WORK YOUR MAGIC FROM HOME - HOW TO COLLABORATE ON GREAT M&E CONTENT IN THE NEW NORMAL A SOHONET EBOOK
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WORK YOUR MAGIC FROM HOME HOW TO COLLABORATE ON GREAT M&E CONTENT IN THE NEW NORMAL A SOHONET EBOOK
2 SOHONET EBOOK:
WORK YOUR MAGIC FROM HOME
INTRODUCTION:
WORKING YOUR MAGIC FROM HOME
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected Despite the obvious challenges this will Remote collaboration has already gone To help M&E teams make home-working
every part of our personal and working bring, we all have to figure out how to through two phases of evolution since a success, in this Ebook we identify
lives. In the Media & Entertainment collaborate safely while we continue to the pandemic started. The first phase was four key issues you need to address for
(M&E) industry, the crisis brought create great content. characterised by immediate (almost panic) collaboration in the new normal:
many productions to a temporary halt. Productions will have fewer people
buying, as a wide range of solutions were
һ Connectivity for remote creativity
As restrictions are partially eased, we allowed on set for TV and film. Ad
deployed in the industry. Some worked
can expect that, for at least the next well. Some failed. Some were insecure. һ Security for remote content
productions will likely require agencies
12-18 months, our industry will be and brand managers to participate from
Some could not scale.
һ Control for remote workflows
working in a ‘hybrid’ state. While some a distance. Phase 2 in the C19 era is about building
professionals will begin returning to һ Sharing for remote delivery
scalable, repeatable, secure, and
studios, offices, editing suites, colouring Critical review sessions will be required for
cost‑effective solutions to support all of We also give advice on how to effectively
suites, and screening rooms, for many some workflows in colouring/editing suites
your workflows – whether your production reimagine familiar workflows for the new
this will not be full-time – and many and screening rooms, but social distancing
is creating a feature, an episodic series or reality – with solutions that are scalable
others will remain working from home will reduce the physical room capacity.
an ad spot. and cost effective for your business, in a
(WFH) for the long haul. range of typical working scenarios.
3 SOHONET EBOOK:
WORK YOUR MAGIC FROM HOME
OVERVIEW:
SUPPORTING REMOTE CREATIVITY IN THE NEW NORMAL
Nearly everyone who has remained repeatable and cost-effective solutions. desktop infrastructure or VDI). In the other
engaged in the M&E content creation As we’ve discussed, these need to support approach, the hardware is ‘virtualised’
process in 2020 has been forced to workflows in a hybrid situation where using compute power from a cloud
work from home. However, not every some creatives are in their normal work provider (often called ‘virtual workstation’).
setup for working from home (WFH) setting, while others are still participating
Whatever your particular creative
was built to be sustainable for the next from home – or a combination of both.
contribution, the chosen approach has
12-18 months. The first decisions for these teams downstream impacts into how work is
revolve around how to create a remote performed, how real-time collaboration
Many of our industry colleagues have had
working environment that bridges both occurs (especially with critical review
to just get something working – using
worlds. There are two main approaches to output), and how end deliverables are
anything that met their immediate creative
supporting these remote workflows: In one shared with other workflows. The most
needs. More recently, faced with our
approach, the creative hardware resides important issues to take into account are
new reality, technology support teams
in your facilities and is accessed remotely considered on the next page.
across the industry have been working
via a device at home (often called virtual
to build longer-term secure, scalable,
4 SOHONET EBOOK:
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OVERVIEW:
SUPPORTING REMOTE CREATIVITY IN THE NEW NORMAL
Virtual desktop suite, colour grading suite, screening democratised for cloud usage, but
infrastructure (VDI)
room) as well as those working remotely. editing and colour grading tools still
have constraints on which Cloud Service
Options for remotely controlling the һ Quality output: Offers ‘critical review’
Provider can be used.
workstation are likely to force your quality video for real-time remote
technology decisions towards a Microsoft collaboration. һ Critical review: the problem of achieving
high-quality real-time output is still not
Windows operating system, as the remote-
Virtual workstation solved. The most common solution is to
control capabilities for creative tools built
With no need for expensive on-site integrate it with the VDI world, where the
on the Apple Mac OS are limited. Teradici
hardware, this cloud-based option “client ready” review material is moved
and HP RGS are the most popular choices
initially looks like a nirvana for our back to an environment supporting in-
in the M&E industry.
creative industry. However, there are facility and remote reviews.
