EditShare Provides Agile Content Management for Linney
Creative marketing agency works with Tyrell to develop future-ready solution
Boston, MA, November 9, 2023 – EditShare®, the technology leader that enables storytellers to create and manage collaborative media workflows, has provided a comprehensive storage and asset management platform for creative marketing agency Linney. The system was designed and implemented by UK reseller Tyrell.
Linney, based in Mansfield in central England, is a leading developer of marketing content for commercial clients. Those clients include some of the most well-known global brands, who rely on Linney for innovative approaches to engage customers, including material for social media, in-store displays and out-of-home digital signage.
The company had an existing central storage system which was a proprietary platform, and had reached the end of its supported life. It had a very clear idea of its needs for content storage and management, which included the ability to access material from multiple locations, as well as hosting in-house editing, grading and finishing suites.
Linney worked with specialist reseller and systems integrator Tyrell on defining the requirements, and developing the system. Tyrell in turn specified EditShare storage, and an architecture that includes three 20 TB SSD nodes, two 128 TB EFS-300 online storage servers, and a 300 TB EFS-40NL nearline storage system, together with the software required to manage the content and the flows between devices. The nearline storage node is in a separate building, providing resilience to the installation.
Critical to the success of the Linney installation is the ability to directly connect post-production tools. The facility includes multiple editing, grading and finishing suites running Avid Media Composer and DaVinci Resolve. Producer/directors also access the shared storage from their laptops, over the office network, so can clip up content in preparation for the craft editors. The ability of the EditShare environment to support all these functions is vital for Linney.
“Our business is about creating and delivering exciting content which enhances the brand values of our clients,” said Andy Dawson, Lead Editor at Linney. “We really need our technology platform to just be there and do just what we need, so our people can focus all their energies on telling stories. This is very clearly EditShare’s brand value, and Tyrell showed how we could implement the technology that would serve us well as we continue to develop our business over the coming years.”
Simon Wocka, Account Manager for Cloud and Solution Sales at Tyrell, noted “Our first role in this was to listen to what the customer was really saying. We knew they didn’t need a like-for-life replacement for their old shared storage, and by understanding what Linney’s business goals are, we could propose a solution that puts them in a really good place.
Said Bacho, Chief Revenue Officer at EditShare, added. “The complete solution is very adaptable and easily configured to the way you want to work. It provides a lot of practical tools, like transcoding on the platform as well as direct access for post production tools. Linney wanted simplicity in operation, efficiency and speed, and this EditShare installation provides all of that and more.”
Linney has appointed Port-P to manage all of its IT services. Tyrell sold the EditShare system to Port-P, who will manage it on Linney’s behalf. The contract includes five years of hardware and software support by Tyrell on behalf of EditShare.
The first phase of the system was installed and handed over in mid-2023. Linney and Tyrell continue to work together to implement additional functionality to meet client demand.
EditShare is an Emmy award-winning technology leader supporting storytellers through collaborative media workflows across on-premise, cloud and hybrid architectures. The market-leading open software solutions and robust APIs improve workflow collaboration, third-party integrations and content sharing across the entire production chain. Designed specifically for media applications, the high performance line-up provides shared storage, archiving and backup, and intelligent media asset management.
Through a merger with Shift Media, EditShare also now integrates tools for content review and distribution, the creation of customized, branded pitch reels, and secure preview of high-value pre-release content.
About Tyrell
For 24 years Tyrell has been providing video, audio, graphics and storage solutions to the Irish and UK broadcast, post, production, corporate and education markets. In this time, we have become the leading provider of technology and service solutions both on-premise and in the cloud. Tyrell has an excellent understanding of the fast pace and unique pressures facing the media and entertainment industry; developing solutions for complex workflows. Allowing our clients to concentrate on the creative process and business development. From our two locations we offer a comprehensive range of professional services from consultancy to system design and integration, technical support and maintenance. www.tyrellcct.com
Corporate learning specialist migrates workflows to the cloud
Boston, MA, November 6, 2023 – EditShare®, the technology leader that enables storytellers to create and manage collaborative media workflows, has provided the migration path to the cloud for AMP Creative. With offices in Dallas and Seattle, AMP Creative brings a fresh approach to corporate learning, using video to create tailored programs that are immersive and compelling.
As a successful business, AMP Creative has a growing archive of content and elements which can be re-used in new projects. At the same time, it has to provide support for designers working today, allowing them to manage work in progress and create deliverables, as well as providing secure archiving.
For some years AMP Creative has used EditShare storage solutions to manage its media. More recently, business transformational programs, driven by the COVID-induced need to implement remote working, have led the company towards the cloud for much of its IT. It turned to EditShare to provide the same transparent transition for media workflows.
FLEX is the EditShare workflow and asset management platform for the cloud. It mirrors precisely the functionality of FLOW which AMP Creative already used to manage content and projects, with the same comfortable and familiar user interfaces.
The challenge was to implement a practical, affordable infrastructure to meet AMP Creative’s needs. The solution was to use EditShare FLEX to manage all content storage within AMP Creative’s existing AWS account, moving material between EBS and S3 storage tiers as required, and accelerating file transfers using CloudDat from EditShare partners Data Expedition.
Editors work at remote locations, using Adobe® Premiere® Pro. Projects and bins are created centrally in EditShare FLEX, and high quality proxies are transferred to the edit workstations. Once packages are completed they are rendered against the original media in the cloud. The result is that all creative staff are happy and AMP Creative was able to shut down its traditional server room, a significant saving for the business.
