Listening to a recent episode of the Terence & Philip podcast got me thinking about the amount of change we constantly see throughout media & entertainment. Their discussion briefly touched on the speed that content creators have to move, and they mentioned how staying up-to-date with everything can be a job in and of itself. Individuals are constantly updating and upgrading their gear as the need to perform their jobs better, faster and cheaper increases.
Casey Anderson with Sachtler Ace
Listening to a recent episode of the Terence & Philip podcast got me thinking about the amount of change we constantly see throughout media & entertainment. Their discussion briefly touched on the speed that content creators have to move, and they mentioned how staying up-to-date with everything can be a job in and of itself. Individuals are constantly updating and upgrading their gear as the need to perform their jobs better, faster and cheaper increases.
That upgraded and updated gear and technology doesn’t come out of nowhere though. Offering tools that enable better, faster and cheaper production is a focus for companies all across media and entertainment, which requires them to be just as nimble at embracing something new or changing the way they operate. We’ve all seen and will continue to see harsh ramifications for companies that can’t or won’t embrace that reality.
It’s a concept that really struck me when I saw the recent announcement from The Vitec Group, which detailed their new organizational structure. Vitec has a number of brands under their banner, and they’re now going to be organized into three groups: Production Equipment, Production Services and Creative Solutions.
“We’re going after significant goals with this new structure,” Vann mentioned. “Ultimately, it’s about innovation and the ability to bring products to market quicker, and it’s always about providing great service. In order to align the organization to attain those goals, we took a look at the most optimized structure to foster innovation, enable us to work with our customers collaboratively and provide an outstanding level of service. That’s how we arrived at the three-business-unit structure. ”
One concept that kept coming up in my conversation with him was around the speed at which professionals and the industry itself are moving. People often get excited about a big announcement that’s revealed at NAB or IBC, but by the time it comes out it’s already dated, or the people that were waiting for it have moved on.
Some of that delay is about taking the time that’s needed to ensure a product is developed correctly, but there are also layers and levels of internal red tape that get in the way. Removing those unnecessary delays and limiting the necessary ones as much as possible will be a priority for them.
“What I hope to see is that we bring new products to market within 60 days,” Vann said. “That is a different goal from the past. It’s more aggressive and it’s timely in the world in which we operate. While there are a number of factors that may influence that target, we recognize that speed is critical for independent content creators and we are committed to putting it into place. With some larger broadcast customers we may have a different model for putting those products into the market, but typically we’re trying to get a product to market as quickly as possible.”
“We know that speed is key,” he continued. “Which is why we’ve grouped similar products together to go after similar markets. It’s critical to success in business environment that we move faster. Customers demand it, and by focusing on the established broadcast market and the independent creator, we’ll be a lot more agile.”
Moving fast is obviously a necessity, but they’re also clearly focused on having a better understanding of the needs of the market, which meant communication with their customers, and even with potential customers, took precedence. That said, collaboration isn’t a one-size-fits-all endeavor, and needs to be handled in an intelligent manner, otherwise feedback flies all over the place to no avail. Vann laid out the specifics of how that collaboration will work in each of the business units, and it’s eye-opening to see how many different ways collaboration can and does work.
“In the Production Equipment business unit, we tend to be very collaborative with our customers,” Vann said. “We bring them into the loop when we’re designing new products so they have a chance to comment on and influence the design process. And that process can take six to twelve months, depending on the complexity of the product.”
ESPN Control Room at World Cup (Bexel)
“In our Production Services business, we frequently must build to the job requirement, and we are incredibly quick and nimble with our customers who are deadline driven. They often simply cannot get to us until a couple weeks before a project has to start. Because of that, and our extensive experience working in environments that are broadcast and event driven, we have developed a methodology that allows us to collaborate with a superior degree of effectiveness. And that is why the Production Services business has been growing so quickly.”
“The Creative Solutions part of Vitec is an interesting business model. We’ll go to market with a number of different products and ideas that are 80-90% done, and we’ll ask for feedback from the marketplace. Our intention is to learn fast and, if need be, fail fast. Sometimes that feedback helps us move forward with modification, and other times we’ll kill a product on the spot. That flexibility and connection to users is important to keeping this business unit as responsive as it needs to be. We know our customers and understand that different methodologies are needed to successfully interact with them.”
The topic of collaboration is one that comes up often in media and entertainment, whether that means working with a group of people for a weekend film project or being able to effectively work with people who are located across the world on the multi-million dollar project. Regardless of the details, collaboration is a concept that needs to be constantly defined and redefined.
Openness to such things is an inherent need in this industry, and it’s not something seen by professionals in other markets. Most industries don’t see the sort of disruption in 10 years that we see from one NAB to the next, and it’s something only people with experience in the industry realize.
“Graham, Halid and Nicol bring an incomparable depth of industry knowledge to their respective market segments,” Vann said. “There’s immense understanding on the table, collectively and individually. Some companies place people from outside the industry thinking they can apply what they learn elsewhere to media & entertainment, but this often fails because of the unusual nature of this industry. The requirements of creating are unique, and the fact that we have so much domain knowledge really helps us.”
“I’ve been doing this for 20 years,” Vann continued, “And I understand the fundamental importance of serving the customer. We are building an organization that is clearly focused on supporting their needs. Our role is to be on the ground with our customers and see the challenges they face. Then, we make sure we have the right solutions at the right time to help them execute their vision. And when we don’t, I’ll be the first one to say we don’t have it, and here’s a company that might be better for you. By building that relationship with customers, we become a trusted source of information.”
The evolution of the approach Vitec is taking to the market is what stands out most about this announcement, and it’s essential to consider what it means for them and for their customers. Does that put them on the cutting edge of a trend that will soon sweep the industry? Or does it simply give them the means to effectively create relevant tools?
“My ultimate goal is to drive friction out of the process,” Vann concluded. “That’s the case whether we’re talking about how we manufacture something, how we communicate about it, or how a customer interacts with it. Because friction slows things down and creates confusion. We want to create an ecosystem that moves product and information and solutions from us to our end users to real world use. That’s how we are creating a winning environment.”
“For us to achieve the goals we’ve put in place for ourselves, we must be front and center with our customers,” he went on to say. “This means partnering with them in understanding the industry to see the opportunities and challenges, and also collaborating to design the next generation solutions they need. Whether that’s 4K, how to shoot better under adverse lighting conditions, or moving content wirelessly from different areas of a production, all of these represent challenges and opportunities. If we’re passive in our understanding of them, our solutions will be passive and we’ll miss the mark. If we stay right there with our customers to understand the requirements and see where the next opportunity will arise, our solutions will be much more in tune with what our customers need.”
The new structure of Vitec Videocom is obviously big news, but their focus around innovation and collaboration is also an indication of things to come. With so many more ways to communicate and collaborate, the need and desire to utilize something that’s faster, cheaper and better will only become more pronounced.
For a long time, people on both sides of content creation thought they could get to a certain point and be done. The concept was that a particular product or a certain version would take care of everything, but that mentality simply doesn’t work in this space. Whatever product a professional is using or a company is creating isn’t the end of the line, but merely a stop on it.
No one can say exactly where that line is headed, but it’s definitely going to be an exciting trip.