Hosts Scott Simmons, Katie Hinsen, and Michael Kammes discuss NAB New York and the latest industry news, including the tension between vertical and horizontal video and, Instagram’s move toward long-form TV viewing. They also connect with Patrick Inhofer about suspending Mixing Light and the changing state of professional color-grading education. And of course, there’s a handful of very cool things or us post-production people to get excited about.
Observations from NAB New York highlighted a growing convergence between professional broadcast and social-media workflows, alongside hardware advancements like increasingly capable PTZ cameras. Meanwhile, broader industry instability was underscored by corporate layoffs at Paramount Skydance, software acquisitions, and ongoing debates surrounding AI safeguards and copyrighted training data.
After running Mixing Light since 2013, Patrick Inhofer made the difficult choice to close the platform due to falling membership retention, widespread subscription fatigue, industry contraction, and the proliferation of free technical instruction on platforms like YouTube. While active subscriptions will be honored and the archived material preserved, Inhofer highlighted that the closure reflects the challenges of one specific service rather than the death of all professional training. Their discussion examines what the industry risks losing as structured education gives way to free, fragmented video and automation tools like Bitfocus Companion streamline complex tasks. Inhofer also warns that while AI and automation can accelerate technical processes, they can’t replace human judgment, emotional nuance, or the mentorship and contextual knowledge once fostered inside traditional post-production facilities.
Although tools and business models will continue to evolve, durable professional development still relies heavily on community, curation, and human craft.
One Cool Thing
Katie: https://www.akuakromdp.com/ Akuakrom Development Project, a sustainable city in Ghana, and Haiti Housing Collaborative Initiative to develop disaster-resilient, low-cost housing.
Michael: Bitfocus Buttons (and Companion) + StreamDecks
Scott: Freedom (https://freedom.to)
Show Notes
Women Without Boundaries award for Katie
Instagram Tests 90-Minute Horizontal Videos in Major Play for Podcasters and Creators
Instagram chases YouTube with a push for longer, widescreen videos
MotionVFX coming to Apple Creator Studio in November
Blackmagic offers up discounts for DaVinci Resolve Studio and Resolve products – until November 20 – but also HW price increases
New York Poised to Overtake California as Top State for Movie and TV Production
Netflix initiated layoffs affecting approximately 6% of its workforce.
Skydance started employee buyouts aka voluntary redundancy