“The pandemic, and the changes in business requirements it created, were transformational for many businesses,” said Ofelia Yánez, President at AMP Creative. “Working with EditShare we were able to come up with a fresh way of working which kept our teams doing what they do best – creating stunning, innovative, engaging content – while allowing us to transform our business, reducing our footprint in real estate and carbon emissions.”
Stephen Tallamy, CTO at EditShare added “It’s clear that we are moving on from the first phase of seeing the cloud as some sort of magic bullet. Now we are creating tailored solutions that use the best of technologies wherever they are housed, to create workflows and environments that really meet the needs of our users. At EditShare we continue to develop the tools and functionality that allow us to get the best out of remote and hybrid working, and the implementation for AMP Creative is a great example of the power we can bring.”
The project was completed in association with US channel partner, TM Television (https://tmtel.com/).
EditShare is an Emmy award-winning technology leader supporting storytellers through collaborative media workflows across on-premise, cloud and hybrid architectures. The market-leading open software solutions and robust APIs improve workflow collaboration, third-party integrations and content sharing across the entire production chain. Designed specifically for media applications, the high performance line-up provides shared storage, archiving and backup, and intelligent media asset management.
Through a merger with Shift Media, EditShare also now integrates tools for content review and distribution, the creation of customized, branded pitch reels, and secure preview of high-value pre-release content.
Production workflows have become way more complicated than they used to for all sorts of reasons, but there are ways to keep the complexity under control.
The move from film or tape to files has had the incidental effect of massively increasing shooting ratios. It is simply easier to do more takes with more cameras, and keep them all, when they are “just” digital files.
It wasn’t that long ago when holiday-makers had to take one or maybe two rolls of 36-exposure film on a vacation and carefully choose the moments they wanted to capture. Now our cameras and phones get filled with hundreds, maybe thousands of pictures which we later need to sort out. The same has happened for the movie and television industry.
While shooting ratios have gone up, timescales have often been reduced. The goal is to get from set to screen as quickly as possible, especially to start recouping production costs.
More material; less time. We have to find a better way to work.
Many production workflows are still rooted in old, linear methods. Which is understandable: if you are trying to complete a project, then having proven and comfortable practices can be very reassuring. But it is definitely time to rethink the way we work.
The idea of having a central place for all the assets that make up a production is not new. All the material comes into a single server, and everyone who needs to access it can log in. Completed work gets written back to the same server, making the process convenient and streamlined.
This is great. But the challenge is that this “single server” might actually be a distributed set of storage nodes, on location, in a post house, at the production company, or in the cloud. The system that is tracking all the material needs a single database that covers all these locations.
Also, the content might come in different formats: the camera resolution (and there may be more than one camera type); the edit format (perhaps with a proxy for remote editing); and the delivery packages. Metadata needs to track not only formats and resolutions, but also the points at which value judgements are applied: quality control; editorial decisions.
But our main goal is to create the best possible television programme or movie, which means everyone, at every stage, needs to devote their energies on their part of the production without getting bogged down in the complexities of the underlying media management system.
The goal, then, is to have a high functionality, agile storage infrastructure that can handle multiple formats (and converting between them), is geographically diverse, and can manage metadata. That is exactly what EditShare FLOW was designed for.
But on top of that you need a simple, intuitive, role-appropriate user interface, so that each person in the creative team sees the information and content they need: no more; no less.
That is why we have developed EditShare One: the next generation of workflow management. One single sign-on; one place for capture, edit, review and deliver; one platform for production collaboration.
What makes this possible is a single user interface concept that is infinitely customizable. Every user has their own dashboard, showing them just the content and features they need. These dashboards are dynamic, so tasks can be assigned as needed, with all resources available.
We think EditShare One is a transformative leap forward in workflow management. It makes collaborative production environments practical and productive, and leaves creative people free to get on with creative tasks.
In my next blog I’ll look at a typical workflow, using the Produce Tool within EditShare One.
All-in-one storage and asset management package for leading Brazilian broadcaster
Boston, MA, October 26, 2023 – EditShare®, the technology leader that enables storytellers to create and manage collaborative media workflows, has provided an EFS 300 storage node to TV Cultura. The system was negotiated, supported and installed by EditShare’s Brazilian partner, CIS Group.
TV Cultura is a very highly regarded public television network, based in São Paulo in Brazil. Part of the Fundação Padre Anchieta (Father Anchieta Foundation) and funded by the regional government, it focuses on educational and cultural subjects, but also produces and broadcasts sport and entertainment.
The production requirements of a new programme demanded collaborative workflows, with multiple users accessing the same project for editing with Adobe Premiere Pro. TV Cultura needed to provide comprehensive and secure production asset management, along with supporting direct editing on the storage device.
The EditShare EFS 300 is a compact, all-in-one storage appliance that provides high capacity storage – 128 TB in this installation – with transparent access for Windows, MacOS and Linux clients, and integrated production asset management software. In a 2U cabinet it holds 16 enterprise-grade disk drives, fully protected through RAID-6, and hot-swappable from the front. Storage can be increased at any time, either by fitting larger-capacity drives or by adding further nodes.
“We needed to create a new environment, where we could organize and categorize the media as well as provide secure storage,” said Nelson Faria, Director of Engineering at TV Cultura. “The key challenge was for a large production team to be able to work on the same project simultaneously: editors, colorists, graphics and producers. “The EditShare solution allows us to connect workstations and storage on a single network,” Faria said. “Users are still working in the software they are familiar with, but now have access to the organized material they need to finish the programmes quickly and accurately.”
