How COVID-19 Has Changed the Video Production Industry for The Better

Since the beginning of this pandemic business have had to adapt. Regardless of their business sector, due to physical storefronts and workplaces losing much of their functionality, businesses have had to quickly adapt to functioning online. This has taken many forms, be it as simple as stores moving online or as complex as co-ordinating a large team who are all working from home.

As any video professional will know, this shift has been hard for an industry which requires on-the-ground work such as shooting video or recording sound. Not to mention the fact that the consumption of media has also been forced almost entirely online due to mass closures of cinemas and other venues.

But, like all industries, the video production industry has been forced to adapt fast. We can break these changes down into three clear categories.

Adapting For Production

In the early days of closures, lockdowns and social distancing it wasn’t the cinemas or the online content which was hit the hardest: it was television. The small screen had to rethink how it functioned, and it needed to do so fast.

Live shows like Saturday Night Live led the charge through its “at home” episodes which redefined the boundaries of live television. Talent shows started filming without live audiences and dramas quickly adapted to shooting with social distancing regulations in place.

Of course, this all changed the landscape of television, but it showed one key thing: media can adapt and being an innovative first mover in that equation is particularly important.

Fast-Forwarding Digital Distribution

With cinemas and other media venues closed, existing distribution models were called into question.

The most memorable of these, on a large scale, certainly came from Christopher Nolan’s Tenet being delayed for a theatrical release which, when it happened, turned out to be a relative failure despite the kudos and strong reviews for the film. As a result, Sony Pictures vied to release all their upcoming films online from day one, with or without a theatrical release, until the pandemic is behind us.

Of course, digital distribution is nothing new. Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and countless more have already earned digital distribution its place at the table. But it’s clear that the pandemic has pushed media outlets and established production companies to accept digital distribution with open arms. And this certainly spells good news for all the video producers and content creators out there.

Decentralising Post-Production

While post-production has traditionally been completed in-house at a dedicated location, as with most other sectors, the pandemic saw post-production specialists undertaking their workload from home.

This is a phenomenal change for several reasons.

Most presently it shows that the industry can, and is willing to, accept a shift to a decentralised workforce. This increases the possibility for productions on lower-end budgets to be able to interface with industry professionals beyond their own geographic location, or national borders, far easier.

Not only this but for the same reasons it also promises greater inclusion for professionals living and working outside of known production hubs such as major cities.

All this is facilitated by the adoption of incredible technology which allows teams to collaborate and interact, often in real time, through cloud-based platforms.

All of this has forced the video production industry to take a quantum leap into the digital domain, seeing the entire industry, from production companies to freelancers, embracing new methods and modes of production.

While many may believe we will return to “normal” after this pandemic subsides, the likelihood of global businesses taking a step backwards is incredibly unlikely. Thus, it is quite clear (at least to us) that we will see these three major changes stick around—potentially marking 2020 as a year which changed the video production industry for good.

Then, the question becomes, are you ready to adapt? If you haven’t embraced the new systems or been an active component of making them a reality, it’s time to embrace the cloud-based revolution in order to solidify the future of your video production business.

FilmQi offers a full suite of tools for the modern video production business. Allowing you and your team to collaborate seamlessly over the cloud on everything from scripting and scheduling to pitching, casting, invoicing and keeping track of post-production.

See how you can mange remote feedback sessions with your client in this video: