Non-linear in an online world

Over the last few years, non-linear, computer-based technology has come to dominate offline editing, and there is now no doubt that the same is about to happen to all aspects of online editing and post production. However, knowing that something is bound to happen doesn't mean that you automatically understand when, how and in what order. Many manufacturers and even some users are leaping to conclusions: that the process is one of total revolution, with all old equipment being thrown away; that any non-linear system can by definition do anything that existing linear systems can; that the first machines of the new generation are the total answer; that the mere existence of high-bandwidth networks will solve all the problems of how groups of people co-operate to make complex productions. These conclusions are flawed: the purpose of this paper is to examine what post-production workers actually want to achieve, and the real, immediate ways in which the new technologies can help them to achieve it better. Though it is a fundamental change, the process will be evolutionary, not revolutionary. Among issues to be discussed are: non-linear online-why it is not just "big" offline; examining the work-flow of existing online operations; migrating disk based solutions into the online environment; changing the emphasis-away from the technology to the ergonomics of the work-flow model; the march to the future.