Felipe Andrade, VP of Sales for EditShare’s Brazilian channel partner CIS Group, added “The application at TV Cultura is a perfect match for the EditShare design philosophy. We were able to demonstrate clearly how simple it is to integrate EFS storage, FLOW asset management and third-party tools like Premiere Pro. And, of course, we have a support team based in São Paulo so we were able to quickly configure and install the storage device, and provide training and guidance on workflows.”
“We are delighted to partner with CIS Group to provide TV Cultura with a storage and asset management solution that will enable them to collaborate more effectively and continue to produce high-quality content.” commented Said Bacho, Chief Revenue Officer at EditShare. “CIS Group has a deep understanding of the Brazilian market and has been instrumental in helping us to provide TV Cultura with the best possible solution. This partnership underscores our commitment to the Latin American market, ensuring that our innovative solutions continue to empower media professionals in this key region.”
The new storage and asset management system at TV Cultura went online in August 2023.
EditShare is a technology leader that enables collaborative media workflows on-premise, in the cloud, or in a hybrid configuration. With customer and partner success at the heart of EditShare’s core values, our open software solutions and robust APIs improve workflow collaboration and third-party integrations across the entire production chain, ensuring a world-class experience that is second to none. The high-performance software lineup includes media optimized shared storage management, archiving and backup, and media management, all supported with open APIs for extensible integration.
EditShare’s cloud-enabled remote editing and project management technology was recently recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) with a prestigious 2021 Emmy® Award for Technology and Engineering.
About CIS Group
Since 1988, CIS Group has been a Media Technology solutions provider & systems integrator with core competencies across the professional services spectrum. Over the years our scope has evolved to include: Consulting & Workflow Design, Integration, Full System Commissioning & Installation, Technical & Operational Training, Maintenance & Support, DevOps, and Managed Services. Focused exclusively on the MediaTech space, CIS has delivered countless solutions aimed at a variety of use cases throughout the Content Supply Chain – including live production, post-production, archiving, and distribution. In relying on CIS’s expertise, our clients have been able to outsource a lot of their technical challenges, and focus their energy and resources on how the technology we implement ultimately delivers business value and creative value to their organizations. Enabling our customers to achieve their desired business goals and operational goals by effectively implementing our solutions is what we mean when we say that customer success is in our DNA. Learn more at www.cisgroup.tv
Broadcasters have been hard at work tackling the challenges of what the newsroom of tomorrow will look like. As broadcasters face the challenge of competition from social media, it’s become critical to look for new ways to collaborate remotely. There’s a tension between tried-and-tested workflows and the need for greater efficiency that comes through new technologies.
What are some of the key challenges facing broadcasters in this new era?
Cross-collaboration between industries
Dave Hoffman, business development manager for the Americas at Blackmagic Design, noted, “Broadcasters are starting to implement tools and techniques from cinema workflows like different effects and lenses, while production companies are implementing gear from the live streaming side, like switchers and routers, for multi-camera scripted shoots and virtual production.” Practically speaking, this means that film teams are broadcasting, and broadcasters are moving into cinematography. These changes bring new tools, skills and workflows to both sides of the equation.
Professional sports leagues are using more large sensor cameras to produce more cinematic images. Gimbals are showing up on the sidelines. Some shooters are experimenting with photo lenses and face-detection autofocus on cinema cameras. Mobile bonding wireless technology makes it possible to record in the cloud as well as in the camera itself.
Cinematographers who are used to working on images with a colorist in post now need to apply those grades on set as it is streamed to clients and producers around the world. Broadcast camera operators are embracing new kinds of optics, focus systems, and lighting demands. Learning new skills is always fun, but it can also be challenging when you are an expert in one discipline and a novice in another.
The great thing about this cross-collaboration is an openness to new tools and techniques on both sides of production and post. Production teams are streaming right from their cameras and post teams are incorporating new tools to accommodate new workflows.
Those new workflows produce a vast array of assets. Some platforms need widescreen deliverables, and some need vertical. Sometimes, you need to have captions delivered in a separate file, and sometimes, they need to be overlaid onto the video itself. And each of these variations needs to be reviewed and approved by multiple parties before they ship.
Asset management for multi-platform broadcasters
Broadcasters are no longer targeting a single medium. The increase in delivery platforms and the worldwide syndication of media means that the average video has to be delivered in multiple versions. Not only are numerous formats required, but each piece of media might have to be tailored to a geographical area, a demographic and a platform.
For example, All Elite Wrestling needs different specs for every show in every location and region. Pay-per-view, international partners, and in-arena LED assets are all different. With at least a dozen assets per talent and close to 200 wrestlers in their roster, it’s a lot.
All these assets need to be created, ingested, grouped, reviewed, revised, and approved. That’s where cloud-based tools like MediaSilo can really streamline workflows. Editors working in a shared environment now have the tools they need to work the way they want to and provide secure, reliable review/approval and presentation links.
A good example of this NLE agnostic approach in MediaSilo is integrations. If you use Adobe Premiere or DaVinci Resolve, you can install a panel right in your NLE. You can sync feedback on both platforms with MediaSilo so that your producers, directors and editors are always in the loop. If one collaborator is using Dropbox and another is Google Drive, MediaSilo can integrate with both (and others) so that you can avoid the hassle of uploading, downloading and transferring between multiple systems.
When you have hundreds or thousands of files, it’s important for your team to know how to find the right ones at the right time. Metadata tagging is a great way to keep track of assets and simplify searching. In addition to plaintext tags, you can now create categories like location, director, and client. Set your categories and tags and quickly find files with the advanced search and filters on every page.
