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Media Production Company Consolidating Google Drive and AWS Cloud Storage
Company Situation
This company operates within the media production sector, managing a large and distributed subcontracting team of videographers across the country. Their workflow involves numerous contributors uploading raw footage and editors working remotely to produce final edits. The scale includes managing thousands of individual assignments, requiring efficient handling of large media files and coordination among many users without incurring prohibitive licensing costs.
Existing Workflow
Currently, the company relies heavily on Google Drive for all footage transfers. Each videographer receives a unique, assignment-specific upload link, which they use to submit footage. Editors then download the footage locally for editing. After editing, the content is uploaded again to Google Drive or an internal system for review and final delivery. For cold storage, they have moved from on-premises servers to AWS cloud storage, but active project storage remains managed through Google Drive. The review and approval process is handled via Google Drive as well, with no specialized review platform in use.
Issues with the Existing Workflow
The large subcontractor network makes licensing expensive if each contributor were to have a paid seat on a media management platform.
The current process requires editors to download full footage locally, which can slow down workflows and consume local storage.
The review process, while functional, does not integrate seamlessly with the editing workflow and lacks efficiency gains from specialized tools.
Managing massive file transfers through Google Drive creates a complex, manual system of sharing and tracking that could be streamlined.
How Shade Would Change Their Workflow
Shade offers a remote editing workflow that allows users to stream media directly from a NAS-like cloud environment without the need to download entire files. The platform supports mounting a virtual drive on users’ computers, enabling editors to access files as if they were local without consuming large amounts of local storage or bandwidth. Shade also enables controlled guest access, allowing subcontractors to upload or download via individualized links without requiring paid licenses, reducing costs. Integrated review and approval features within Shade's platform can further streamline workflows by consolidating editing, sharing, and feedback tools in one place. Additionally, Shade’s AI-powered search accelerates asset discovery, helping editors find footage faster.
Benefits
- Significant reduction in local storage needs due to streaming access instead of full downloads.
- Cost savings by enabling subcontractors to upload and access footage as guests without paid seats.
- Streamlined workflow with integrated review and approval tools reducing dependency on multiple platforms.
- Faster asset retrieval through AI-powered natural language search.
- Flexible access from desktop apps and browsers, supporting distributed teams effectively.
- Improved file sharing controls and permissions management to maintain security and efficiency.
Technologies Used
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