We want to make sure our work is done quickly, an incredibly complex task, yet we also want it to be simple and easy. Ultimately it’s about having control over the artistic process, and that means different things to every single one of us.
Efficiency in the Creative Process
For me, efficiency means allowing more time for the creative process to happen, and less time dealing with anything else. We could all use less time shipping hard drives, less time discussing transfer speeds, and less time talking about how we’re going to pull it off. Instead, we create more time for our directors and editors to work through the footage, to find the most beautiful moments, and create order out of chaos. Let’s touch on that goal one more time: maximize the time being creative, lessen the time doing anything else.
The Post-Production Process
When the footage is captured in-camera, once the digital image is created, that’s technically the moment the post-production process can begin. All that needs to happen is getting the clip to the editor who needs it, which in the past has taken a series of hand-offs from AC to DIT to Producer to FedEx employee, not to mention the constant fear that the back-up might fail and we need to do this all over again. All in all, that can take a day at best if the production is moving quick, usually longer.
Camera-to-Cloud and Virtual Workflows
This is where the camera-to-cloud and virtual workflows really come into play. Imagine a world where the editors can start working with footage immediately after capturing it, turning around edits by the end of the shoot day. That’s what these new systems are offering. It’s not just the speed of these workflows that’s appealing, it’s the flexibility.
Teradek 655 and Frame.io
Let’s start with the Teradek 655. This handy little piece of tech is about the size of their other wireless transmitters like the Bolt, and it’s incredibly easy to set up and connect to your Frame.io account. Proxy clips appear in the platform seconds after calling cut with synced sound and clip name, and this serves two purposes:
- Our remote clients can see the clips in real-time, making notes, noticing things we should adjust, and choosing good takes so that
- Our editors can start downloading the files using the Frame.io Premiere Plug-in and start cutting right away. The R3Ds make their way into the cloud either on-set or afterwards via upload, but what’s important is that doesn’t stop the creativity, with the proxy edit from coming together immediately.
Taking Post-Production Virtual
Next, we’ve decided to take our entire post-production process virtual, meaning our servers and computers are all located in the cloud. The BeBop system allows our entire post team to work from a single source of data in the cloud, accessing them at amazing speeds from virtual computers in a remote location. Now we can have full access to all of our projects from anywhere that has a decent internet connection. We have the freedom to collaborate with editors from anywhere in the world, anytime. Our entire workflow has become fluid, meaning work can happen immediately if it needs to, and we can have control over the entire process from end to end.
Future of Mobile Internet Solutions
In the future, I can see mobile internet solutions like Sclera Digital becoming commonplace, a “Fibre FedEx” for uploading files into the cloud, a set network specialist on set, etc. The benefits are too great to ignore, and it’s really only a matter of time until the industry and technology continue to rise to the occasion. By eliminating the physical limitations of our workflow, we’ve opened up a whole new level of efficiency. Spending less time copying, transferring, and shipping means more time doing what we love: creating. And that’s a beautiful thing.
For more about cloud workflows, see the article featured by the Hollywood Professional Association here: LINK