Simplifying collaboration between broadcast production pros
Collaboration tools ought to respect the preferences of the creative teams while facilitating work with freelancers using other tools. For instance, some editors use Adobe, and many editors are adopting DaVinci Resolve for more than just the color grade. MediaSilo has panels for both of them. This “NLE agnostic” approach defines the workflow of MediaSilo. Users can choose to work on the operating system or NLE of their choice while working with others on a different system. Each team member has different needs, so it is important that collaboration tools support the whole team.
However, the challenge to unifying different tools is in tracking, versioning and securing your data. And there are really two sides to that coin. There are assets to track during production and post-production, and there is the versioning and secure presentation of assets during the review and approval process. MediaSilo takes care of both. You can see when someone has viewed a video, where they were viewing it from, and how much they watched.
Security is another major component. In the broadcast world, it’s essential to prevent leaks. Broadcasters want to be the first to break a story. SafeStream is MediaSilo’s powerful security technology. It applies visible and forensic watermarking. This means leaks can be tracked to their source, and potential leakers will think twice before sharing their work before it is ready for release.
Conclusion
With cross-pollination and collaboration between industries becoming so prevalent, new opportunities are abounding. The organizations that can marshall their forces to embrace change instead of resisting it will win in this ever-changing landscape. But the key factor in managing that change will be keeping people in the loop and on the same team. Collaboration tools like MediaSilo go a long way to bridging the gaps between remote teams scattered throughout countries and time zones. They help to deliver the flexibility that creatives need and the consistency that business demands.
MediaSilo allows for easy management of your media files, seamless collaboration for critical feedback, and out-of-the-box synchronization with your timeline for efficient changes. See how MediaSilo is powering modern post-production workflows with a 14-day free trial.
Reuben Evans is a director, an award-winning screenwriter, and a member of the Producers Guild of America. As the former executive producer at Faithlife TV, he produced and directed numerous documentaries and commercials. Reuben’s tools of choice are RED Cameras, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve.
Just when you think everything is going well with your team’s project and the finish line is in sight, here comes the curveball. Someone was left out of the loop, or a senior executive gets surprised by a deliverable. The team scrambles to make last-minute changes and push back deadlines. Creative professionals know this can be discouraging. How can we improve our review and approval processes to ensure all stakeholders are included?
We all know that sometimes the approval process isn’t smooth. We’ll examine strategies for handling “curveball” feedback. So, let’s take a look at some specific, concrete steps that we can take along the way to give us the best chance at a smooth review and approval process.
Craft a solid brief
When you work with an agency, we may or may not deal directly with the client. But it is still our responsibility to ensure that the brief answers all of the key questions about the deliverable. Who is the audience? Where will this be seen? What are the goals of the campaign? What is the voice and personality of the brand? Getting as much information about the client’s goals as possible is critical to a successful end product. Here’s a great guide to crafting a brief.
Identify key stakeholders
It’s not uncommon for the task of creating a commercial to be handled by a Marketing VP or another higher-up. But sometimes, not everyone who needs to be involved is actually involved. Nobody wants to make the mistake of leaving out a CEO (who likes to be involved with everything) until the last minute. People who safeguard the brand visually and narratively must be all involved.
Another category of individual to consider is the “domain expert.” Companies often have individuals who really get the “heart” of the product and understand the customer’s desires. They might be in sales or even in product development. Getting those “domain experts” on your side can be vital to getting the final deliverable right.
A common decision-making framework is known as the DACI model. Each letter presents a key participant in the production and review process:
Driver: This individual doesn’t have sign-off authority, but they are responsible for moving the project forward.
Approver: You might have more than one approver. Usually, there is a chain of authority that needs to sign off. But overall, it is best to try to avoid having too many cooks in the kitchen.
Contributors: These individual contributors bring their talents to the table and help get the various aspects of the project done.
Informed: By keeping key people across the organization in the loop, you’ll avoid hearing “why wasn’t I consulted.”
MediaSilo delivers an environment for the members of a DACI team to collaborate. For instance, versioning helps to identify which export of a video a particular note applied to. And then, you can see how it was addressed in a subsequent revision.
Collaborate on the concept
When the stroke of genius hits you, and you draft that fantastic concept, view it as a rough draft. Sometimes, it’s hard not to be precious about a concept that works together on every level. So make sure your script and storyboard make the rounds to everyone who could kill it later. Help people to feel like they are a part of the process and that they are heard. This step will set you up for a successful review and approval process once the cameras have stopped rolling.
Work through legal and clearance issues
Keep in mind that your client may need to have their legal counsel provide input before and after you film your spot. Music and location clearances need to be in place to protect the company. And they will want to make sure that nothing in the piece could create unnecessary legal risk. It is key that the concept not rely on an element that might get struck down by a company’s internal legal team.
Gather broad internal feedback
When reviewing elements and deliverables, I like the saying, “Show your work early and often.” It can be scary to send out incomplete work, but platforms like MediaSilo provide a great way to get feedback at critical stages without slowing down the creative process. This way, the agency and client can feel like they have a handle on the process, and you can ensure buy-in along the way. Even then, it can still be tough to know who needs to see what at which stage. But getting early work in front of people can head off headaches. It also builds trust because it demonstrates a level of vulnerability. And your creative team will instantly know when you need to make course corrections.
This step is also where the presentation features of MediaSilo can make a big difference. When the work is presented online or in person, all distractions must be eliminated. It’s a key moment to control the messaging and ensure the work gets presented in the best light possible.
