The Covid-19 pandemic has clobbered nearly every business including video productions and their workflow. As we speak, 55% of organisations have already shifted their post-production workflow to the cloud.
Working on a video production project within a team? You keep finding yourself juggling around your team members to get your work reviewed and approved over and over again? Get to know some of the most popular cloud-based platforms for creative video production teams to collaborate and streamline feedback at scale.
Post-Production is the phase where all the elements of your video project are combined to finalize your video production. As Post-Production doesn’t require any use of heavy specialised video making equipment, it’s easy to shift this process online and work remotely so that every crew member can work according to his/her own personal/time preferences.
| Table of contents
Keep your creativity flow with faster feedback
No More Messy Email Threads
Cloud-based Collaboration Platforms Trend
Wipster
Frame.io
Vimeo
Shift.io
Wiredrive
A Look into the Future of Remote Project Management Tools
Remote Collaboration software market share is anticipated to be more than $24.23 billion by 2027. In this time of crisis, it’s vital to keep your communications intact and the work flowing.
The Challenge: You have to edit videos, color-grade them, sync the right music, and get the parts of your work reviewed and approved progressively by the peers. There are other things as well. Everything should be done with all the stakeholders on board and a consensus.Messaging and reviewing must be consistent and timely. That means you should publish quickly and effectively.
That’s not a simple process especially when you are working remotely. Your teams have to be extremely efficient in order to save time and be productive.
With conventional video conferencing and reliance on emails, there will be a lot of hurdles coming your way including time management, synchronisation problems, miss-communication, etc. that have to be avoided to ensure a reliable final delivery.
The good news: While social distancing makes it hard for you to meet and expedite the post-production, other wheels keep churning.
One of those most effective solutions that are being widely adopted is to incorporate the use of cloud into your workflow.
You can hardly imagine the boom it has got so far.
Keep Your Creativity Flow with Faster Feedback
Leveraging the internet for faster feedback and improved communication is now commonplace. Review and approve is one of the most significant achievements of the cloud era for post-production.
From business owners to team members, 87% of the respondents of a survey think that collaboration tools are critical for their business missions.
You can collaborate not only without any geographical constraints but also get a synchronous and fast review and approval online infrastructure.
Currently, most of the cloud users are using asynchronous approach in which you upload a file to the cloud, respondents open and review it, add details about a particular part of the file they have given certain comments about, and then you see them.
But in Real-time collaboration, or synchronous review and approve –all the stakeholders can watch the same thing, at the same time, and review it on the runtime.
Real-time streaming of high-fidelity video might cause artifacts. Problems like out-of-sync audio, reduced frame rates, etc. can take the reviewer out of the moment and he/she might get distracted.
That’s why the demand for more expensive solutions like Sohonet Clearview Flex, Streambox is also rising. The only advantage they have is their relatively more aligned modeling with video conferencing style.
But these tools use the cloud for point-to-point transport that means you cannot use them as an all-in-one collaboration tool where many-to-many collaboration is needed.
You need all-rounder tools that can leverage the cloud to its full, and an efficient seamless network for a smooth workflow. Frame.io, Shift.io, etc. are good choices in this regard.
No More Messy Email Threads
Creative teams can’t always rely on emails and hold themselves waiting for every other team member to read and then respond before they start working on the idea.
All the stakeholders must be actively involved during the post-production phase.
Modern collaboration tools provide the latest plug-ins and extensions to access from right within your editing systems and desktop apps. They are available for fast media transfers, and a runtime approval process that makes it easy for anyone to participate and give his/her review on any particular work-piece.
Of all the tools that are helping remote teams get rid of the delaying aspects of the emails and stuff, Frame.io is dominating the scene so far.
Rather, it’s always about your preferences. Back to the asynchronous review and approval time: There were a lot of bells and whistles coming even with basic things like sending a document to someone not local to you. Remote teams working in such asynchronous manner have gradually been diminished because of such inconveniences.
Cloud-based Collaboration Platforms Trend
Automation is a new normal. Due to changing mobility, industries are looking for cloud-based solutions that can provide quality services, thereby bringing down the overall infrastructure expenditures.
Due to the intricate business models, providing access to data across multiple end-point devices is the need of the hour now. Only that’s how you can make key operations accessible to all the stakeholders.
Already, the video conferencing sector is expected to have one of the fastest growths in the coming years thanks to an ever-increasing corporate tendency to proliferate smooth collaboration between remote teams and on-site employees.
The main factors that are underpinning the abrupt popularity of cloud-based collaboration tools are:
- Growing demand for SaaS (Cloud-Based Software as a Service)
- Fast increasing needs for Communication & Video Conferencing Innovation in Enterprises
Another reason cloud-based collaboration has come a long way is the advent of 5G technology. Organizations are more than willing to invest in a more flexible and accommodating network- 5G delivery model. It can adapt to the latest communication and collaboration tools without any delay.
Famous companies providing cloud services include Adobe Systems Incorporated, AT&T, Inc., etc.
