How I've Adapted To Working Remotely
Production Technician Richard Gibbs shares his remote work process during the pandemic.
“This is fake!” many have said while looking for remote positions. “Don't give them your bank account information. Are you crazy?” Due to the high number of scams since the advancement of technology, this is our reality. Today, for the many who wanted a way out of the office or to save some gas and regain some much-needed sleep because of those long commutes and early mornings, “Congrats you’re hired. Now please stay at home!”
So, to begin under the stay at home model due to this invisible enemy, working from home has been bittersweet especially for someone working with the public. For me the bitter side of this coin presents itself as for most of us in the lack of interaction which in my case would be with Access Users and co-workers other than software through virtual meetups. I've always seen myself as an introvert in the sense of being a deep thinker along with not being fueled by crowds but recharging in isolation, also known as “cave time”. That being said, I do enjoy the company of others and social events, but my battery starts to deplete in a good way. I like to think of it as sipping a nice glass of wine but sadly the glass will become empty; so off to the charger I go which brings me to the current isolation.
First of all, I am thankful to be still working throughout this period due to several reasons but mainly due to the fact that my media production workflow is on the frontline of technology. Heck, you can even start your very own channel from your mobile phone. But back to the isolation...during this time, I’ve been learning and sharpening my knowledge of video editing and photo manipulation, including new software like Discord that is helpful for working remotely, while taking lots of photos using a loaner DSLR camera. All this is made possible and with ease due to my current system setup which I recently built over the Christmas holidays.
Having a modest CPU with 6 cores and 12 threads, let's tech it down a bit. Think of cores as multiple clones of yourself and threads as your very own personal butler who brings your meals helping you eat up those tasks in a faster time. Stay with me, don't crash just yet! Likewise, because it is well supported by 32 gigs of memory or ram and has a capable graphics card (GPU) (which makes applications like Premiere Pro and Photoshop run satisfactory but admittedly can push the CPU from time to time), overall, “she”, my computer, devours whatever I throw at her. But when the time comes, I'll upgrade her to a 12 core processor. As for the peripherals, she is connected to a Cherry MX blue mechanical keyboard and a fast mouse. Not wireless, just to make sure it doesn’t try to scurry away from me. Also possible and taking full advantage thanks to multiple outputs via the GPU is a dual monitor setup for ample screen real estate for applications and streaming choices. I must not forget my blue snowball microphone and an old-school but still functioning Xbox 360 webcam, perfect for chatting with my workmates, friends and family. Quick tip, RGB lights help with color correction.
During this time, Richard and other Media Factory staff are available to help answer questions and offer support. Feel free to reach out to us by sending a message to info@mediafactory.org.