Handling creative differences
Inevitably, creative differences arise. These are the “curveballs” we’re talking about. It’s the director’s job to work through the client’s feedback and figure out ways to make them happy while still realizing the creative vision. This moment is where it can be really helpful to gain feedback from various sources so that there is a balance to offset the feedback from one influential individual. One executive may have a strong objection to a particular element, but if other voices like it, those voices can help soften the blow. As daunting as it may seem, gaining feedback from as many voices as necessary is ultimately helpful to get the deliverable across the finish line.
Avoiding defensiveness is key when hearing feedback. The temptation to defend the work is always present, but it is more effective to take notes, and give a little time to try to get to the core of the objection. When you are in the moment and receiving pushback, your stress level rises, and it is hard to think clearly and respond well. Sleeping on feedback is honestly one of the best methods for processing it. Take some time to process it, gain input from other voices, and allow for creative solutions to present themselves after a night of sleep.
Curveball feedback can yield even better work than originally planned. Sometimes, that feedback reveals a weakness in the spot, even if the person giving the feedback could have been more precise in articulating the exact problem. When people try to explain what they feel in their gut, there is often a significant disconnect, but there is still something real there. An experienced storyteller can digest that feedback and uncover the real reason a piece isn’t working. That insight can yield new creative solutions that fix those underlying problems.
Focus groups can help
Once your commercial is “finished,” a helpful step can be to get feedback from people outside of the process. Sometimes, we are so “head down” in the work that we miss obvious things. So, feedback from internal focus groups or even beta testers of software products can point out things that we would miss. It’s important to hold this feedback loosely, but it can also be illuminating.
When feedback from focus groups is obtained, it is important to consider their similarity to your main audience. For instance, sometimes, the hardest core fans of a particular product do not represent the majority of the customers of that product.
Final sign off
When it is time for the finished piece to make rounds, ensure everyone gets included again. The two critical junctures for broad approval are the storyboards and the final sign-off before shipping. Hopefully, the rounds of internal feedback have helped finesse the deliverable to perfection. However, it is still worth asking, “Has everyone who needs to see it had eyes on the final version?”
Conclusion
Keeping everybody in the loop can be challenging with the best of plans. That’s why it’s critical to have tools like MediaSilo that reduce the friction and help keep everyone in sync. See those curveballs coming, and the team will hit them out of the park. And that’s the kind of teamwork that leads to repeat clients, happy teams, and creatively fulfilling work for all involved
MediaSilo allows for easy management of your media files, seamless collaboration for critical feedback, and out-of-the-box synchronization with your timeline for efficient changes. See how MediaSilo is powering modern post-production workflows with a 14-day free trial.
Reuben Evans is a director, an award-winning screenwriter, and a member of the Producers Guild of America. As the former executive producer at Faithlife TV, he produced and directed numerous documentaries and commercials. Reuben’s tools of choice are RED Cameras, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve.
Movie trailers. We see them by the dozens every time we watch a film in a theater. A trailer can provide great entertainment but also serve as an important marketing tool for filmmakers.
We spoke with three editors, all of whom have extensive experience working with movie trailers, to get their perspective on movie trailers today.
We’ll be hearing from:
Ryan Connolly of Film Riot. If you’ve ever looked for a filmmaking or editing tutorial, there’s a good chance you’ve discovered one of Ryan’s videos. In addition to their YouTube channel, Film Riot also has a terrific blog covering helpful topics ranging from pre-production all the way through post-production.
Chris MacDonald of Film Editing Pro. They have a 46-lesson course called The Art of Trailer Editing, which walks students through every aspect of putting together a trailer, including offering sample footage to work with to create your own trailer.
What aspects of a trailer make one great?
Ryan: The music and the pacing are major factors. I think the music is probably one of the biggest factors in that. The music doesn’t have to actually be a needle drop song; [instead] it could be the use of sound design. The use of sound from the film creates the music for the trailer itself and creates the pacing of how the trailer unfolds.
Pacing is paramount as well. I think the mystery is subconsciously asking a question of some kind, planting a seed in the audience’s mind that has this idea that they need to be answered. [Giving them] some sort of mystery that will pull them to the theaters. Because the ultimate job of a trailer is to get butts in seats or get clicks if it’s something on the Internet.
Patrick: At Muse, we have a thing that we call ‘the who gives a shit? meter’ and that’s about looking at any kind of content across mediums and asking yourself how much it’s really pulling you in, making you ask questions and caring in any way.
The number one aspect of a trailer, for us, would be that you have to get your audience’s ‘who gives a shit meter’ going as far off the charts as you can.
Visuals, SFX, soundtrack, and pacing all play into that—but that is more about characters and conflict, and all of it coming together to make your audience care and want to know more. It sounds simpler than it really is—, but when you get that, you have to motivate them enough to plop down $15, drive to a theater, and give 2 hours of their time. You really need to get that “WGAS” meter going.
Chris: A great trailer is one that tells the film’s story quickly and understandably by using the best ingredients the film has to offer.
With comedy, that means you’re telling the story by weaving together the funniest moments in a way that conveys the plot, typically supported by graphic cards and occasionally narration to tie it all together. Action uses the biggest, most exciting moments. Suspense moves you from scare to scare while explaining the plot.
Trailers of all genres will typically save the biggest, funniest, scariest moment for the end, right before the main title lands. The entire arrangement of these moments is made enjoyable to watch and seamless via the heavy use of music and sound to drive the cut forward at a pace that’s faster than the story would typically be told.
When an editor can include all these great moments in a rhythmic and natural-feeling way, you’ve typically got a great trailer on your hands. It also helps if the movie is good.
