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Comment by bluedino | Hacker News Reader

Is 'video production' really a trade school? I think more of the blue-collar trades.

Also, aren't video/music production classes like that usually the realm of for-profit schools like Full Sail and the job prospects dubious?

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Any schooling specifically intended to be vocational is a trade school.

cf. engineering. ;)

So, CS at most non-elite American universities?

Between the rise of youtube, the porn industry, "peak" TV and the constant stream of CGI-based movies, there is plenty of work in video production. A degree doesn't really matter, but knowing how to use the tools does. Whether you get hands on the tools at a university or a college isn't an issue.

All of those examples have razor thin margins in the overwhelming majority of cases which translates to not actually paying that great for everyone involved. It's like acting. Few will people make big bucks. Ever wonder why "professional amatuer" porn is such a large share of the market? Less people to pay. Most Youtube channels that have actual costs per episode (e.g. every time Demolition Ranch mag dumps the Barret that costs about $20) are made by a couple people working for free and do weekly episodes in their spare time so they only have to recoup consumable costs.

hah! didn't expect to see a reference to Demolition Ranch here :D

Then, more automation and even better UI will tend to reduce the labor-intensity of satisfying that demand.

Translation: fewer people will be needed.

More content will be produced. A lot more.

That isn't how the entertainment industry works. Automation doesn't reduce the man-hours needed. The man-hours remains fixed and the quality of the product increases. Look at animation. Lots of tasks have been automated. Animators don't paint each cell individually. But the total man-hours put into a film haven't decreased. If anything, they have only increased. The average pixar film is exponentially more labor intensive than any of the great disney animations of old (fantasia et al).

I can't speak for "video production" in general, but I can confidently say (as a former member of IATSE Local 600) that cinematography - as it's organized in Hollywood - very much remains a "trade" with clearly organized hierarchies, unionization, training, and culture.

video production usually consists of long hours on site, moving heavy things from place-to-place , often some degree of ad hoc construction followed by uninstalling all of the above. not to mention cameras are pretty hefty themselves. meet enough veteran cameramen and you'll probably come to notice they all have large arms. the only real difference from a true blue collar job is that the goods produced are ephemeral.

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