Welcome to the New World of Hybrid Post-Production
By Domenic Rom
The entertainment industry has experienced a series of revolutionary changes in technology and workflow over its 100-plus year history. In some instances, innovation was predictable and evolutionary, other times it appeared in a flash. Early on, came the standardization of camera speed. Later, sound arrived. Whether we were alive then or not, we all have instilled in our minds that moment when color created movie magic. More recently, production and post-production moved from an analog model based on film to digital media and nonlinear workflows. In each case, change resulted in improvements in productivity and higher quality content.
We are currently undergoing another major transformation. The pandemic brought about the wide adoption of remote work. This change not only affected our industry, but businesses of all types. Shutdowns and quarantines kept people out of the office and forced them to work from home. For some companies, for example those involved in financial services, the move to remote work was relatively easy. For others—supermarkets, transportation providers, medical services—it was virtually impossible. Onsite work was a practical necessity.
Goldcrest Post NY office studio
In the film and television industry results varied. Most production activity ground to a halt, at least temporarily. You can’t produce content without groups of actors and crew working together on sets. Post-production companies, on the other hand, found ways to carry on.
Goldcrest Post responded to the crisis quickly, far faster than many of our larger competitors. When New York shut down, our engineers, artists and producers worked as a team to develop solutions that allowed most of our staff to work remotely. In just one day, we were up and running at near full capacity. Editors, assistant editors, producers and other support staff worked from home. We delivered color grading services through offsite locations connected securely to servers at our main facility. While sound mixing could only be done through onsite mix stages, we solved that problem by having mixers work in solitude with clients supervising via offsite locations. It was hard at first, but we adapted and so did our clients. We produced amazing content during the pandemic.
Home studio setup of Goldcrest’s Mike Suarez, Re-Recording Mixer
It wasn’t a perfect solution. Post-production is a collaborative activity. Artists are used to working with directors, cinematographers and producers sitting side by side—often for weeks or months—sharing ideas and making critical creative decisions. It is hard to achieve that deep connection through a Zoom call.
As the pandemic waned, the necessity for working remotely diminished, but we didn’t return to the former status quo. Many of our employees came back to our facility and some clients resumed supervising sessions in person. Others enjoyed the convenience of working from home or found that it provided more efficient use of their time. What has emerged is a hybrid model with a mix of onsite and remote activity dictated by practical considerations and personal choice.
As with revolutionary changes in the past, Goldcrest Post has enthusiastically embraced hybrid workflows. When it makes sense to work onsite, we continue to deliver sound and picture services the way we have for years. When it’s necessary or more convenient for artists to work from home, or for clients to participate in grading sessions or mixes from distant locations, we accommodate them. Over the past three years, we have implemented networking technology, calibration systems and security software to make remote work easy, efficient and secure.
I’ve observed the struggle other industries have experienced in getting employees to return to the workplace. Many employees find the reduction in commuting time and more precious moments with family to be a blessing and have no desire to go back to the office. It has caused some strain between employers and staff. I understand both the resistance of employees and the desire of employers to have everyone back in the office. It is a delicate dance that will continue to evolve. The entertainment industry is unique due to its collaborative nature which makes us more open to hybrid solutions.
Today, many of the projects we work on combine onsite and remote work. It’s a best of both worlds approach that has improved the lifestyles of our employees and provided our clients with maximum flexibility. Ironically, the constraints imposed by the pandemic have resulted in greater productivity and higher quality content. We couldn’t be happier with this new hybrid world or more excited to see what comes next.