What recent trailers stand out to you as great?
Ryan: There are a lot of really awesome, more current trailers. Hereditary is a huge one.
That trailer was really brilliant, and its use of sound and the music that they chose was very brilliant.
I think all of Jordan Peele’s trailers are excellent: Us, Get Out, Nope. All of them really ramp up that mystery to get you to want to know what that is. But also, his selection of music is some of the best out there currently.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was a really great one, really great use of song and really great pacing. It got the tone of the trailer across.
Mad Max: Fury Road, I thought, had such an amazing kinetic energy to it that really told you what you were going to get into with the film without giving away too much. It all translated into the trailer. That worked really well.
Patrick: I have a personal policy of shutting off a trailer the moment I know I want to watch a film. They often tend to give away too much and so I usually only watch 15 to 20 seconds, and it tells me enough about whether or not I want to watch the film.
The trailer for Top Gun: Maverick is one of those examples where it’s not traditionally a film I would see; however, within the first 30 seconds, I was hooked, shut it off, and then went to the theater that week to check it out.
Ryan: I thought Inception was an absolutely brilliant trailer. Obviously, that shifted things quite a bit when it came to trailers. A lot of people mimicked how Inception sort of went about its marketing.
And then there’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, [whose] use of music drove the whole piece. You get that quick cutting, hammer driving the nail into your skull, which translated perfectly into what the film actually was without giving away a ton.
Going a little further back, speaking of tonally and the use of sound, I think Little Children is a really excellent trailer. It uses sound as music, and it’s maybe tonally one of the most incredible trailers. Its use of sound is really perfect to drive that growing sense of dread and asks so many questions.
The Shining is a brilliant trailer where it’s just one shot of the elevator, and the blood opens up and it’s just text. It asks a litany of questions that are screaming to be answered.
Patrick: I find it fun to go back to classic trailers, such as the one for Rocky, and you can see the principles of story structure and something like The Hero’s Journey at play inside of that three-minute trailer.
They’re very old school in style and don’t play like a modern trailer at all – they kinda look like film scenes mashed together – but as a way of learning about structure, they’re wild to watch.
Chris: I don’t know if it’s been long enough for this to be a classic yet, but the entire campaign of teasers and trailers for Mad Max: Fury Road was a beautiful and well-executed series of cuts that accomplished everything [I’ve mentioned about trailers].
What are your thoughts on how much should be revealed? Are the best trailers just emotional rides with no insight into the story? Or do great trailers give you a little taste?
Ryan: Some of the trailers that I’ve mentioned don’t really give you that much of a taste of the story but more of the tone of the film. Some give a whole lot of story. I’m not a big fan of giving too much away because you’re then detracting from the actual experience.
The marketing team is just trying to get butts in seats and make back the budget of the film, of course. But I think a perfect trailer has little hints at what the film will be about. But more than anything else, I think the most important thing for me with the trailer as far as what to convey to an audience it’s not necessarily about story plot points but conveying what sort of experience [the audience is] going to be in for.
Conveying that is paramount. Above all else is, “What is the thing that’s going to get them to click?” I think it is an exciting trailer that grabs you but also asks questions and plants little mysteries in your mind that you will feel then feel compelled to solve.
Patrick: I believe that the commercial answer is that you do what you have to do to get somebody to watch the film. But we personally don’t subscribe to the clickbait model where you’re less concerned about whether or not the person who checked out your content actually feels like they got value and had a good experience.
We very much try to set up a strong story with a good deal of intrigue while leaving a lot more for the final film so that we are delivering on that experience.
Chris: There are multiple types of trailers. Each has the same goal of presenting the film in a way that will entice a person to see the film, TV show, doc, etc. All seek to generate an emotional response from a viewer en route to that goal, whether the response is laughter, excitement, fear, nostalgia, or just a feeling of “I want to live in the world of that film for 90-120 minutes”.
Shorter promotional pieces like teasers live up to their name and tease just a bit of the plot while focusing mostly on generating emotion. Often, this is a strategic marketing decision as much as it is a logistical one.
Many times, when a teaser is being created and often even released, much of the movie has yet to be filmed. Occasionally, teasers are largely graphical and use little to no actual footage from the film. The majority of trailers, however, focus on telling a shortened version of the story, highlighting the best parts, whether they’re jokes, scares, or action set-pieces.
A common complaint is that “the trailer spoiled the film.” That’s a subjective statement and one I think is rarely true. If a trailer makes a movie/show look appealing to a viewer and doesn’t reveal a critical plot point, like the main character dying, it’s done its job. Watching a film is about the journey and experience. If a 2-minute and 30-second trailer can ruin that entire experience for a viewer, the movie/show probably didn’t have much to offer and wasn’t worth watching in the first place. That viewer should probably just thank the trailer editor for saving them $15 and 2 hours of their time!
You are also a filmmaker and content creator. What storytelling and editorial tricks/techniques can movie trailers teach us to use in our day-to-day work, whether short/feature films, YouTube videos, or branded/commercial content?
Ryan: The main thing is capturing the audience’s attention. Trailers do such a great job at that. They come in fast, gripping you, and then try to keep you there for the entire runtime of the trailer because it’s trying to sell something to you.
But it’s an emotional journey, you know? That’s what’s going to do it the most. Whether I’m writing the script for a feature or I’m making a short film, that’s always an aspect of the thing that I’m thinking of, keeping every possible moment compelling to some degree. Not saying that the moments are screaming at you, and they’re all loud action moments, but even when it’s a quiet moment between two people talking, what are the under-beds of theme and conflict there? Maybe that’s keeping the scene intensely compelling. And I think trailers do that just unbelievably well.
