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Independent Film Company Streamlining Collaboration with Frame.io and Google Drive
Company Situation
The company is a small independent film production company running multiple projects simultaneously. Their core team consists of two primary members, supported by an assistant producer and one or two editors who are often remote and scattered across different regions. Recently, their projects have grown significantly in size and complexity, with raw footage now reaching terabytes in 6K resolution.
Existing Workflow
Their current workflow involves a mix of work-for-hire projects and original productions. For media management and collaboration, they rely on services like Frame.io for project review, approvals, and storage of low-resolution proxy files. Editors download proxy files to work remotely, and completed projects are stored long-term on these platforms, including distribution assets like Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs). They do not typically upload full high-resolution footage to these platforms due to cost concerns and rely on local drives and manual synchronization of project timeline edits.
Issues with the Existing Workflow
High Storage Costs: The escalating size of 4K and 6K footage makes cloud storage expensive, with competitors charging $60+ per terabyte per month. Maintaining large volumes of data over long project durations drives significant costs.
Inefficient Remote Editing: Editors work off low-res proxies that require downloads and local storage, causing delays and lack of real-time synchronization. Timeline edits are not automatically shared across the team, creating version control challenges.
Fragmented Workflow: Using multiple platforms for editing, review, and distribution complicates media management and increases overhead.
Scaling Challenges: As their award-winning work attracts more companies, the team anticipates increasing demands for managing multiple projects and delivering various cuts or assets efficiently.
How Shade Would Change Their Workflow
Shade offers a unified cloud-based media management and editing platform that enables editors to stream and access video files as if they were stored locally, without the need to download entire high-resolution files. By integrating Shade:
- Editors can work in real time on proxy files synchronized across the team, with all timeline edits visible immediately.
- The platform supports storing both proxy and high-resolution media, allowing flexibility to balance cost and quality.
- Shade consolidates media management, review and approval, and distribution workflows into a single system, reducing complexity and overhead.
- Pricing is competitive at competitive per-terabyte pricing, significantly lower than other services offering similar functionality.
- The team can maintain centralized access to all project assets, facilitating reuse and efficient delivery of multiple versions or cuts to companies.
Benefits
- Cost Efficiency: Lower per-terabyte storage fees compared to competitors, helping control budget as project sizes grow.
- Real-Time Collaboration: Fully synchronized editing across remote editors without manual downloads or timeline conflicts.
- Simplified Workflow: All-in-one platform for editing, review, approval, and distribution reduces tool sprawl.
- Scalability: Supports growing project volume and complexity with flexible storage and access options.
- Enhanced Productivity: Faster access to media and improved version control accelerate project turnaround times.