The Top 10 Trends and Innovations of 2010

Even though it may not feel like it, there were a number of trends and innovations in 2010 that will make a lasting impact on creative production. The bad news is that not all of them have been happy and positive. The evil villains really came out to squash the little guy in 2010. But thankfully the little guy proved that with a dash of ingenuity and motivation, they could still pull off a devastating surprise attack.

10) The rapid failure of 3D TV

I’m not a fan of today’s 3D movies. When I was a kid, 3D movies just seemed more fun. Shark jowls would swim straight at you. Laser beams would touch your forehead. And evil doctors would always point a giant syringe directly in your face. The directors of today’s 3D movies have too much integrity to have a character deliberately wave a giant battle axe over our heads. The 3D element is just tacked on to make the price of the ticket higher.

It was troubling when the film Avatar caused a minor 3D craze in early 2010. Suddenly every major TV manufacturer was rolling out excessively expensive 3D TVs, and dopey proprietary glasses. Merchants at the 2010 CES show in Las Vegas seemed hellbent on making 3D TV the next big thing. Thankfully consumers didn’t take the vivid, three dimensional bait. Sales on 3D TV’s have been a huge disappointment, and models that hit the market at $5000 have recently been dropped to under $3000. It appears that 3D TV is destined to become a neglected feature buried deep in the menus on a TV, somewhere under the V-Chip controls.

9) Cord cutters inflicted a mortal wound

By the third quarter of 2010, over half a million people had terminated their cable TV service. You can blame the Great Recession, but I think a larger trend is in its infancy. Why would you pay for cable and rent a DVR when so much good content is instantly available online? Watching Netflix on Blu Ray players, video game consoles, and devices like the Roku box was wildly popular in 2010. The second generation of the Apple TV debuted in September, and by Christmas over a million units had been sold. The cable cutting movement will likely turn 2011 into an ultra-bloody slasher flick. In retaliation, Comcast wants to grab a larger share of Internet providers by buying NBC Universal, in hopes of inflicting the death grip on net neutrality. They want to put the squeeze on Netflix, and drive up the cost of their service. The good news is that no matter how hard the cable giants fight back, it just seems like they’re going to lose out in the end.

8) The Great Camera Shootout 2010

2008 was the year that HD video-enabled DSLR cameras made their debut and blew our minds. In 2009 people really adapted to using them regularly in film and video production. But it wasn’t until 2010 that we clearly saw how well these little cameras performed. I’m talking about The Great Camera Shootout 2010. It’s a three part video series that scientifically compared a handful of HD video-enabled DSLR cameras with two industry standard 35mm movie cameras. The series was made by the camera support manufacturer Zacuto. It was really inspiring to watch, and Philip Bloom’s high ISO low light test of the Nikon cameras was just incredible. Even more inspiring is that Zacuto won an Emmy for this production in November. An Emmy for a web series? Now we’re talkin’ revolution!

7) Google got evil

I’m a fan of Google Search, and a happy user of Google Analytics, but in 2010 Google’s feverish greed changed my opinion of this company. Their reassuring old motto “Don’t Be Evil” was apparently shot in the face. Google played a big role in helping to strangulate net neutrality in 2010 in shady deals with companies like Verizon. Google went out of their way to limit the future of the wireless web, all in the name of making a dirty buck. And their Xerox copy, innovation-free (yet appropriately named) superstar product Android made it clear that Google’s number one ambition was to destroy and concur. If 2010 would have gone as planned, Google Wave would have decapitated Facebook, Android would have chopped up Apple, and their shady deals with Internet providers would have officially made them Darth Vader’s bigger brother. Thankfully Google was much more adept at hubris rather than success in 2010. Even Google TV bombed. Shocker.

6) Articulating screens on higher-end DSLR camera

The introduction of the Canon 60D this year ushered in a new age for Canon DLSR cameras. While still image purists were generally underwhelmed with the 60D’s video-camera-esque articulating LCD screen, DSLR filmmakers loudly applauded its inclusion.

You might think Canon is on their way to going whole hog into producing a true DSLR/video camera hybrid. The trouble is that if you look at the features on Canon’s recent Vixia HF R100 sub $400 camcorder, you’ll see that all of the essential hybrid tools that could have been included on the 60D are missing. But hey, we’ll take the articulating screen. Being teased is sometimes better than completely being ignored.

