What Does Professional Mean?
So, what does professional mean? I decided to write this article a little after the release of Apple’s Final Cut Pro X and the fallout from that. On the day of it’s release, there were numerous people on Twitter and various blogs crying foul of Apple saying the app didn’t have some professional features, and it couldn’t be used for professional use. This got me thinking of what features of an app make it professional and, in general, what does it mean to be professional?
So what does professional mean?
What exactly does being professional mean. Does being professional mean using specific apps? Does getting paid for your job make you professional? Can someone making a video for free not be professional? Is it the way a person acts that makes them professional? Am I not a professional because I use this piece of hardware and not that piece of hardware. Let’s have a look at some of the things we mentioned and consider what being a professional means.
Hardware
What hardware make us professional? I think this is something that constantly moves. If we look back at the history of making video, what constituted a professional video camera in the 1980’s or 1990’s would probably look antiquated and some people would consider it unprofessional to use it these days. It can’t shoot in HD? It doesn’t have an SDI output? Well, then maybe it isn’t professional these days. You also have to look at newer technologies such as the DSLR [camera] and how these are slowly being accepted as being able to shoot professional video in some circumstances.
The computer you use was also considered, by some, for a short while, to denote whether you’re professional or not. Some years ago, being a creative professional and owning an Apple Mac went hand in hand.
I also think we can look at my previous article ‘Grab a Bargain and Don’t Always Buy New‘, and [ask yourself] does buying brand new or the latest and greatest equipment make you professional, or are you still a professional if you buy second hand or slightly out dated equipment.
Software
What constitutes professional software is how I came up with the idea for this article. I think software is a similar situation to hardware. Just because you have the latest release from Apple or Adobe, can you automatically make professional video?
If you are an editor who still edited movies by hand these days, would you be considered a professional or just someone who had an interest in the ways films use to be edited.
Even if you are using a non linear editor such as Avid, Final Cut or Premiere Pro, etc., which one of these constitutes a professional applications. Does using Avid automatically make you a professional? I think until the release of the previous version of Final Cut, unless you could edit on Avid then you were not considered a professional editor. Can you still be a professional if you use Final Cut or Premiere? You have to look a the fallout of the release of the new version of Final Cut Pro X and people crying foul that it wasn’t professional. Does that mean if you use Final Cut Pro X to edit then your not a professional? The same goes for Sony Vegas. If I edit with this, am I not a professional? I think all the applications mentioned can be used to create professional video in one form or another.
Pay
If you make money out of making videos are you a professional video maker? Also, with this, how much money do you need to make to be considered a professional? $20,000 a year? $40,000? In a junior role, are you considered a professional yet, or do you have to wait until you’ve moved up the ladder before you can truly be considered a professional.
We can also consider the issue of outsourcing here. Increasingly, in all industries, outsourcing is taking place where projects or parts of projects go overseas because it is cheaper (often due to currency exchange rates). If people are working for less than you but still have the same skills, then are they still professionals? Surely they are because there using the same hardware and software as you.
So can we answer what professional is?
As you can see from the previous paragraphs, there doesn’t seem to be a particular set up of software, hardware and pay that constitutes being a professional. Sometimes being a professional is also moving target–what it took to be a professional in the past would probably only get you so far to being a professional now.
In my opinion, what it takes to be a professional is various things. I think which software you use is getting less and less relevant these days. I think you can make professional videos in Avid, Old Final Cut, Premiere or even Final Cut Pro X! Certainly being a good editor is more about having good solid editing skills rather than using a particular piece of software to edit. I even think I could make a good attempt to edit with windows movie maker!
I think for some hardware there is a level that is professional, when it comes to video cameras for example, having manual controls on your camera and sometimes things like having XLR inputs make a camera professional. Although with some good lighting you could certainly make a good video on a Handycam to!
I also think getting paid for making videos also makes you professional along with what software and hardware you use. Not that just because you don’t get paid doesn’t mean you haven’t got professional skills.
Overall, I think it takes a combination of the hardware, software and pay to make you a professional. I also think that having certain skills is what makes us professional. If you have the skills, you can make decent video using a lot of different hardware and software. But, as we previously mentioned, all this a moving target so we all have to make sure we keep up to stay relevant in our industries.
So, what does professional mean to you? Let me know in the comments below.
Hi, I’m from Nottingham in the United Kingdom. I’ve been writing about motion graphics on Motion Design Love for a while now, as well being a Video Editor and Motion Designer by Day. I probably spend most of my waking hours either doing something with motion graphics or thinking about stuff I can do with motion graphics. I’m looking forward to writing some great articles for Fuel Your Motionography, I hope you’re all looking forward to reading them!
Imo, professional means:
1. professional approach to clients (you don’t bother them with your personal problems, don’t give them excuses for things you f*cked up, giving them proposals with milestones, etc)
2. respecting deadlines (most important)
3. wrapping up project properly (in case of video – rendered video in different formats, nicely designed dvd box with nice looking menus, respecting small remarks from clients)
4. making a product that exceeds clients expectations (putting cherry on the top)
5. not undercharging your work (clients won’t value your work if you don’t)
6. doing really small and uncomplicated stuff free of charge (for regulars)
Hardware and software have nothing to do with being professional. It just helps you do your work faster (and consequently better).
A professional is many things to many people, but ultimately, the “quality” of what it means to be professional is in the eyes of your clients. In broad terms:
1) if you have clients, chances are you are at least budding on the professional threshold.
2) being a professional means you are providing a quality service that others desire.
3) a professional has a skillset and the knowledge of a specific domain above that of the average person.
3) does a professional always work for money? No, but they should and can justify their financial value.
4) in the words of Steven Pressfield, an amateur “plays for fun” while a professional “plays for keeps.”
In my opinion, the equipment you use has nothing to do with being a professional. I was a professional when I was doing photo slideshows in PowerPoint and shooting video on VHS. I “looked” more professional with impressive and expensive equipment, but the hardware is ultimately just a tool. Being a professional is NOT about the tools, it’s about the product, it’s about how you use the tools you have to complete your task.
In my opinion none of this has any bearing on being professional.
Your level of knowledge, technical proficiency and approach, the acknowledgment of your peers, your work ethic, all these things are a part of being a professional. What gear you use has almost none.
The previous two commenters sum it up fairly well.