Now, you’re not limited to scarce in-house computing resources.
You can multitask across multiple computers simultaneously. Remote workflows offer massive cost benefits, and industry giants are taking notice of this fact.
Due to the High Initial Capital Cost, and growing data & resources security concerns, these advancements aren’t only necessary but also a harbinger of the coming industry preferences.
In order to take services of the best-talented resources out there, remote working platforms will be tested even harder and there is a fair chance that these settings will prolong in normal circumstances as well.
And that’s just one side of the story. The transportation and logistics sector will also benefit significantly. Users will also be able to leverage BYOD (bring your own device) to maximize the utilization of accessing data from the cloud.
Conclusion:
There are many team collaboration tools that deserve your attention including Vimeo, Wiredrive, etc. Let’s have an all-encompassing look at some of these tools and decide on the best suitable one for your post-production needs.
Let have a quick overview of some of the most popular post-production cloud-based software solutions exists today, to supercharge your team workflow:
Wipster
Wipster offers post-production teams the facility to upload and manage present versions of their videos, and gives reviewers the flexibility to give their critical feedback using an easily comprehensible interface.
Wipster is the world’s most popular video workflow tool trusted by 549,232 users and growing. It expedites review and approval by putting the conversation right on the video or image. You can send, store, receive and respond to a critique, and comfortably work across multiple versions of your files.
Wipster’s functionality of selecting and highlighting certain points in one single frame makes it so attractive to the professionals who are conscious of the fine details of their video work.
There is a feature called Activity Stream. It allows everyone to see what’s been done or not – that means nothing remains unnoticed. The feedback process is completely transparent.
Lack of critique facilities in the video players is haunting post-productions. Resultantly, simple editing works can turn into a miscommunication curse.
With Wipster, once you upload a video, it sends a link to the reviewers right away. Just like frame.io, reviewers don’t need to have a Wipster account to access and review it.
Frame.io
There has long been a need for efficient tools facilitating runtime feedback so you can improvise your videos frame by frame. With frame.io, you get constantly notified depending upon your preferences.
You get cloud storage, dynamic client feedback, transcoding, and light asset management seamlessly in just one app.
Version control makes it easy to get the history and details about the recent and previous changes.
When someone reviews your work, a timecode is automatically added on the respective frame of the video or part of full, and clicking on the comment takes directly to the respective frame.
With frame.io, you can enjoy the following exclusive benefits:
- You can upload not only videos but also other file types i.e. scripts, pictures, reference files, maps, etc.
- You can send a review link to your peers, and they can pass their feedback without having to make an account on frame.io. They can give their feedback, and pinch their comments directly to certain frames to mark a certain mistake or so.
- Get one of the highest uploading speeds amongst the competitors.
- See frame-accurate videos in parallel with a detailed comparison of changes.
- Automatic alerts regarding the actions of your choice, when a new project initiates that includes you in any specified capacity.
- Core integration with Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X, and Slack.
Conclusion:
No need to keep waiting for emails to check if the responders have responded yet or not. Imagine the amount of time you can save by getting yourselves out of this agonising loop… email-> wait-> email->…. and that’s not all…find the links from the emails, download the files, extract them, then send back in 17 compress types…that’s none less than a headache.
Vimeo
A video-sharing platform that millions of people are using to upload and share their personal videos. Vimeo is useful for both professional video makers and day-to-day vloggers.
On average, More than 3.1 million unique visitors go to the Vimeo site every day, millions of those are registered users.
Normally, the platforms like YouTube or Vimeo have a kind of disadvantage for video producers as there are only a few customisation options and not much at the client-side to contribute.
Their video analytics are also not much revealing as you don’t get the user-level data that gives specific details about certain clients’ engagement and likes & dislikes. Still, there are some advantages of Vimeo for the post-production phase.
Some Explicit Benefits of Vimeo:
- No advertisements like YouTube, so uninterrupted access to content.
- You can download videos and then see them later offline. This gives you a lot of comfort and time flexibility.
- You also get timely customer support at Vimeo.
- Full HD content, no restrictions on content compression as compared to YouTube
Being able to create uninterrupted videos and uploading them for sharing gives great nostalgia to good old times when advertisements were not as prevalent as they are today.
Vimeo still needs some improvement or say some time to meet the requirements of the latest video frameworks. For example, its uploading speed is slow, and live video feature doesn’t work with Chromecast. Still, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to create videos without any restrictions like those on YouTube.
Shift.io
Shift.io has focused the part of the creative workflow that is currently the most broken: Review and Approval. It has solved the cornerstone problem of notifications while streamlining the feedback process.
Illustrating feedback and Universal log-in are two of the most long-standing needs of the industry. Shift has addressed both needs along with providing an innovative way to receive and keep record of your files.
The blue chip of Shift is the Feed. The Review process for clients and creators has been made easy. Inspired by the news feed of Instagram and Twitter, this is an interface that displays all the contents one after another. You give your review and approval where it is pending, no matter what tool a certain file was shared from.
