers aren't the ones
deciding to use shops elsewhere unless there is some creative reason
to do so that outweighs the cost and inconvenience.

- Oliver

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