Dave Scammell is chief executive at Sohonet.

What workflow issues face the broadcast industry?
Education and information. Not only do digital workflows require new skills and expertise, but also an understanding that some of these skills are not what they seem. Networking is very familiar to anyone who uses the internet, but the demands of production networking are quite different and require specialist skills. Managing large-production data-storage requirements is not simply a case of adding more drives - it is critical to control a high-volume data workflow by efficiently and safely moving only required data.

Will the use of remote network editing be a growth trend?
We have seen considerable growth in this area, with both remote network editing and remote network DI. The challenge is that any kind of distributed production has to be well integrated into the entire data workflow plan.

How are working practices evolving?
We see that a broad, technically focused viewpoint is required to balance the technical requirements of the overall production workflow. A decision on capture device or even specific procedures during acquisition can ripple throughout the entire production process. Understanding and planning for these implications up front can make a huge difference to production costs and production values. This is a specialist skill just being recognised.

Any other predictions?
The physical location and prox-imity of elements of technology will be far less important in file-based workflows in future. Remote and collaborative working will continue to grow.

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