The Only Constant Is Change

As I sit at my laptop contemplating the subject of my very first blog, I can't help reflect on my 25+ year career in television production.  The title of this blog sums it up best.  It's a saying we're all too familiar with, especially those of us whose careers have always relied on the latest technology.  A quick Google search revealed that this phrase was actually coined by a Greek philosopher named Heraclitus, who was active around 535 BCE.  You'll find that his wording was slightly different, but the meaning is still the same.  I'm amused by this for two reasons;  first, as a proud Greek American, I now know that the mental process of surviving change is a genuine part of my ancient heritage; and second, it surprises me that this basic "rule of life" was contemplated thousands of years before computers, cell phones, the internet, and all of the amazing technologies we enjoy today.

The first time I experienced change in my career was in the early 1990's.  I had settled into a rewarding and comfortable career as an Online Videotape Editor with virtually unlimited job opportunities.  I was on top of the world as I steered a million dollar edit room to help producers and directors execute their creative vision at a hourly room rate that sometimes skyrocketed upwards of $600 per hour!  Then, seemingly out of nowhere, computer-based non-linear editing took over.  The cost of building an edit room and the resulting hourly rates plummeted to a mere $125 per hour...even less.  Almost overnight, this new technology transferred the traditional post-production power of established edit facility owners to independent producers, editors, and graphic artists.  People who were capable of changing adapted and thrived.  Those who desperately clung to old processes simply went out of business or left the industry.  Right now I see a similar change transpiring with video camera technology, but that's a topic for a future blog.

Like a lot of you, I'm in the process of reinventing my career...again!  I like to affectionately call it "Reinvention 2.0".  During my 1990's experience (Reinvention 1.0), I unwittingly stumbled onto the keys to surviving change.  I not only learned computer-based non-linear editing, I eventually taught editing classes in New York City and all over the U.S..  To my fellow editors, it seemed like I was training my competitors...which in some cases was true.  However, every class was also filled with producers and directors I had never met before.  All of them were in fact potential clients and viewed me as a leading expert in new editing technology.  During that period of time, I was never busier!  Teaching classes is also how I gained entrance into the entertainment industry as an editor on the animated television series Courage the Cowardly Dog for the Cartoon Network.  To this day, I'm convinced that had it not been for that drastic change in technology, I would never have had the opportunity to work on that ground-breaking show with such amazingly talented people.  In short, there is an upside to change when you embrace it completely.

My intention with this blog is to share everything I currently know and continue to learn about television production.  In fact, that's Reinvention 2.0's Mantra:  Learn and Share.  Thanks to the internet, I don't need to travel all over the country as I did 20 years ago.  I can learn and share anytime, anywhere...even from my home edit room.  In the future, I promise eye-catching pictures, time-saving links, tutorial videos, product reviews, and samples of my work with detailed analysis of my workflows.  In the wise words of Heraclitus the Greek, "The only constant is change", so let's get to it!