EditShare Debuts Flow v3.2 Production Asset Management

EditShare LLC is taking control of 4K and remote editorial workflows with the release of Flow, the company’s production asset management platform.

Flow v3.2 capabilities include scan and proxy support for 4K and image sequences, enhanced remote editing options, and automation capabilities for transcoding and file delivery workflows.

Serving as a control and management layer from ingest to archive, Flow provides key production tools – ingest, browse, edit and review – combined with automation, metadata tracking and cloud-based functionality to manage content from ingest to archive across departments, locations and remote productions.

Sandra Theron, head, post-production, Argonon, explains the productivity and quality gains that Flow has brought to their workflow: “We have been using Flow for the past year, and it has become an essential tool for our production teams, especially for fast turnaround series like Nightmare Tenants (Channel 5), Incredible Engineering Blunders Fixed (Discovery), The Wives Did It (Discovery ID), MTV Charts and MTV News that have large volumes of content to review in multiple locations around the world by many people. With Flow, the edit producer can review interview content at their desk, in their hotel or on location…anywhere they like. The edit producer can also storyboard material on their own workstation. This cuts down on the amount of material the show editor has to wade through, allowing them more time to cut and finesse material.“

Argonon edit producers and researchers use Flow to assemble simple sequences, create sub clips, and make notes on content. Transcribers only need a login to access the content they need immediately.

“All of these capabilities allow the edit to be more collaborative and ultimately faster,” Theron says. “Flow is no longer a ‘useful tool’ or an ‘optional extra,’ but an absolutely essential part of our production and post-production teams’ workflow. We make better shows because we use Flow. It’s that simple.”

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Flow 3.2 release lets facilities like Argonon scan, make proxies and preview a variety of 4K formats such as ProRes 4444 XQ, Sony XAVC and RED (.R3D) files as well as ‘single-file-per-frame’ image sequences including DPX, CinemaDNG, ARRIRAW, PNG and TIFF.

The AirFlow capabilities allow users to batch-download both original media files and Flow proxies via a web browser, expanding the possibilities for remote editorial workflows. Broadcasting company RWF World, made up of Emmy award-winning journalists and filmmakers, relies on AirFlow to collaborate on documentary R&D. Because AirFlow is a private cloud-based production tool, RWF World can ensure that politically and personally sensitive content is safe and secure within their own production center.

Tom Roberts, supervisor,IT and post-production, RWF World says: “While the primary use of AirFlow is for the team in remote locations to access the archive research or to do translations, our DOP, Kawa Akrawi, who spends part of his time in Iraq, along with our edit producer, Helena Appio, who is based in Hong Kong, use AirFlow to edit content and share packages with team members back in the UK. This type of collaboration was impossible before the installation of Flow.“

The Flow 3.2 release offers Watch Folder and FTP delivery options that eliminate the need for dedicated transcoding and file delivery tools. With Flow Automation, facilities can automatically watch for all incoming file-based media that arrives at specific locations, and then transcode or rewrap all new media to a single ‘house editing codec and wrapper,’ making content ready for editing as quickly as possible.

“The new watch folder triggers and FTP tasks in Flow Automation add tremendous value to the Flow toolset,” says Jeff Herzog, manager, Flow product, EditShare. “With the ubiquity of file-based cameras today, even a single production can end up with an unmanageable number of incoming video formats. Watch folders allow you to build distributed transcoding pipelines to standardize this material automatically as it arrives, without the need to deploy costly and complicated standalone transcoding solutions. In addition, the FTP delivery task allows you to take the results of any Flow Automation workflow and automatically upload them to any internal or external device that supports this protocol. These new abilities help to firmly establish Flow not only as a superb creative content management tool but also a participant in complex facility-wide workflows where media and metadata are exchanged between many different products and platforms.“