Plugtopia

As I leave my downsized job as senior staff editor of a large corporation, there will be many regrets. Not just because of the projects, friends and memories but also because of the real victims of this bleak economy – the plug-ins. When I pack up my possessions and put them in a cardboard box, these valiant little helpers will not be coming with me. Whether they were for creativity or productivity, they helped make the time I spent in Avid and FCP that much easier. Wouldn’t it be great if editors could buy an extended license code of a plug-in that allowed them to use it on more than one computer? This would be extremely helpful to freelance editors. How many times had you wished your favorite Sapphire or Boris plug-in was installed on the computer at your new gig? The same thumb drive that you use to port your user settings over could be a dongle that activates the plug-ins in your online account. Sure, it wouldn’t take long for this system to get cracked and exploited but people have been torrenting software for quite sometime now. Sites like iStockphoto and Zymmetrical are selling extended licenses. Heck even iTunes will let you authorize up to 5 computers. The recording and film industry are starting to finally see some success with subscription models. Could this be a viable example for video editors? Maybe. Has this discussion been churning in a back room or are there already plug-ins that have this option? I would love to find out. All I know is that as I step out of my edit suites for the last time at the end of April I will have only one phrase in my mind – let my plug-ins go.