3 Ingredients for Remote Editing Workflows
The initial onset of the pandemic led to a surge in remote workflows across the globe, with the media and broadcast industry proving a fast adopter of new solutions. As the dust settles over a tumultuous 18 months, we are unlikely to return to business as usual. Remote edit workflows are becoming seen as a long-term solution rather than solely as crisis management. There are a tremendous variety of tools available to enable these workflows. So, what are the key areas for remote editing and how can organisations ensure they adapt seamlessly to a cloud-based infrastructure?
There are three ingredients to consider, let’s look at each in turn:
Transition
It might seem simple to jump straight into a cloud-based solution, but it will be worth your time and effort to plan a staged transition to the cloud. Consider the best architecture for your needs – with hybrid and multi-cloud options available, proper planning will mean your assets are where you need them, when you need them. If the scale of the task seems daunting, there are tools which will transition petabyte-scale data to the cloud will help get things started. These solutions resolve common challenges with large-scale data transport, including high network costs, content security concerns and lengthy transfer times.
For ongoing business continuity beyond the pandemic, it is essential that the right content is stored in the right place. Rather than uploading content to the cloud just to download it again, could your editors do the same job by accessing a proxy file? This allows staff to work efficiently from anywhere, while avoiding those pesky egress costs. Managing your archive content and nearline storage effectively, will help keep the balance between ease of access and cloud storage costs under control. Rather than putting all your assets in one place, it’s important to review which content will be needed infrequently and which is referenced more regularly. Taking the time to consider these options, will help aid a smooth transition in the first instance.
Management
As post-production teams worldwide moved to remote working en-masse last year, the struggle of maintaining access to content became more pronounced. Talented teams were spending hours downloading and uploading footage from home, rather than creating new content. Accessing virtual workstations and using proxy editing workflows, means that teams can reduce the processing load of large files and work efficiently from anywhere. But monitoring and managing editing workflows is key to maintaining that efficiency.
A remote editing dashboard allows for consistent, accurate monitoring, with dashboard and status widgets showing anything from monthly spend, to remote editing workstation status. For teams that are dispersed across different locations, resource pooling is extremely beneficial. The ability to track the number of users in-session for each pool over the previous 24 hours, allows teams to manage resources with ease. By noting usage patterns, teams can be more responsive to editing demands and fluctuating workloads. You may also want to consider staff scheduling in-line with your project timelines. By maximising workflow efficiency, users can keep their time and energy focused on creating engaging media content.
Control
The flexible nature of spin-up/spin-down cloud capacity will help teams maximise their budgets. To remain as agile as possible, but still ensure cost efficiency, controlling the cloud usage metrics is vital. By upscaling and downscaling in-line with demand, post-production teams can trim the fat off their workflows. Keep costs to a minimum by automatically shutting down workstations when not in use. While still maintaining the flexibility to spin-up a new workstation in just a couple of clicks.
If something isn’t working, change it! Your hours are too valuable to be spent on processes that aren’t allowing you to work as you need to. Analysing your existing set up with a systems integrator that responds to your needs, will enable a smooth transition to next-gen cloud workflows. At 7fivefive, we listen to customer pain points, identify areas to streamline your operations and support your team’s adoption of new systems. That way, media and broadcast organisations can get back to doing what they do best.