Shift for Teams
It’s for the teams that need to streamline their post-production work and make themselves more creative. With all the necessary security and control you need, Shift for teams is easy to scroll through. You can automate most of your routine tasks regarding video post-production and keep them running in the background so your remote team can work more creatively.
Your users will be able to upload the media, specify other users to share the media with, and then move on to the other pending tasks instead of watchfully tracking the progress.
Admins will be able to put policies in place for regular task management. To save your time, you can also set archival policies for once. So you don’t need to keep yourself entangled in managing storage all the time.
Safe Stream is available in Shift that gives your clients the option to put the visible or forensic watermarks to the video files so their content can’t be plagiarized later.
As an admin, you’ll have complete control over giving access to certain user groups and limiting other groups with advanced security features.
There’s a plethora of cheap communication tools available in the market that claim to provide the exact same services as described above, but only a few understand the ins and outs of working in an enterprise. Shift.io is one of those.
It is the latest collaboration tool aimed at modernising media for video post-production for creative teams.
Teams of any size can collaborate without any restriction on shift.io. You also get additional enterprise-level features like User management and other advanced features for admin.
Wiredrive
Wiredrive is a Video sharing platform that also offers kind of insights that provide for greater success through its analytics part.
As a collaboration app, it is useful for organizing and providing feedback on the videos. Wiredrive has got immense value when it comes to its comprehensive and AI-backed data analysis.
Monitoring Viewer Trends
Walk through the premises of any major digital production, and you’ll likely spot analytics screens throughout the corridors displaying the ever-evolving engagement data.
These analytics are there because observing the content patterns is the easiest way to gain insights to perfect it.
Audience trends are often unpredictable. The insights taken from the data allow video production teams to adapt to new demands ASAP as they notice a new trend or some disliking from the audience. They need to be able to learn and apply all the latest insights as quickly as possible.
In this context, Wiredrive has got an integral role to play.
You can have analytics about hundreds of people about when they opened a file, how much time they spent on a video, how many views came over a certain period, what age group, what geographical location, etc.
This analytics tool is readily available and integrated with all other collaboration tools, so whenever a change is needed, you can immediately start communicating with your remote team members and implement the changes.
Wiredrive also allows users to share comments and feedback on files via the same system they used to monitor engagement.
While this has massive advantages, there are some challenges as well.
Sometimes, depending on the kind of insights driven from the analytics, the changes need to be implemented at once. So arranging a meeting and reaching a conclusion in a short duration of time might prove to be a challenge.
Sometimes, the resultant possible advantage taken from implementing the insights doesn’t last for more than a few days.
Plus, it’s also difficult to make sure everyone on the email chain reviews and come up with his/her critique. So will you arrange a separate efficient tool for the most important Review and Approval process?
A Look into the Future of Remote Project Management Tools
Due to the recent structural changes in the workplace and the demand for real-time collaboration, there is a sudden surge in the popularity of project management tools.
Today’s project management teams are comprised of remote and off-shore workers from different time-zones whereas project management softwares have evolved from Gantt chart type (management-led) to integrated project management (team-led).
In fact, 59% of respondents in a survey believe that project management tools helped their teams achieve business objectives quickly.
Remote collaboration platforms will become preferable to on-premises communication channels.
Thanks to the additional capabilities that these collaboration tools provide, they can solve so many recurring problems that the face-to-face presence of employees will appear to have cluttered the premises.
So we can be sure that we’re quickly nearing a future where remote project management tools will have a central role to play. Even if your team members are sitting right next to you, or on the other side of the world, remote working will be the new standard.
Sort of un-unified communications will be the way out. The formula of a single platform for all communication types will not work.Today, a typical developer uses Google Docs for documentation, GitHub for code sharing, Slack for messaging, etc. These tools were never designed to interact with one another that means there is no point expecting a single tool for handling all your video and other project management tasks.
The idea of doing all things using one single tool might have appealed to earlier folks to embrace remote work, but as the workflow expands to a broader swath of the working class, service providers are having serious demands for more specialized tools, rather than fewer, all-rounder ones.
Conclusion:
Project management tools are still critical for businesses to monitor the progress of their works, but they are now looking forward to simpler and inexpensive ways to do it. They need to establish seamless workflow and effective communication between remote teams.
65% of employees think that their jobs will go fully virtual in the coming few years, says a survey run by Wrike, Inc. So we predict that the coming years will see an increase in the use of project management tools, with more focus on niche products and problems.
In order to establish fully efficient workspaces, organisations will now consider remote-friendliness as a prime selection criterion for any project management tool that they’re planning to add to their stack. If an enterprise uses 100 tools today, God forbid maybe it will be using 200 tools seven years from now, not just for the sake of segmentation of the work but also to help its teams be more productive.
Even this year, the remote team collaboration is going to get significantly more attention, given the kind of optimized performance it’s been delivering as we speak.
