Cloud Powered Workflows for Production

1 Cloud Powered Workflows for Production Industry incumbents are faced with a conundrum – competition has increased, viewership is aggregated across an increasing number of platforms and yet budgets have been squeezed. To stay relevant, production houses need to make the most of their existing assets, offerings, and processes by working smarter using more adaptive and collaborative workflows.

MAM is evolving to the cloud as more productions require collaboration between distributed teams of creative professionals. Cloud-powered workflows means everyone, wherever they are based, has instant access to the content they need. Fast UDP upload means camera crews can upload native footage in different formats from multiple locations, review dailies, add metadata, create rough cuts and send on to the teams that need them. By eliminating the traditional challenges, teams can focus on creating the best quality content and complete productions in record time.

This solutions digest gives an insight into the speed and flexibility of a powerful solution used on some of the most creatively challenging workflows in TV. These featured clients have reduced the complexity of managing media across all types of production. By utilizing Aframe as their central platform,producers of the BAFTA winning ‘Marvellous’ were able to dedicate more time to storytelling and the creative output, ultimately delivering higher quality programming. Arrow Media use Aframe to provide greater efficiency on all production workflows, enabling crews to share dailies quickly, review rushes efficiently and save production time and budget.

Aframe was designed from the ground up to be the central hub into which high resolution video flows. Whether you are in distribution, reversioning, marketing or salesAframe streamlines your processes, saves cost and helps you achieve more value from your content. Once-distinct phases of content acquisition, media asset management, content creation and delivery are now linked. Effective collaboration between internal stakeholders and external partners, affiliates and suppliers can happen seamlessly in Aframe’s simple yet powerful cloud platform.

Find out more about Aframe’s solutions at aframe.com/solutions

Cloud Powered Workflows for Production 2 Delivering greater efficiency for professional video creators

1. Acquisition 2. Upload 3. Transcode Remote/On-location Accelerated upload of dailies and Automated transcode to web proxy Multiple camera formats original metadata Standardize versions Encrypted AES transfer Universally viewable

4. Preview 8. Active Archive HTML5 Make more use of content Flash fallback Save all rushes Browser based Reversioning library Access anywhere

5. Manage 7. Review & Approve Global collaboration Powerful media library search Simple secure sharing Granular permission structures No additional costs Centralized management on demand Add any metadata and timecode comments Pre-edit preparation 6. Store Disaster recovery 3x backup Private cloud storage Global accessibility Empowering the creative for the multi Bafta award-winning ‘Marvellous’

Tiger Aspect Productions, part of the Endemol Group are internationally recognized as one of the UK’s most prolific producers of drama, entertainment and factual shows. Tiger Aspect is responsible for national treasures such as ‘Mr. Bean’, ‘The Vicar of Dibley’, ‘Billy Elliot’ and hit crime dramas ‘Peaky Blinders’ and ‘Ripper Street’.

Screening on BBC Two in September, fact- based drama ‘Marvellous’ proved a huge hit with critics and audiences alike being described as 2014’s best TV programme, and reaching a peak of 1.5 million viewers.

‘Marvellous’ is the inspirational story of Neil Baldwin; a man tagged at school with “learning difficulties” who then went on to become a Circus Clown, Lay Preacher, unofficial student greeter at Keele University and Stoke City kit man.

Cloud Powered Workflows for Production 4 Challenge

A story that intertwined anecdotes, fantasy and realism required an unconventional structure to capture the bigger than life character of Neil Baldwin. The director’s decision [Julian Farino] to produce as a scrapbook rather than a linear narrative meant the team would need a large collaborative effort between location and the edit.

The subject matter surrounding mental health, was also a concern, so executives from Fifty Fathoms, Tiger Aspect and the BBC would need unprecedented access to the footage and an established dailies review mechanism.

Any provider would need to be location agnostic as filming would take place in multiple locations around Stoke-on-Trent, whilst editing would be finalized in London.

Aframe presented a much better “way for us to work than our previous dailies review process. Now by using a secure cloud approach to store and share content, we’ve dramatically improved the speed of review, and made the entire Solution process painless yet secure.

Dailies, along with associated metadata, were all stored on Aframe and Will Gould, made accessible, instantaneously, to anyone involved on the project – no Head of Drama at Tiger Aspect dedicated hardware or software was required. ”

Being device and location agnostic meant executives could review, annotate and download what was being filmed as it was uploaded. Aframe’s multi- format ingest granted the edit assistants maximum flexibility as the platform transcoded and delivered content to a frame-accurate HTML5 player.

Within minutes the edit assistant exported QuickTime files from Avid into Aframe’s automated uploader for the team to view. A simple, yet secure, link was emailed to collaborators with expiry dates to the footage, which is viewable on a standard web browser or mobile device/tablet – without the added charge of streaming fees.

Cloud Powered Workflows for Production 5 This ability to view clips on the move and the option to download selected clips for offline viewing on laptops and PCs ensured that even when producers and execs were travelling or out on location, they were still very much part of the process.

Aframe’s desktop application offered far greater reliability and the insurance of all transfers being securely encrypted than traditional FTP methods – producers were able to focus on real video challenges rather than technical ones.

