Re: So, it's started...

Yeah, seems like there are quite a few far-reaching statements here all around.

This argument that cheap gear = death of the industry is just plain wrong in my opinion, and it parallels the argument that all these kids entering the industry are going to under-price and over-perform us all out of our jobs. If your rates are based solely (or even heavily) on owning very expensive gear, and not on the level of quality that you deliver with that gear, that is a business model problem. If a carpenter bids to build you a new house, and tries to charge twice as much as the next guy by saying "Well, I've got over $500,000 in equipment here!" you would laugh and say "So what? Same house, twice the cost!" If you can't build a better house...

Maybe I'm in the wrong (or, god forbid, the minority) here, but I think that competing on the level of quality you offer will lead to solid profits no matter what happens in the gear market OR the economy. This is only achievable if studios ditch the "sausage factory" mentality and really offer clients unique productions, tailored to their needs, infused with solid creativity. These are things that 25-year old johnny-come-lately can't offer, birthday iMac notwithstanding. If you can't make the case that your work is of a higher quality than what he can do with that iMac, you might have to pack it in. As gear prices go down and competition goes up, the only studios left standing will be those that johnny never even tried to compete with because their talents were far beyond what his presets could muster.

And please, no one take this post to be an insinuation of any kind - I'm sure we all do excellent work. I am merely trying to point out that every industry across the entire capitalist spectrum faces similar challenges, and every business out there has to adapt, push harder and raise the bar, or die.

Brendan Coots

Splitvision Digital

www.splitvisiondigital.com