The VDI approach is ideal for those with still meaningful problems to be solved
existing hardware and infrastructure in for widespread adoption:
their facilities, as it provides:
һ Licensing: Some of the most Learn more: ‘Navigating
һ Cost-efficiency: Leverages your existing popular creative tools have limited Remote Working for M&E’
hardware capex. licensing options and creatives are
forced to buy an annual license.
һ Ease of integration: Works well with
those working in the facilities (editing һ Constrained partner environments:
The VFX tools have been largely
5 SOHONET EBOOK:
WORK YOUR MAGIC FROM HOME
RISE OF THE FREELANCERS
800K
Even before the pandemic, freelancers A 25% growth in freelancing over the
have been playing an increasingly
freelancers
past 10 years means there are now
important role in the M&E industry, an estimated 800,000 freelance video
with a major impact on the nature professionals in North America and powering the TV, film & ad
of content production teams in Western Europe. In M&E content industry’s production & post
the advertising, post and editorial production, freelancers make up 35% of
320K
communities. Now, in a new era valuing the US workforce, and around 50% in
flexible and remote working, freelancers
freelance M&E
the UK. Sohonet’s studio-grade remote
are even better positioned to dominate collaboration solutions are ideally placed
the landscape across the industry. to level the field of play for creative professionals in the UK alone
25
freelancers – as well as startup ‘virtual
shops’ for VFX and post.
% increase in
freelancing over the
last 10 years
6 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIOS
FOR M&E REMOTE WORKING
Remote creative participation in production
OVER THE FOLLOWING PAGES, WE EXPLORE
A RANGE OF TYPICAL SCENARIOS WHERE Over the shoulder Remote VFX shot review
SPECIALIST REMOTE COLLABORATION PERFECT FOR:
TECHNOLOGIES CAN SUPPORT CREATIVE Remote editing with gear in the office All industry professionals
PROFESSIONALS WORKING FROM HOME OR
WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING. Remote editing with gear at home VFX Supervisor
Remote colour grading Editors
Remote sound production Colourist
Remote creative exec real-time review Audio Editors
Remote creative exec same-day review Director, Producers and Creative Execs
Remote finishing and screening Look out for your colour on the
following pages.
Safe in-person collaboration and review
7 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REMOTE CREATIVE
PARTICIPATION IN PRODUCTION
Production dropped to near-zero almost who can be on-set for any production. To The solution: ClearView Flex .
overnight when the pandemic hit. As stick to critical timelines and budgets, the
& Moxion Immediates
a result, production locations almost result will be an increase in parallel filming
everywhere came to a complete halt. With units and off-lot locations for smaller Sohonet has synchronous collaboration
no new content being created – aside creative teams. covered with Clearview Flex, enabling
from a surge in home-recorded footage The biggest challenge productions will
instant real-time review live from set. And
for COVID-related advertising – it meant face is enabling the seamless and secure
for those times when getting the right
the entire industry’s creative process for coordination and collaboration between all
players together for a live review session can
new content went the same way. sites — whether connecting remote units
prove challenging, Sohonet has partnered
with Moxion, whose accelerated dailies tool
or facilitating off-set creative participation. - Immediates - gives creatives the space to
As productions across the world resume,
The way forward is one that relies on review content near or offset in near real
crews will have to adapt to a number of
digital collaboration and a lot of careful time or whenever they choose. Moxion also
changes, facing stringent new working and
pre-planning. provides offline capability on the iPad App
safety conditions that will become the new
norm for the next 12-18 months. These and remote review in HDR & Dolby Vision
measures will limit the number of people great for VFX shots, edits and colour grading.
