Michael Goldman here. Some of you might remember me, or at least my work covering the production and post-production worlds from my perch at venerable old Millimeter magazine, where I served as Senior Editor for the last 11 years. Despite its film-centric, but well respected, name, I’m proud to say Millimeter led the way in the trade journal space during the time I was there covering the film, broadcast, and so-called new media markets as they shifted from so-called old media into the world of high-end digital production-from acquisition to editing to visual effects and post and finishing work. Sadly, in a sign of how much my own industry, journalism, has changed during this same period, the print edition of Millimeter has ceased to be. The action is now, obviously, here-online.
So what’s a nice journalist like me doing on a site like this?
Well, while I was starting to spread my wings to cover the art, science, people, trends, issues, and techniques of digital production for various publications and Web sites, I was invited to join the Pro Video Coalition and aid its mission to spread the gospel of how the digital paradigm shift is revolutionizing entertainment, media, business, and for that matter, the world. Unlike my colleagues on this site, I’m not an end user, a reviewer, or a working cinematographer, engineer, or all-round genius. What I have great experience being, however, is a conduit for the voices of those who are all those things, and more. I’ve developed unique relationships and access to many of the world’s leading content creators and their teams of collaborators, and I intend, as best I can, to bring you their voices, concerns, challenges, problems, and solutions.
Many dozens of producers, directors, DP’s, editors, visual effects artists, digital imaging technicians, engineers, and their various colleagues who labor daily to devise, hone, and execute unique workflows for major feature films and television shows have no time or logistical ability to blog regularly on a site like this themselves, and thus, much of the knowledge sharing and problem solving with their peers that they would like to do if they had the time, they are rarely able to do under normal circumstances. My relationships with these folks, I hope, will allow many of them to work around that issue from time to time and present their thoughts through me, here. Whether it’s the David Fincher team, the Michael Mann team, the Robert Zemeckis team, the James Cameron team, the Dean Devlin team, or dozens of others-I intend to bring their voices, thoughts, and experiences to the greater conversation as it unfolds here on this Web site. Very soon, for example, I intend to share with you my upcoming visit with renowned camera designer/engineer Vince Pace about the camera science work he has been immersed in the last few years in partnership with Cameron to make the much ballyhooed Avatar a reality.
That’s just one example. Stay tuned for many more. Sometimes, these reports will come to you in the form of columns, sometimes in the form of a feature article, and sometimes in the form of a podcast audio conversation. But, either way, I hope you will find them valuable and informative. Naturally, I’m eager for your input, advice, and suggestions of topics to pursue as I labor over time to turn this into an industry-wide discussion. Feel free to email me any time at {encode=”michael.goldman@me.com” title=”michael.goldman@me.com”} with your input. And thanks for stopping by.