Continued Convergence
[by Gail Mooney]
My thoughts on the future – in a word convergence. I see continued convergence with the tools we use as visual communicators – still cameras and video cameras becoming one and the same. And with that, the convergence of the two industries – still photography becoming part of larger production companies that will facilitate the video/motion needs of a client, as well as their still photographic needs. This may be done with one camera, a high-end video camera, fully capable of producing high quality “frame grabs” that will be delivered to clients for their still image needs. I think we’ve only begun to see hybrid cameras being developed by the manufacturers.
As society continues to move more and more to an electronic platform and away from print as a means for communication, we will expect more than static imagery. We will expect sound and movement. And as technology enables the electronic pipeline to deliver information faster and seamlessly, the Internet will become our primary source for information.
The good news is that the Internet is open to all – a conduit for the democratization of communication. But is this really true? Or, will the information that we get be ranked by entities like Google? Will this ultimately effect the distribution of what information we get as a society? Those are the questions that run through my head and should be in everyone’s psyche. Because if or when the Internet becomes our primary means of communication we must be diligent in keeping it open. We must be the watchdogs now to make sure that control isn’t secured by the few who are making the rules in their favor.
You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.
I think there will always be print, just like movies were still made when TV came along. But it will be a niche in a greater array of visual platforms. It may become something more high end, something that is meant to be kept, rather than be recycled at the end of the day.
My thoughts on the future are just that – thoughts and speculations. It’s anybody’s guess really what the future holds. But we are all creating the future now with the choices we make and let others make for us.