8 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REMOTE CREATIVE
PARTICIPATION IN PRODUCTION
In Action: ClearView Flex internet (at least 20Mbps upload for the best
experience), It is also possible to use Flex
Real-time remote review – from split unit
while on location, with a suitable mobile
monitoring to off-set creative participation,
data connection.
Flex connects productions of every shape
and size. 4. Set up a Flex session. The Presenter
(likely an assistant producer back in the office
1. Ship a ClearView Flexbox with the normal or at home) initiates the Flex session through
complement of on-set gear (cameras, video
the web-based session management app.
assist, and so on) to the soundstage
or location. 5. Present the session. Once everyone’s
joined (with one click from the secure invite
2. Connect the Flexbox to the video assist email), the session host can start the live
equipment – or loop out via SDI from one of video stream from set.
the video village monitors.
3. Connect the Flexbox to the internet.
Ideally use an Ethernet connection to the
9 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REMOTE CREATIVE
PARTICIPATION IN PRODUCTION
In Action: Moxion Immediates 3. The Moxion users receive a notification
Near-real-time review – like dailies but a of new footage. Typically the footage is
day earlier. From Hollywood blockbusters to available in Moxion within 5 minutes of the
independent features, Moxion Immediates cameras stopping record.
has enabled productions to view what is shot 4. The users can review the footage on
on set in near real time. a variety of platforms. Playback can be
1. Connect the on-set video assist on iPhones, iPads, AppleTV, browsers and
to Moxion. The QTAKE video assist is desktop applications for MacOS
connected directly to Moxion via and Windows.
API integration. 5. The footage can be downloaded.
2. Upload footage to Moxion. As soon as With the correct permission, the user can
the camera finishes recording a clip, QTAKE download the original uploaded footage for
Server starts to upload the footage, plus ingest into various post production tools..
camera and video assist metadata,
to Moxion. Learn more: ‘Off-set
Creative Participation for ClearView Flex and Moxion Immediates
Productions’
10 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
OVER THE SHOULDER REMOTE VFX SHOT REVIEW
Visual effects shot reviews require ClearView Pivot Lite, as outlined later in our
the best possible quality output when remote colour grading scenario, can help
streaming in real-time, to ensure that you minimise some of the bandwidth needed
don’t lose a pixel of your artist’s work in for your highest quality review sessions.
translation. Ideally you’d use a product Alternatively, many of our customers find
like ClearView Pivot to get projection that for first and second pass reviews,
quality on a 35-foot screen at 4:4:4 ClearView Flex provides sufficient quality,
colour chroma and 12-bit colour depth particularly at the higher bit-rate settings, to
for all VFX reviews. However, there are get the job done.
many instances where time, equipment/ For VFX review you also have the added
room availability and bandwidth limit complication of having a greater number of
the options. In particular, those working stream viewers – as VFX artists are often
at home are unlikely to have enough working on one small piece of a larger puzzle
bandwidth for this kind of quality review. in large distributed teams. Flex can handle
20+ viewers concurrently within a session.11 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REAL-TIME REMOTE VFX SHOT REVIEW
In action: Remote VFX shot 4. The producer creates a Flex session and
review with ClearView Flex
invites the client to view the session, with
a modern conferencing solution (such as
The most common ‘customer shot review’ Zoom, Teams or BlueJeans) to support their
setup looks something like this: real-time feedback.
1. The artists are working remotely from 5. The client creatives are often viewing the
home, with either a cloud-based virtual content via Apple TV on a large consumer TV
workstation, or remote connectivity into a that represents colour well. We recommend
virtual desktop infrastructure at the office. an LG C9 or CX model, which are very colour
2. They are protecting the session with a accurate out of the box.
VPN and are typically controlling the remote
creative workstation with Teradici or HP Learn more: ‘The
RGS. Entertainment Pandemic
Plan: FuseFX and Sohonet’
3. The artists typically move the content
that is to be reviewed with the customer to
a workstation in the office, connected to
a Flexbox.
