Move is reminiscent of the desktop publishing revolution

In order to support and train the new breed of video producers, and to help familiarize nonprofessionals with the benefits of in-house video production, Digital F/X of Mountain View, Calif., is establishing a program to promote and support desktop video service bureaus using its Video F/X personal computer-based video editing system.

“We’re doing it to make video more accessible to a larger number of people,” says Barbara Koalkin, vice president of marketing for Digital F/X. “It’s the same situation as the beginning of desktop publishing –it’s the growth of shared resources, where people became exposed to the technology. When they used it enough, they wanted it in house to use it all the time.”

Parallels between the phenomenal growth of a desktop publishing industry and the slower-but-steady growth of multimedia have been apparent for some time. It is clear that despite the differences between the two worlds, desktop publishing is indeed serving as a model for the desktop video revolution.

Koalkin says some 10 service bureaus are now established in the U.S. and Canada (with more than 100 applications in process), within both print service bureaus and professional video production shops, demonstrating how these two markets continue to intersect.

A SIMPLE SCENARIO

The scenario is simple. A producer brings in her videotapes, shot in almost any format, to be striped or time-coded. She then has two options: editing with the full Video F/X system at the bureau, or renting a large hard drive, digitizing the video and editing at home or on a rented Mac, using Soft F/X (Digital F/X’s software-only editing program).

After creating an edit decision list (EDL) and any necessary graphics and animation, she brings the EDL to the service bureau to produce the final cut. Training and consultation by service bureau personnel are available to the customer throughout the process.

Knowing the ropes. In the past, only people who knew the ropes of video were able to utilize post-production tools and facilities. These service bureaus cater to both the novice user and “people who want to tap into video but don’t own the toys,” according to one service bureau owner, Bob Dennis of Pacific Media in Santa Clara, CA.

At his facility, a would-be video producer can rent six hours of Video F/X editing time (at $50 an hour) with two free hours of training and free follow-up support. Dennis believes that within two hours, most people are able to continue the editing process alone. He also makes available Macintosh video tools available, and computer animation-to-videotape transfer services. A typical starter project, such as editing and adding graphics to a videotaped product demonstration, could be done in a couple of hours.

PARALLELS WITH DTP

In addition to Koalkin’s idea of sharing resources, another reason why desktop publishing (DTP) exploded was because all of the necessary tools were in the same place at the same time. A graphical computer (the Macintosh), Aldus’s PageMaker software and Apple’s LaserWriter printer combined to provide a satisfactory input, design and output option. But desktop technology was also successful because it wasn’t limited to desktop quality — the 300-dots-per-inch, black-and-white output of the LaserWriter. Files produced on a Macintosh could be delivered to high-quality Linotronic typesetters.

Only some of the publishing equipment and technology came down to the consumer level. But professional publishing vendors quickly realized the practicality and popularity of the desktop market and created hooks so desktop tools could be integrated with high-end equipment. Part of this formula was the creation of service bureaus, where a desktop end user could bring her work for final, professional touches and output. These bureaus were very successful, integrating desktop publishing, hardware and software reselling, equipment rentals, and slide and overhead production for presentations.

In much the same way, video production tools are now available and popular — if not on the consumer level, than certainly on the “prosumer,” or serious enthusiast, level. In addition, corporate communicators are increasingly producing their own video presentations in house. And they, too, can use a common EDL to create master tapes for editing on high-quality post-production systems.

Connections to the desktop or desktop versions of video tools are now available from professional video production vendors (such as Quantel and Digital F/X), as well as from the computer industry and electronics vendors who are developing versions of their professional products for consumers.

VIDEO’S NOT THAT EASY

Jack Butler, of Butler Graphics in Troy, MI, another Digital F/X service bureau, does not think that the publishing paradigm holds. He feels that video is still too complicated, requiring lighting, sound, writers, producers, etc.

“It’s a little too complicated for the desktop market,” he says. While there are “millions of different needs” that corporations may have for desktop video, Butler sees his market not in corporate types, but in “bedroom producers” — independent producers who can’t yet make the investment in their own equipment, and who need to cut online time in professional editing suites.

Slow growth. With sales of consumer camcorders and cheap pcs on a fast track, the possibilities for desktop video editing are exciting. But market growth has been something short of overwhelming.

“I don’t think anyone thought the market would happen overnight,” claims Koalkin. “We always recognized that it was going to develop in stages. Moving video into communications departments is the larger opportunity for us.” Thus any move to let users “test-drive” products could be seen as a necessary step toward accelerating sales of desktop editing equipment.

Minimal startup cost. But everyone agrees that now is the time to enlarge the market for desktop video. Digital F/X hopes its service bureaus will provide relatively inexpensive education and training for people who are intimidated by video because they don’t understand the many different levels of production quality or how the medium works.

One of Bob Dennis’ customers, for example, set up a high-quality consumer camcorder on a tripod in the office of his CEO and videotaped a presentation. He brought the tape to Pacific Media, created graphics, did the editing and walked out with a tape that was eventually distributed to the entire company sales force.

The trick now is to educate and nurture these people — to create what Butler calls an “evolutionary climate.” Says Dennis: “Sure there is a need for the high-end professional, but now there is no reason for the individuals not to try it for themselves.” That’s what Digital F/X likes to hear.

- David Baron