Top 5 Tech Failures in Contemporary Video Production and Filmmaking

Not every technological innovation can change the world. Here are a few of the most recent video product fails.

Are you a gear lover? It seems like every week there’s a new camera, lens, or piece of equipment that is making a splash in the filmmaking industry. But let’s face it, not every piece of technology is a game-changer. In fact, some are downright flops. From cameras with major problems to TVs that distort the picture, here are some of the biggest technology fails in the filmmaking industry from the last few years. And if you can think of any other flops that we forgot, please share in the comments below.

1. The AJA Cion

When the AJA Cion was announced at NAB 2014, it looked like a very promising camera that could potentially find a home in the professional video production world. But it had major problems from the beginning. First and foremost, the camera was delayed six months. In an industry that is constantly changing, a six month delay is a lot of time.

Blackmagic announced their URSA Mini just a few months later at NAB 2015. It had better specs than the Cion at a fraction of the price. In order to compete with the URSA Mini, Cion dropped their price from $9,000 to $5,000, which was viewed by many to be a sign of desperation. Furthermore, AJA started offering free ‘test drives’ of the Cion so that filmmakers could try it out before they bought it. But what may have been a genuine attempt to put the Cion in the hands of filmmakers was quickly perceived as a desperate move to get rid of the cameras.

Adding insult to injury, when Cinema5D did a comprehensive review of the Cion it was revealed that the camera only had 8.2 stops of dynamic range instead of the advertised 12. Currently there have been no talks of a new AJA camera, so the AJA Cion may very well be the first and last camera the company ever produces.

2. 3D Television

Despite having the ability to watch 3D sports, movies, and television in your home, audiences simply aren’t consuming 3D content. Maybe it’s the fact that you have to wear glasses. Maybe it’s because there isn’t much 3D content to watch. The Wire put it best when they said:

3D TV Is Dead

Not much wiggle room there. Despite investing billions in the technology, TV manufacturers have opted to focus on 4K rather than 3D. That’s not to say that 3D technologies are dying… far from it. But development of flat 3D TV screens for in-home consumption appears to have virtually stopped.

3. FCPX

Apple’s FCPX release was so bad that some were speculating that the software might die off it not updated. Of all the problems with the initial release of FCPX, the most notable design feature/flaw was the introduction of the magnetic timeline, which was supposed to replace traditional track-based timelines. This was a radical departure from the workflow of earlier Final Cut Pro versions and many editors simply couldn’t get on board.

FCPX wasn’t initially released with other little features like multi-camera editing or broadcast monitoring. But then again, when would you ever need to edit a project with multiple cameras?

Since its release in 2011, FCPX has been updated over a dozen times. It’s now fully functional as a modern NLE – the first Hollywood feature cut on Final Cut Pro X was released this year. Yet its popularity (according to search data) is still in decline. Did the botched FCPX release set the software on a course for disaster? Only time will tell.

4. GoPro Session

The GoPro Session is severely underperforming in sales, leading many analysts to declare that the camera a flop. From action videos to immersive 360 VR experiences, GoPros are the camera of choice if you need a small action camera capable of producing better-than-average video. But consumers just aren’t buying the Session. As a result, GoPro’s stocks (as of October 7, 2014) are at a record low and the company’s future has been called into question.