Elevate Your Productivity During Downtime

5 ways to adapt in Pro Video production

Many of us are always looking for the next gig, lining up as many jobs as we can to keep us going. We don’t have the luxury of working multi-million pound productions and as such may not have had a period of down time as that which we are currently experiencing. Globally we face something that none of us have ever had to contend with, and this has impacted everyone greatly. Within our industry many are having to cancel jobs, rearrange shoots and do what we can from our homes. As a result many of us are having to adapt the way in which we work. We reached out for stories and feedback from you because we want to know how you are adapting and how you have been impacted. We’ve taken on board all of your feedback and have tried to create come up with some things that we hope can help over the coming weeks.

 

Backup and Inventory

I’ve always said that not having a backup is a mistake you’ll only ever make once. If you’ve never needed a backup then you are extremely lucky. Those of us that have lost work only to realise too late that we did not have a copy of our work, know too well the sinking feeling it brings. Whether it be a failed drive causing you to lose a day of shooting, or accidentally deleting a file, we all need a safety net some times. Having to explain to clients why a job is going to take longer than expected or having to re-schedule a shoot can be avoided if we have the correct backup steps in our workflow.

Backing up media and projects for whatever software you work with can take time and a lot of us will put it off for the sake of speed, or even maybe just apathy, but now is the perfect time to implement regular, consistent backups into your workflow.

It’s also worth taking the time to make sure your equipment is well maintained and in fully working order. Too often have I seen a shoot where something fails and panic ensues as there’s no replacements. So dust off your kit bag, clean your lenses, and make sure you’re ready to go when the time comes.

 

With jobs being cancelled or postponed, it can be easy to relax and take your foot off the gas. And whilst a bit of R&R is never to be shunned, we are always able use down time more wisely. One way of doing this is to learn a new skill or develop and existing one. Whilst taking classes in person is currently out of the question, there are so many online learning resources available that it’s always possible to gain a valuable new set of tools to help you when work starts to pickup again.

There’s never been a better time either, as many online educational platforms are offering free or reduced rates for all of their courses. SkillShare are offering two months of their premium subscription completely free, TedEd are offering some free courses and Coursera have announced free courses for all students and universities

Backup and Inventory

I’ve always said that not having a backup is a mistake you’ll only ever make once. If you’ve never needed a backup then you are extremely lucky. Those of us that have lost work only to realise too late that we did not have a copy of our work, know too well the sinking feeling it brings. Whether it be a failed drive causing you to lose a day of shooting, or accidentally deleting a file, we all need a safety net some times. Having to explain to clients why a job is going to take longer than expected or having to re-schedule a shoot can be avoided if we have the correct backup steps in our workflow.

Editing Software

Collaboration

 

Providing online training/courses/product

Working remotely has grown quite rapidly over recent years but now we are seeing the true potential of what can be achieved without the need to be present in an office. Many companies, including Scan Computers Internation Ltd. are still able to operate, with many employees pulling together in this tough time and continuing to work from all over the country. With this in mind, it is worth investigating the possibility of what you can provide toyour clients and audience remotely.

One of my contacts on LinkedIn posted the other day about how they had been scared to make the jump from classroom style training to online training, but after doing so had come to the conclusion that this was indeed the future. You may not wish to provide online training but with a good VPN and advancements in editing software like Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve, editing remotely is more viable now than it ever has been..

 

Reel

We can often forget how important our showreel actually is. Once we’ve created something that we are happy with we tend to leave it for far too long before trying to update it. With a showreel often being the first thing new or potential clients want to see, it’s important that you regularly update it with bits from your most recent projects. The old saying “You’re only as good as your last job” holds some weight and if we aren’t showing customers our last job, we often aren’t showing our best work.

 

Time for reflection

Whilst we stressed making productive use of your down time, this doesn’t always mean you have to be actively engaged in something work focused. Taking time to reflect on where you are, how you’ve gotten there, changes you may want to make (whether it be in your professional or personal lives) or even setting yourself some new goals and targets, is a worthwhile use of your time, as being both mentally and physically healthy is important now more than ever.