Learn more: ‘Remote VFX
Remote VFX Shot Review
shot review with Untold
Studios and Sohonet’12 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
NEAR-REAL-TIME REMOTE VFX SHOT REVIEW
Offline remote Moxion HDR Moxion remote review in action 3.Individuals or teams are invited to review
and Dolby Vision VFX, Cut and
the footage. If they are given download
1.The VFX, cut or colour footage is uploaded
permissions, they can download the original
Colour review to a Moxion Folder.
uploaded file for ingest into the post
With Sohonet’s partner Moxion, entire teams 2.Both HDR and SDR versions of a shot can production tools.
can, in their own time, remotely review and be uploaded at the same time, for Moxion
4.Users can comment and annotate on the
feedback with comments and annotations on to combine into a single playable asset.
footage, with frame accurate feedback, for
HDR/Dolby Vision 4K UHD footage. The version played will depend on the
the VFX, edit, or colour teams.
capability of the user’s device and adaptive
streaming will ensure the best possible
playback experience in HDR wherever you
are.. If required, an uploaded HDR clip can
be transformed into a SDR version using a
standard or supplied LUT.13 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REMOTE EDITING
WITH GEAR IN THE OFFICE
Most of the industry made a decision The ‘confidence monitor’ typically found in
in the early days of the pandemic to the editing suite is replaced in the home by
build remote workflows to support their an Apple TV, iPad or second laptop, with
collaborative editing. Typically, this ClearView Flex streaming the output of their
involves having the Avid / Adobe creative editing session from the office workstation
workstation in a machine room at the to the home.
office, and accessing this remotely When the creative is ready for a
through Teradici or HP RGS. collaborative session with other members
of the team, they invite them to view the live
In this scenario, the editor needs 25-50
output session, and those creatives join as
Mbps of consistent download bandwidth
viewers of the stream.
to their home, while the network-intensive
requirements of pushing real-time frame- Using a modern conferencing tool (such as
accurate video to remote viewers is left to Zoom, Teams or BlueJeans), they can discuss
the office connectivity. changes and guide the session. The viewers
are able to join from the viewing device of
The creative working from home is
their choice – phone or tablet if they are on
typically connected via VPN to the creative
the go, laptop or desktop if they are working
workstation located at the office. They are
from home. For high-quality sessions, Remote Editing with Virtual desktop infrastructure
using a primary screen (laptop / desktop) to
viewers can use Apple TV with a colour-
do the creative work, manage the timeline,
calibrated LG series C9/CX model TV.
bin, and so on.14 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REMOTE EDITING WITH GEAR AT HOME
Some productions and post teams have The at-home user will require a setup akin to So the experience will be optimal, whether
decided to put the workstation at the what they are used to in the office, with two your team members are also located at home
editor’s home. In this scenario, the editor screens – one for the main edit, colour or or working in the office.
needs 20 Mbps of consistent upstream VFX software and a monitor for the output
The web app used to manage the Flex
bandwidth to their ISP, so they can coming from the local workstation at home.
session invites can be run on any Mac, PC
present real-time views of their stream to To share a session with other members of or Chromebook with a modern browser.
their colleagues working elsewhere. their team, they can use ClearView Flex to This can be at any location and does not
invite multiple viewers to the session via a have to be run on the creative workstation
The creative can continue to work from their
web browser for laptops, desktop PCs or – allowing a secure air-gap to be maintained.
Mac workstation, and can leverage the office
Android devices, an iOS app for iPhone/iPad It’s even better if this is controlled by one of
setup of a desktop screen and a confidence
users, or via the tvOS app for Apple the viewers (e.g. assistant editor, assistant
monitor directly out of the home.
TV users. producer) at an external location, as this
Security is a different challenge. When will lessen the strain on the editor’s home
For viewers, ClearView Flex has no special
content is stored locally (even if being internet connection, already being used to
hardware requirements, no firewall
synchronised with the office or cloud), a stream the session out to external parties.
constraints and minimal bandwidth needs –
professional firewall segregating the creative
between 1-8 Mbps dependent on the quality
environment from the rest of the house is a
setting required for the session.
requirement.15 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REMOTE EDITING WITH GEAR AT HOME
Whilst this approach to supporting the To address this, the home-based creative The creative
creative WFH has advantages over remotely can install either a second consumer-grade workstation does not
connecting to the office setup, it does connection dedicated to the home office, need to be connected to
require a more structured approach to or a business-grade connection – either the internet when using
managing both connectivity and security in of which can be protected by Sohonet for Clearview Flex, which
makes it compliant
the home. a small monthly fee with a professionally
with studio security air-
managed firewall.
