ENDA Episode 09→ The time when the Endless Apprentice learned about software’s flexibility (Part 2)

Being able to use perfectly one software is good, but it will not be enough when you step out of your bubble.

The first occasion will be when you start collaborating with others on school or college projects. There is the remote possibility that everyone uses the same software as you, so you won’t have to adapt, but the most probable case is that either everyone will have a different preferred software or there will be smaller groups that share a common software.

In that case, the group will make a vote that won’t be determined by how good the software is, but by other factors such as the cost of the license, the learning curve, their use in the industry, if the educational institution teaches the software, or if they can find enough tutorials in their language.

Another example will be that you end up in a group where everyone uses the same software except you, the you will be the only one that will have to adapt. I can assure you that trying to do the other way around will not have the best results, even if the groups agree to try your software.

I have a saying from experience: “Software can be learned in a few days, but team cohesion can’t”. If the team already works well with one software and the project is short on time, it is better not to change anything unless there are major reasons behind it.

The second occasion is connected to those reasons: the job market. A VFX company will already have an established pipeline with specific softwares and tools set up for each area. Moreover, job offers will ask to have experience with a specific package of softwares.

Not to mention that smaller companies will be more adept at changing their software: in the first project you could be using Maya for six months, but in the next one you have to use 3dsMax because the client only works with that program, and in the next one you could be using Blender, because the company wants to lower costs.

On the other side, the industry as a whole will already have softwares that are considered “industry standards”. However, this is tricky due to the times change and technology too, one “industry standard” software could become obsolete in 5 or 10 years if another competitor takes over the market, and then all the other companies will progressively change the program.

In addition, there will be also company-owned programs unique to their respective studio that will require you to master them to work on their projects. This was the case of Nuke which started as a company-owned program until it was acquired and put on the market.

In essence, change is inevitable when we talk about software, the reasons are varied and colorful, so staying with the same software all your life is not an option. I was lucky to understand it before graduating, so I will paraphrase what a friend told me regarding this problem: “The best software is your brain little ENDA”.