Patrick: From a storytelling perspective, we very much focus on character and conflict, as in how can we show you a character that you love or that you love to hate, but more so that you want to know more about.
And then how can we constantly bring in conflict, which, from a psychological perspective, creates a question in the viewer’s mind? If you can create a character that the audience feels connected to and a bunch of questions they want the answer to, it’s very much how we can motivate somebody to want to watch our film.
I believe the common mistake is that we vastly underestimate how much conflict is required both in a strong trailer and in a strong feature film.
Chris: I find myself drawing on trailer editing techniques constantly while creating content for our training school Film Editing Pro. Obviously, promotional pieces benefit from trailer-style editing, but even YouTube intros, lesson transitions, and the overall pacing of training videos and tutorials draw on the skills of the trailer world. This is a bit of a “meta” example, but this tutorial on How to Cut a Movie Trailer makes heavy use of trailer-style editing to keep the viewer engaged throughout the lesson.
So what makes a trailer great?
The answer is complicated. Every editor we spoke to gave a different answer, but the main thing that connects all of the answers is that a trailer needs to make you feel something and get you excited.
Ryan and Chris both pointed out Mad Max: Fury Road as a trailer to look at for understanding how to tell a story with tone, sound, and music.
The main takeaway is that if your storytelling hooks an audience, they will likely want to see your movie.
MediaSilo allows for easy management of your media files, seamless collaboration for critical feedback, and out-of-the-box synchronization with your timeline for efficient changes. See how MediaSilo is powering modern post-production workflows with a 14-day free trial.
Brian is a director, producer, and editor based in Los Angeles. He runs a boutique production company called Forge and Discover, which works with brands of all sizes in helping to tell their stories. He’s also one of the trainers at filmeditingpro.com, where he teaches various editing techniques and conducts demonstrations.
My first few weeks as CEO, EditShare’s vision, and the evolving role of AI
Towards the end of the show, a few folks asked me to sum up how it felt to see our team in action so soon after joining the company. The word I chose was “inspired.” I’ve come to appreciate the rich legacy of empowering storytellers that EditShare upholds, and seeing first-hand our team, products, and plan-of-attack coming together at such an important event, it’s hard not to feel wildly optimistic about what the future holds.
Where AI Is Headed
IBC 2023 also brought with it more and more conversation around the most compelling trend in our space today: the emergence of AI. In particular, we noticed an explosion of smaller AI-enabled companies aiming to streamline critical workflows within the content creation processes, from video editing to transcription and beyond. However, there’s a common challenge – harmonizing those workflows within one intuitive interface. I’m proud to say this is an area where EditShare is positioned to shine with the introduction of our new solution, EditShare One, which we unveiled at IBC 2023.
EditShare One, Transcription View
It’s been fun to hear the early feedback from customers and partners who have had a chance to see what EditShare One can do. We heard from more than a few people how useful the AI-integrated Transcription View will be to their producers – and the seamless integration we’ve built through FLOW into Premier Pro and Resolve also stood out at the show.
At EditShare, we’ve already made waves in post-production with innovations like Universal Projects, which lets teams work with whichever editing software they prefer. We’re pushing that idea of openness even further with EditShare One. My commitment to our customers is to keep building products that meet them where they are, and helping them balance the tension that comes with creating exceptional content within tight, demanding timelines. EditShare One is a natural next step in delivering on that promise, and we can’t wait to get it into the hands of more of our customers.
A Powerful Combination
As I look at our combined portfolio of products, I’m especially thrilled about the integration of the MediaSilo product into the EditShare ecosystem. We built MediaSilo to bridge the gap between creatives and non-creatives. It provides a platform where content can be effortlessly shared, organized, reviewed, and approved, unsticking collaboration between teams, with the security features such as watermarking and DRM to provide confidence that when media is shared, it is only being shared to the right eyes and ears.
This merger not only bolsters our commitment to providing comprehensive solutions but also opens up new horizons for creative professionals and organizations seeking to streamline their media workflows. It’s an exciting chapter in EditShare’s journey, and one I’m so excited to help shape in my first few months as CEO.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to see us at IBC, and looking forward to meeting many more of you before we close out 2023.
Ramu Potarazu
Montréal-based production company moves to latest hardware for increased flexibility
Boston, MA, September 27, 2023 – EditShare®, the technology leader that enables storytellers to create and manage collaborative media workflows, and Canadian Channel Partner, DXM, have installed a large network of EFS storage devices at Pixcom, a leading Canadian production company. Pixcom, based in Montréal, has a permanent team of over 50, employs over 5,000 freelance artists, technicians and production teams and has relied on EditShare storage for more than a decade.
The new installation at Pixcom will provide a centralized workflow hub. With all media in one spot, engineers can ensure that producers and editors always have the right material at the right time. The company’s in-house post facilities use Avid and DaVinci Resolve editing, which is tightly integrated into the storage network meaning editors always have the right material on their workstations when they need it.
“We are very comfortable and familiar with the EditShare eco-system,” said Charles Laflamme, Technical Supervisor at Pixcom. “It was time to refresh the hardware, and EditShare and their local partners DXM Technologie showed us the benefits in connectivity and security with the latest EFS devices. It will make our workflows even simpler and more productive, while ensuring that we have complete control over all the material for our productions.”
