Media Production is Changing – And So Must We

Looking back, my career has mostly been one continuous cycle: face a new challenge, dive in headfirst, put in the hard yards, and move on to the next thing before boredom sets in.

It’s always been a rewarding industry to work in. There’s never been a shortage of hurdles, from getting to grips with new technologies to making them work in practice—all while meeting every last customer demand along the way.

It feels like we’re always living through one disruption or another. The status quo is constantly shifting, and what worked yesterday becomes obsolete tomorrow.

Even so, I believe we are witnessing a major shift right now—one that will reshape media production more than anything else I’ve seen in my career.

And no, it isn’t AI.

Technological constraints and costs have long slowed the transition of multi-camera production into the era of cloud services and the platform economy.

However, we have now reached a turning point that is shifting services away from local equipment rooms and into the public cloud and private data centers.

An even bigger shift than the underlying platform is happening in how these services are used: the operational staff’s tools are becoming web interfaces, and the location of the production team is becoming completely location-independent.

The driving force behind moving services online are the same as in other business sectors: the popularity of usage-based pricing models, scalability and accessibility, and the flexible mobility of both people and data.

Moving production to software platforms brings significant benefits. On the other hand, these benefits are only realized when workflows and operating methods are transformed. In this way, new possibilities challenge us to change as companies, teams, and individuals. New skills, processes, roles, and partnerships are required.

Change can be inspiring or paralyzing. Personally, I find myself in the former group, even though I recognize and often feel firsthand the new challenges that come with new tech.

Sometimes I take comfort in the fact that having new challenges replace old ones is refreshing in itself!

When it comes to succeeding in change, factors more important than technology are leadership interest and commitment, appropriate means and practices for driving the transformation, and dedicated experts executing the change at the grassroots level. Not to forget a fearless attitude toward tackling challenges.

On the technology front, the transition is shadowed by geopolitics and AI. Distrust toward the United States and American tech giants introduces uncertainty into partnerships, while technology costs have risen significantly due to the AI and data center booms.

Despite these hurdles, the achievable benefits appear so vast that the change is inevitable.

Production platforms are moving from local venues into the cloud and—who knows—maybe into orbit one day, while content creators can work more flexibly than ever before.

Time will tell. Until then, we at Media Tailor focus on providing technology services operated out of Finnish data centers, ready to face whatever the future holds.

Throughout our 30-year history, we have strived to be the exact partner that guides you through change. Because nothing is more permanent than change.