Getting consistent bandwidth while gapped requirements.
presenting content in real-time can be
challenging at home – with family members Learn more: ‘The future of
competing for access, and consumer-grade Home Connectivity’
providers over-contending their bandwidth.
Learn more: ‘Securing the
WFH environment’
Learn more: ‘Real-time
remote editing’16 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REMOTE COLOUR GRADING
Remote colour grading has always been in the home does need to be protected. Sohonet will soon launch ClearView Flex remote colour suites and screening
a difficult technical challenge because of A professional-grade firewall is highly Glow – a new set of capabilities for the rooms. In this setup, the colour workstation
the large bandwidth required to leverage recommended to segregate the home ClearView Flex ecosystem, providing critical at the office is connected to a ClearView
‘critical review’ quality video throughout environment from the creative environment review output (4:2:2, 10-bit colour). The Pivot unit, which streams a compressed
the workflow process. – and protect content from cyber criminals. higher bit-depth, colour chroma and support version to a Pivot Lite unit in the home.
of Rec 2020 HDR means more bandwidth is While 2K workflows can be conducted at
Bandwidth is a bigger challenge for these
As a consequence, most of the industry has required to view the Flex session. This means extremely high quality (4:4:4 12-bit) and 4K
creatives. The most common workflow
deployed creatives at home with remote the creative’s home needs 75 Mbps down workflows can also be conducted at critical
for real-time collaboration is to connect
access to Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci (to support their colour workstation stream review output (4:2:2 10-bit), the bandwidth
a ClearView Flexbox to the colourist
Resolve or FilmLight’s Baselight products. and the ‘confidence stream’), to ensure they required to facilitate this workflow is
workstation at the office, allowing high-
Typically, there is some content that has understand exactly what the other viewers 100-200 Mbps down to the home.
quality reviews to be pushed to other
been synchronised to the workstation at are seeing.
viewers.
home, allowing creatives to see changes that
Some colourists must work in J2K, or need
they deploy in real-time on the monitors in Most creatives at home want to ‘see’ the
4:4:4 colour chroma, or the highest possible
front of them. same video stream that their colleagues are
quality that their bandwidth will allow. As
also seeing during the session – so they are
While these machines are typically a result, Sohonet has also launched a new
often viewing the session themselves via
connected via VPN back to the office (where option for colourists working from home that
ClearView Flex on Apple TV with an LG C9/
the synchronisation occurs), local content supports higher quality critical reviews with
CX TV.17 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REMOTE COLOUR GRADING
If the schedule doesn’t permit, or the home bandwidth. Alternatively, a second Colourist working
bandwidth is insufficient to conduct a consumer-grade connection, on a different from home, with
real-time ‘over-the-shoulder’ colour review ISP to the creative’s home, can be used. remote‑controlled
via ClearView Flex or ClearView Pivot Lite, workstation and
Now the creative has the ability to view their ClearView Pivot Lite
then a strong alternative is the Moxion Cuts
own content in a JPEG2000 codec at the
workflow. The final ‘cut’ of the feature or
highest quality possible, and can also present
episode can be uploaded into the Moxion
sessions on the ClearView Pivot network
platform and streamed (with buffering) to an
to other colour suites and screening rooms
Apple TV or iPad Pro, allowing for the review
around the world.
session to take place remotely. Coming soon
is the ability to remotely control the playback
of the Moxion Cuts session, to allow the Learn more: ‘Securing the
Colourist working
presenter (likely the colourist) to pause and WFH environment’
from home, with
play the content while others are viewing.
