Here we are, at the end of another year, steadying ourselves for the downturn.
Haven’t we been here before?
The truth is, the video and film industry has been downsizing and consolidating for years. After 9/11, particularly in the New York market, a lot of production and post came to a momentary halt. Then everyone eventually got back to business. But the software and hardware companies that make your gear have been continuing to consolidate at a steady pace. That’s not all bad news, especially if it means more features and better workflows at competitive prices. However, when products disappear or aren’t supported within the pipeline, that’s another story. If you have to learn to use something new, no matter how intuitive the interface, your clients— and their paychecks— will have to wait.
Media companies are the latest casualties in the current downturn. When the content owners post disappointing earnings, the next logical step is to start slashing expensive productions that simply don’t deliver the ratings. ABC’s Pushing Daisies, for example, that critically crispy confection with an equally glistening effects-driven crust, is rumored to be near the end of its run. How many other productions like it will follow?
After years of punishing economic conditions, small shops have gotten used to working in lean– and– mean mode. Often stuck in the back of the airplane, they’ve had to learn how to ride out the bumps. This has its advantages, too. They know that the turbulence is only temporary, and without all that overhead, they can get on and off the plane more quickly.
So why the long faces? There’s still a pressing fear, stoked by every frenzied swing of the stock market, that this latest economic slide is THE BIG ONE, the one that small, medium and even very large facilities can’t possibly survive without radically modifying their DNA. Try not to get spooked and continue doing what you do best. Take creative risks, but always have a back up. Economize where you can. Keep your clients happy but always be looking and open to new ones. And listen, not just to your staff and your customers, but to each other. During our recent fall Webinar series, "The Business of VFX+ Animation," we spoke with facility owners who shared their thoughts on how they keep their businesses thriving, especially at a time when clients, and consumers in general, are pulling back. (You can purchase one or both of these archived Webinars here https://secure.iian.ibeam.com/events/acce008/27633/.)
We’re planning more of these Webinars for 2009, and given the uncertain market conditions, we expect the conversations to get pretty intense. We hope you’ll join the discussion. Sometimes all it takes is one good idea to get your business mojo back, even in the worst of times.
— Beth Marchant, Editor-in-Chief
bmarchant@accessintel.com