Charles Laflamme, Technical Supervisor at Pixcom
This installation is built around six EF450 scalable shared storage appliances, each with 392TB of disk storage, plus two MDC metadata controllers, giving Pixcom both high availability plus all the benefits of the FLOW production asset management software. The network also includes four EFS 40NL nearline storage nodes totalling 1.5PB of storage, plus two backup 672TB EFS 40NL nodes.
The nearline storage provides working storage for media which is in current production but not needing the same levels of throughput as the online storage. Workflow tools built into the EditShare suite ensure material is moved between online and nearline storage as required. The new network also includes EditShare Ark LTO tape drives for permanent archiving, again automated through FLOW.
“Charles and his colleagues are very familiar with all the benefits of high-performance shared storage from EditShare, which means we could talk about the latest techniques in boosting workflows and delivering productivity benefits, like the tight integration between storage and edit software, and the ability to prepare material in FLOW, in advance of the edit.” said Adam Giraudias of DXM Technologie.
“EditShare’s commitment to enabling collaborative media workflows aligns perfectly with Pixcom’s mission to deliver exceptional content efficiently,” commented Said Bacho, Chief Revenue Officer at EditShare. “With this significant installation of EFS storage, in collaboration with our valued Canadian Channel Partner, DXM, Pixcom’s creative teams now have a centralized workflow hub with immediate access to the right material. We are proud to support their journey of simplifying and enhancing production workflows while maintaining complete control over their valuable assets.”
The new storage network was installed over the summer of 2023.
EditShare is a technology leader that enables collaborative media workflows on-premise, in the cloud, or in a hybrid configuration. With customer and partner success at the heart of EditShare’s core values, our open software solutions and robust APIs improve workflow collaboration and third-party integrations across the entire production chain, ensuring a world-class experience that is second to none. The high-performance software lineup includes media optimized shared storage management, archiving and backup, and media management, all supported with open APIs for extensible integration.
EditShare’s cloud-enabled remote editing and project management technology was recently recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) with a prestigious 2021 Emmy® Award for Technology and Engineering.
About DXM
DXM Technology offers fast and effective services that can solve the problems and challenges faced in all fields of video content production, whether you are a broadcaster, producer, post-production house, blogger or other.
The digital age has completely altered the television and film worlds. With easier and more affordable access to technologies we can now build specific workflow infrastructures that will eliminate major headaches, which in turn allows producers to generate more effective content within established budgets and deadlines.
EditShare®, a technology leader that enables storytellers to create and manage collaborative media workflows, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with Shift Media, a leading cloud-native video solution provider that helps creators manage, present, and collaborate on their high value projects. The combined business will operate as EditShare, with Shift Media’s well-known products – MediaSilo, Wiredrive, and Screeners.com – folding under the EditShare corporate brand.
Over the past several years, video creation has continued to accelerate in myriad industries globally, including entertainment, advertising, corporate communications, higher education, house of worship, and many more. Corresponding with this increase in content production, an explosion in video technology has occurred, leaving video professionals with an ever-growing, complicated stack of tools and vendors to integrate to get their jobs done effectively. The combination of EditShare and Shift Media will deliver a comprehensive, open solution that enables creative teams and content creators to seamlessly store, edit, collaborate, and share their content, whether they choose to work on-premise, in the cloud, or with a hybrid solution.
EditShare’s high-performance workflow focused product suite includes EFS media optimized shared storage and FLOW intelligent media management. In 2022, the company launched EditShare FLEX built on AWS, ensuring professional production and post companies can build remote and collaborative workflows that suit their creative and commercial needs.
Shift Media’s cloud-native, software-as-a-service solutions include MediaSilo, Wiredrive and Screeners.com. MediaSilo provides a video collaboration HQ, helping the biggest names in media get projects approved faster. Wiredrive helps commercial production companies and agencies quickly and easily create custom pitch materials and showreels. Screeners.com provides the industry standard virtual screening experience for press review and sales opportunities of high value pre-release content.
Ramu Potarazu, Shift Media’s CEO, will lead the combined company under the EditShare banner following the close of the transaction; current EditShare CEO Conrad Clemson will leave the business to pursue other opportunities. “The tireless work of Conrad and the EditShare team has put us in a position of strength for the future,” Potarazu said. “Shift Media was built on the principle that video workflow technology should be completely intuitive and customer friendly. EditShare and Shift Media are highly complementary businesses with market leading products and services and shared commitment to putting the power of video production in the hands of creators. As a combined company, we will create a one-stop shop with a more comprehensive range of products and global network of channel partners, enabling us to better meet our customer needs around the world.”
“Our two companies have very strong businesses and powerful product offerings,” said Stephen Tallamy, CTO of EditShare. “Together, we will be better positioned to deliver a powerful, comprehensive, and intuitive content management and collaboration offering to the broad middle market, which is where most of the industry sits.”
ParkerGale Capital and Marlin Equity Partners, previous backers of EditShare and Shift, respectively, will maintain their positions as primary investors and board members of the combined company. “I’m excited that Marlin Equity Partners and ParkerGale will continue to support the business,” said Potarazu. “Together, we are aligned on delivering cutting edge solutions in response to the stratospheric growth in video production and continued move towards flexible, collaborative on-premise, hybrid, and cloud workflows.”
For more information on all EditShare solutions, please visit the website at www.editshare.com. Information on MediaSilo, Wiredrive, and Screeners.com can be found at www.shiftmedia.io.
MediaSilo allows for easy management of your media files, seamless collaboration for critical feedback, and out-of-the-box synchronization with your timeline for efficient changes. See how MediaSilo is powering modern post-production workflows with a 14-day free trial.
