Ganz𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮 𝟬𝟯𝟴𝟳
In 1998, my math teacher asked our class, “Do you think you’ll have a calculator with you at all times?”
My primary school principal once dragged my friends and me in front of the entire school to declare we’d never amount to anything because we played soccer instead of preparing for exams during a recess break.
It’s funny how certain they were.
People are 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 at predicting the future.
People can’t even decide what they’ll have for lunch next Tuesday, let alone where an industry will be in a decade.
Of course, some predictions come true, AI, smartphones, Moore’s Law. But most of the time, life catches us off guard.
I’ve seen the top students settle for less. I’ve also seen lazy friends fail upwards.
So, what’s the future of compositing?
Here’s my guess: • AI workflows will dominate. • Compositors will become 2D Generalists. • Generic content will flood the market, making original IPs extremely valuable • Corporations will lock down their data, cutting AI off from their content.
Niche creators will thrive. New tools will appear. Entirely new forms of entertainment will emerge, built on tech we haven’t even seen yet.
But here’s the real problem: 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗲.
We haven’t evolved to process this much information.
Soon, AI might paint 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 just for you, where you’re always the star of the show.
How do you tell truth from illusion when everything is tailored to flatter you?
It’s worth thinking about: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘃𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘀.
I don’t have the answers.
Because no one really knows where this is heading.
History is full of random discoveries that changed everything, just as it’s full of bad predictions and people voting in terrible leaders.
The future? It’ll surprise us.
It always does, just like the discovery of penicillin, rocket fuel, or graphene.