I’ve been in professional video production for almost 20 years. There have been a lot of changes in that time. In fact, in that span we have seen: DVD production set the standard and now start to wane, HD production evolve and HD distribution hit the web, YouTube become the dominant distribution platform for the web and so on…
Now let’s look at the future and where I see video heading, in my estimation:
A businessman is consulting a crystal ball to foretell the future.
Production: 4K will be mainstream and in fact we will probably be now looking at 8K as the new capture method, with cameras becoming more filmic in their look. However, I don’t see the pro cameras getting much smaller, maybe a little bigger with the ability to offer more for event videographers in the way of audio inputs and lens stability. I just don’t see the multipart camera rigs as playing as big a role for cameras. The smaller cameras such as GoPros will stay within the same form factor, but may have some stronger accessories to take them into more diverse arenas. The video technology within phones will be more advanced, and the phones themselves will have more space at a cheaper rate. I also think that cloud technology will be more advanced so that you can offload video right from the camera into the cloud space wherever.
Post-Production: Editing systems will be more advanced allowing more touch technology and integration with touch based tools to edit. In other words it will feel like you are painting your video or film, as you will be able to slide around whatever elements you need by hand. Also, they will be more robust by having either a better continuity with other programs in the bundle by either integrating programs into the system or having a situation where you open the program within the editor and not know you are outside the editor. The programs will work with each other within the same window. Plus to be able to edit from the cloud will be an important part of the workflow.
Distribution: This is what may change the most as we will see more aspects of live streaming from just about whereever. There will be greater instances of wi fi for that. The video codecs will be much more advanced so streaming live in 4K will not be an issue. Plus maybe even multiple streams 4K. YouTube may not be the dominant video player, but I dont see it’s dominance waning as it becomes more of a Netflix competitor. Video will be able to played more readily on what were static billboards and kiosks as the cloud and streaming technolgies become more stable. Plus more vehicles will have wifi hotspots and streaming video will play more a role in that as well.
Those are just some of the few ideas in the advancement of technology within our time in the next 15 years and I haven’t even touched Virtual Reality. I’m not sure if we will be more advanced because of the huge leaps in digital and web based technologies that happend in a short amount of time in the last 15 years. We shall see. Like I’ve said before, it’s a good time to be in our industry.