All user activity was captured and displayed on a simple dashboard so project administrators could monitor the comments and edits of each team member. What’s more, at the click of a button, Aframe’s permission controls ensured the IP was protected and collaborators could be monitored at all times - project owners had the ability to invite users and The creative storytelling became specify their level of access and functionality within each collection of so compelling and inspirational footage. “that the NHS and mental health charities now use Marvellous for By utilizing Aframe as one central platform, producers were ableto educational training purposes. dedicate more time to storytelling and the creative output, ultimately delivering a higher quality drama - and winner of the 2015 BAFTA for Best Single Drama. ”

6 Innovative Proxy First Workflow

Arrow Media is one of the UK’s most ambitious creative forces. A fast-growing independent production company, Arrow Media specializes in creating high quality and innovative content across TV, film and digital media from long-running series to big ambitious projects such as ‘Live from Space’, ‘Ultimate Airport Dubai’ and ‘World’s Busiest’.

Established in 2011, the company was founded by Tom Brisley, John Smithson, and Iain Pelling and operates in the UK, US and other key international territories, where all three partners have extensive experience.

The latest Arrow production to benefit from the Aframe Platform is ‘Ultimate Airport Dubai’, which aired last autumn on National Geographic. The show provides viewers with unprecedented access to one of the world’s fastest growing airports and follows some of the 60,000 staff responsible for moving 57 million passengers and 344,000 flights a year.

Cloud Powered Workflows for Production 7 Challenge

Great picture quality means large video files, which are hard to move around and work with. Distributing rushes is a slow process that relies on couriering drives from place to place or using chunky and unreliable FTP. Production crews try and work round this by creating a proxy file – a smaller compressed version of the original footage that can be sent more easily and quickly online – which is transcoded locally.

Solution

To begin with Aframe designed a workflow that would best improve the automation of media movement for 10x 60 minute episodes. Productions of this scale often use standalone digital dailies systems that are costly and hard to use. Aframe’s cloud video platform allowed cuts to be uploaded daily, stored securely in the cloud and made ready for review immediately We were able to receive footage to a geographically dispersed team of professionals – without the need of quickly, which gave us more time to expensive on-premise software. “ compile stories and feedback to the The proxy first workflow involved sending the camera-generated proxy shoot. The files were always uploaded file straight to Aframe. The accelerated web uploader and desktop app quickly and efficiently and it meant that are able to deliver over 15x faster uploads than FTP and with far greater the post production house had more reliability; with the ability to pause and resume and intelligently handle time to spend working on the content, connectivity issues to avoid corrupt files and frustrating restarts. This ultimately resulting in a better show. became increasingly valuable, as the production crew were often reliant on airport or Hotel Wi-Fi connections. This speed and agility then enabled the production team to pull the proxy ” files into the edit and assemble stories while the original could be relinked for the main edit after arriving by hard drive.

Cloud Powered Workflows for Production 8 This process saved Arrow Media huge amounts of time and money compared to the previous archaic distribution that involved content being couriered from location on a weekly basis. When reviewing the footage, Arrow Media were able to provide accurate timecode based feedback on changes that need to be made on a daily basis. This permitted the shows editors to generate a faster turnaround in decision-making and deliver a more cost effective edit.

In addition, Aframe reduces Arrow Media’s storage costs as only the content they want to use needs to be downloaded locally. The remainder of the footage remains securely stored, with high redundancy, in the cloud.

Nick Metcalfe, Executive Producer, Arrow Media, concludes“Aframe helped us to deliver Ultimate Airport Dubai, season two on time, on schedule and on budget. All in all we were able to save 20 We were also able to achieve significant cost savings and the process was much weeks on the edit, equating to about more efficient, compared to the previous slower process that involved content “two weeks per episode, which is a being couriered from location. We were able to receive footage quickly, which gave phenomenal saving. us more time to compile stories and feedback to the shoot, and because the files were always uploaded rapidly, it meant that the post production house had more time to spend working on the content, ultimately resulting in a better show.” ”

9 Why Aframe?

Aframe is a cloud platform that gives you one central location for organizing and managing large volumes of multi-format video. By reducing complexity and making it easy for colleagues, clients and partners to find, access and collaborate on video assets, Aframe saves cost, increases usage of assets and helps organizations achieve a higher return on their content investment. Aframe meets the most demanding standards and is trusted by the world’s leading broadcast, enterprise and new media organizations.

Central Video Platform Asset Monetization Aframe is a cloud collaboration platform that Commercial teams can create online catalogs, sales provides one central location for global teams and kits and screeners to improve professionalism international partners to access and manage high and customer service. The central cloud platform resolution video. Trusted by the world’s largest overcomes the commercial and technical challenges organizations, Aframe is the only solution to of securely managing and distributing assets to combine fast UDP upload, transcoding, metadata improve partner communications, streamline the support, video player, dynamic search, online sales process, broaden sales reach and ultimately review and approval, and analytics. increase revenue.

Media Management & Collaboration Production Aframe’s central platform helps marketing, promos Aframe reduces the complexity of managing and reversioning groups take control of their media across all types of production. Cloud- assets and manage them more effectively. With powered workflows means everyone, wherever less time spent wrestling with technical issues, they are based, has instant access to the content teams can be more productive and make more they need from one central place. By reducing use of assets. the barriers of production, teams can focus on creating the highest quality content and complete productions in record time.

Request a personalized demo for your team aframe.com/demo

Cloud Powered Workflows for Production 10