Is the Future of Post-Production to be Feared – or an Opportunity?

Team Mixing Light: AI, custom tools, entry-level career shifts, and the rise of immersive content

What does the future of post-production actually look like?

It’s the question on every working professional’s mind heading into 2026 – and the answers might surprise you. In this January 2026 edition of Office Hours, contributors Katie Hinsen, Jason Bowdach, Zeb Chadfield, and Peder Morgenthaler join the conversation to share where they see the industry heading. Rather than doom and gloom, what emerges is a picture of creative professionals adapting, building new tools, and finding opportunity in unexpected places.

“Every time [entry level jobs] have gone away, you get on the ladder somewhere closer to where you want to be creatively… These tools now [are] displacing some of the [tedious] work that we would often make people do, to do their time. Well, now they can actually start closer to the creative.”

Katie Hinsen, Consultant, Futurist

But first, three pieces of Mixing Light news.

Water Cooler Sessions – Mixing Light is launching informal, unrecorded, unscripted drop-in hangouts for Mixing Light Premium members. A few times a month, you’ll get an email with 30 minutes’ notice, and if you can make it, you show up and chat about whatever’s on your mind – what you’re watching, a crazy client story, or just a coffee break with colleagues.

Daria Fissoun’s Live Workshop – Daria is developing a four-day live workshop exploring the etymology of color grading terms – tracing lift, gamma, gain, vignettes, and qualifiers back to their origins in film chemistry, optics, and 19th-century white papers. It’s aimed at both newcomers wanting deeper confidence with their tools and established colorists curious about the history behind them.

Jason Bowdach’s Working Colorists Cohort – Jason is launching The Working Colorists, a small-cohort business coaching program (just 15 participants) focused entirely on the business skills colorists rarely get taught – client acquisition, specialization strategy, and career direction. A few spots will be reserved for Mixing Light members.

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