local workstation and
This enables a scene-by-scene review,
ClearView Flex
with appropriate pauses for discussion Learn more: ‘The future of
and notetaking. Home Connectivity’
Sohonet can connect the creative at home
directly to the Sohonet Media Network,
providing business-grade symmetrical
Learn more: ‘Reviewing
colour grades remotely’18 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REMOTE SOUND PRODUCTION
Audio production for film and video While working from home, audio creatives visual action for a perfectly synchronised This summer, we are also adding 5.1 audio
takes a range of forms, including sound can share and collaborate on provisional real-time audio-visual experience. Simply to Flex, to be delivered via Apple TV, so that
mixing, music composing, dubbing and edits and mixes with Sohonet’s easy-to- connect your computer running software creatives can perform full surround sound
ADR. Working remotely in the audio use browser-based file-transfer solution, such as ProTools via HDMI to the Flexbox. audio reviews at home.
field became common even before the FileRunner. This makes it easy to export
You can also use a video conferencing Your final deliverables will depend on what
pandemic. Composers, for example, often high-quality recorded files over to your
application (such as Zoom or Teams) the specs are for your project. Typically,
work on multiple projects and require collaborators for critical editing and mixing.
alongside Flex to recreate that over-the- they might be a stereo and 5.1 surround
remote collaboration to be efficient. ADR Once you receive initial feedback, you shoulder studio experience. This approach mix, music and effects (M&E) mix, and
happens in post-production, when actors can then perform real-time reviews with lets people provide an instant response to stem mixes. You can deliver all these via
hired for principal photography may be collaborators and clients remotely using what they hear, while seeing one another’s FileRunner, so your remote collaborator or
on to their next project, and may need ClearView Flex. Your reviewers just need a faces during the session. Reading a smile or a client can download them and perform the
to participate from a remote studio. basic internet connection and any internet- shake of the head can give the creative a lot final layback.
While on location, a Director may want connected device (tablet, phone, PC/MAC or of valuable insights.
to discuss creative sound elements and via Apple TV) and they can join a high-quality
conduct spotting sessions for a project review session securely and quickly from
If a higher-spec surround sound review is Learn more: ‘The Mix Room
with teams remotely. anywhere in the world.
required, we currently recommend ClearView Finishes Audio Workflows
Pivot or Pivot Lite. These solutions carry up
With ClearView Flex’
Flex is ideal for audio creatives and to 16-channels of audio, allowing support
collaborators working remotely, as it for 5.1 and 7.1 setups (Dolby Atmos support
combines high-quality stereo sound with the coming soon).19 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REMOTE CREATIVE EXEC REAL-TIME REVIEW
Our industry tends to gloss over the at home where light is controlled, 5.1 or 7.1 reliable setup. As outlined previously, we are accurate right out of the box and only need
thousands of creative executives who sound capabilities are deployed, and the able to help you with managed and flexible minor menu changes (no motion smoothing,
have a hand in guiding the output of video is either projected with professional- solutions to facilitate this kind of bandwidth 24 fps) to be purpose fit for reviews. In this
the creative process. While no longer grade equipment or a large-format monitor, in the home. scenario, the creative only needs about 75
employing their Wacom tablets, these we recommend ClearView Pivot Lite.
For those mere mortals with only a home
Mbps of downstream bandwidth.