5) Griid

As far as audio production is concerned, I’m an Ableton Live devotee all the way, and I’m a big fan of grid controllers. If you’re not familiar with grid controllers, don’t worry, I won’t bore you with the details. All you need to know is that they’re not devices for controlling the distribution of electricity. They’re used for making music and DJing. Griid is a new controller app for the iPad. Even though I don’t own an iPad yet, I still closely watch the evolution of Ableton Live, and Griid really seems to have struck at the nerve at the core of what makes Live so powerful and unique.

4) The numbers “2010”

One of the great things about the first decade of the new millennium has been all of the cool looking dates we’ve had. Who can forget 02/02/02, or the venerable 07/07/07? In this regard, the number 2010 was just graphically stunning. It just looks classic. Slap the number 2010 into any graphic design work, or even just writing it, and your work instantly looks classier.

I was doing sound on a film earlier this year, and a 10 year-old actor was on set who had turned 10 on 10/10/10. Everyone was gushing about how cool that was, while the 10 year-old girl rolled her eyes. Even though she didn’t appreciate 2010, I really loved the look of it. 2011 is kind of neat, but it lacks the symmetry and grace of my beloved 2010. Goodbye, my smooth, round friend.

3) Vitaliy Kiselev’s GH13 Hack

I spent much of 2010 trying to figure out which HDSLR camera to buy. As the year moved forward, it got more and more difficult to decide. Just as I had zeroed in on the Canon 7D as my front runner, the Panasonic GH1 received a major system upgrade. A Russian teacher named Vitaliy Kiselev had a few Panasonic cameras and apparently a lot of free time on his hands. With the encouragement of the dvxuser Internet forum, Vitaliy figured out how to hack into Panasonic’s firmware updates. With a lot of hard work he was able to develop the GH13 camera hack for Panasonic’s GH1. It allowed GH1 owners to crank up the bit rate on their cameras, enabling them to capture stunning video that left HD champions like the Canon 5D MkII behind in the dust. It was an awesome example of a small grassroots community coming together to turn a number of massive corporations on their heads.

2) The Panasonic AF100

When the first CAD drawings of the Panasonic AF100 were released early in 2010, the video production community collectively cheered for joy. Never before had such an ugly camera created such a stir.

Later in the year when the AF100 made the all-important transition from CAD drawing to physical object, it got a little better looking, but it still had that dorky, box-like quality that the CAD drawing seemed to highlight.

She isn’t pretty, but the picture on the AF100 is killer. You get a big micro four thirds sensor, an interchangeable lens mount that’s compatible with just about anything (with the right adapter), and of course the essential audio tools that make everything legit (XLR ins, mic/line, meters, headphone jack, etc). This camera was born in 2010, but 2011 is the year that it’s going to rule the roost. DVX who? HVX what? It’s all about the AF100 from now on.

1) The product that the Samsung Galaxy Tab knocked off

I’m sorry, but you can’t write an article about the top ten trends of 2010 without making the Apple iPad number one. I thought about putting something else in the number one slot to be edgy, but why kid myself? The same company that had runaway successes with the iPod and then the iPhone somehow managed to do it again. 2010 was an incredibly frustrating year for people who love to hate Apple.

I don’t need to tell you a thing about the iPad, because you already know everything about it. What you do need to know is that for every iPad that was sold in 2010 (7.1 million), there’s a person like me who is dead set on buying the second generation when they become available in the Spring of 2011. Even the biggest Apple haters on the planet will be cracking open their wallets for an iPad 2. I may as well go ahead and name the iPad 2 the #1 innovation of 2011 right now, and save myself the trouble.

What about the stuff that didn’t make the list?

You may be asking: where is the iPhone 4? I couldn’t believe my ears when the iPhone 4 was introduced. The body acts as the antenna? Are you kidding me? There’s a reason antennas look the way they do. While I wouldn’t kick an iPhone 4 out of bed, I wasn’t tempted to upgrade my 3GS for this thing.

The other half of you are likely indignantly whining: what about Android? Awarding Android as an “inspiring innovation” is like complimenting a corrupt Chinese factory for making a good knock off of a legitimate company’s product. Was Android a big trend in 2010? Sure. But it was also dead boring. The EVO 4G is a cool phone, no doubt. But the excitement and innovation it owes everything to happened back in 2007.

Zero percent of the population is wondering why Google TV didn’t make the list. Google’s Nexus One also failed to make this list. Namely because it failed in every regard. You gotta go better than that, Lord Vader.