The traditional post production edit room boundaries continue to crumble in the hybrid spaces we work in, a permanent reality of the post-pandemic world. Definition 6 no longer has 10 edit rooms and three audio rooms all humming on a 160TB Facilis TerraBlock, as was the case in the past. Instead, there’s typically an editor or two in the office, while the rest work from home.
Pre Pandemic, Post Production
If we look back to March 2020, D6 shut down its offices and managed its workflows by moving data in and out of the facility to local RAIDs at the editors’ homes. Fortunately, just a few months earlier, our team had implemented Signiant’s Media Shuttle into our workflow. At the time, we were looking for a way to send data quickly and securely, and Media Shuttle fit that bill. While working from home, usage of the service skyrocketed. The team was using Media Shuttle to move data from its homes to the office multiple times a day, but we wanted more. The goal was to have the same experience as in the office with the TerraBlock shared storage server, where multiple editors, junior editors, and assistants can all be in the same project sharing media. All this stemmed from a desire to improve our overall post production process and workflow.
The New Normal
The solution? LucidLink, a cloud-based NAS solution that streams data straight from the cloud. It’s like Dropbox for editors and does away with the synchronization of folders, streaming the data that is needed when it is needed. The first time we saw a demo of LucidLink, we were impressed by how it mounts on the desktop like any other local drive or like how the TerraBlock would mount on workspaces.
At first, the team was initially skeptical of the possibility of editing from the cloud, but after a demo period of using it on real work, we were hooked. Most of our projects are fast paced with tight deadlines, and a shared cloud storage solution like LucidLink allows for flexibility in how they are approached. LucidLink has proven to be one of the strongest tools in the team’s collection, enabling assistants to load or deliver data while the next spot is being cut and allowing multiple editors to share large amounts of data.
Recently, the company worked on a behind-the-scenes style show for a major network that required multiple editors and producers to work on different segments in order to meet the tight delivery date. Not only did LucidLink live up to our editing expectations, but we were also able to perform color correction and the final audio mix right off the storage.
The use of cloud-based services at Definition 6 is enabling creativity and collaboration to flow more freely than ever before, and this trend is not slowing down soon. In fact, the company is already starting to think about how much it will spend on physical storage and whether disconnecting its internal shared storage will be a possibility in the coming years.
Whether our post production process lives on the cloud or a hybrid environment, D6 is committed to industry-leading editing services for clients like HBO and Paramount+. If you’d like to learn more about our entertainment marketing division, talk to us today.