executives often have strong creative In a home screening room, the projector office to conduct their creative reviews,
roots in our industry, and have the same is typically connected using quad 3G SDI we recommend an Apple TV for viewing Learn more: ‘Solving the
high fidelity requirements for colour and
video quality to be effective in their roles
inputs directly from the Pivotbox. If the ClearView Flex Glow sessions. We suggest Logistical Challenges
as those editing, colouring, and creating
viewing device is a large TV, then HDMI the Apple TV is set up specifically for content of Remote Review and
is used to connect the Pivotbox. Both review (24 frames, matching colour space —
the images along the way. Approval’
solutions will carry up to 16-channels of see our FAQs for detailed instructions) and is
audio, allowing support for 5.1 and 7.1 connected to a high-grade consumer device
We recommend two different options for
setups (Dolby Atmos support coming soon). like the LG C9 or CX series of TVs. While
the creative executive working from home,
However, making image quality at this level many of our customers colour calibrate Learn more: ‘The future of
depending on their physical setup. For those
work well in real-time requires download the monitors before sending them to the Home Connectivity’
rare executives who have a screening room
bandwidth of 150-200 Mbps for an effective, exec’s home, they are typically 95%+ colour20 SOHONET EBOOK:
WORK YOUR MAGIC FROM HOME
SCENARIO:
REMOTE CREATIVE EXEC REAL-TIME REVIEW
Executive reviews with ClearView Flex Executive Reviews with ClearView Pivot21 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REMOTE CREATIVE EXEC SAME-DAY REVIEW
In recent years, the concept of ‘dailies’ Real-time collaboration footage pushed through the video village is
includes not only the high-resolution securely sent to Moxion in near-real-time,
Most of the management of multiple sound
transcoded proxies that get pushed into providing low- and hi-res proxies for those
stages occurs in the’ video village’ – but
dozens of workflows for post and visual on-lot via their iPad – and those off-lot
with fewer creatives allowed on-lot, real-
effects requirements – but also a low around the world reviewing from their Apple
time access to video feeds to appropriate
resolution proxy available via an iPad to TV or laptop. In addition each unit can also
the many creative executives on- and
creatives is a critical requirement. ClearView
reference the other unit’s footage to help Learn more: ‘Remote
off-set who want to see how the shoot is
Flex gives off-lot creatives the on-lot video
with continuity. Editorial and visual effects Commercial Production
progressing.
village experience anywhere in the world.
staff can download hi-res proxies for input with Social Distancing’
Near-real-time creative input into their workflows.
With a requirement to manage parallel
Even without the pandemic influence, when Weeks or even months later in the post
shooting units in today’s pandemic-aware
creative world, creatives on- and off-lot
on-set, the director, producers, post and process, the footage remains available Learn more: ‘Offset creative
need to be able to see what is happening
visual effects supervisors can find it difficult and additional assets can be uploaded to participation’
to be across all the live camera feeds at drive a Moxion Cuts, Colour or VFX review,
across the filming infrastructure. They
once. Waiting hours or even overnight only allowing controlled playback of assets in full
need to react to changes in real-time, to
extends the problem, requiring remote HDR, providing for synchronised viewing in
continue to collapse the shooting schedule,
camera units to book another day while multiple locations.
without compromising the artistic integrity
shots are reviewed for completeness.
of the director, DP, the camera operators
Moxion Immediates can enable you to
or the actors. We can help creative execs
deliver a rapid review workflow, where
participate here in two key areas:22 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REMOTE FINISHING AND SCREENING
With production and post teams planning But even the largest of studio theatres can of creatives can watch the content from
their return to studio campuses and post- only support a handful of viewers with separate screening rooms across campus,
production offices around the world, we appropriate social distancing. With new best around town or even in different countries.
have to adjust the way we finish features. practice concepts, where teams of creatives The editor can play and pause the content
never come in physical contact with each at will, with every screening room seeing
Previously, when the final version of the other to prevent wholescale team infection, exactly the same frame at the same time.
feature or episodic had finally come together, we have to design a new way to review Firing up your preferred conferencing tool
the key parties would gather in a darkened together while being physically separate. (such as Zoom, Teams or BlueJeans) allows
screening room. This would typically include everyone to comment (and take notes) when
Taking advantage of ClearView Pivot’s one-
the director, cinematographer, post and the content is paused, but move quickly back
to-many real-time streaming architecture,
visual effects supervisors, colourist, editor, to professional immersion once playback
your post production supervisor can work
executive producers and other creative is resumed.
with the studio post team to establish a
executives from the distribution studio.
multiple screening room approach. In this
They would review the content, pausing to
scenario, two or three different teams
give notes, comments and directives.23 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
REMOTE FINISHING AND SCREENING
Incorporating creatives who cannot make Similar to the use case above, the easiest
it to a screening room is also possible. By way to support audio communication for all
splitting the video output from the creative parties is to leverage a modern conferencing
workstation to both the ClearView Pivot platform where the editor mutes all parties
and ClearView Flex infrastructure, frame before hitting play, and then unmutes the
and colour-accurate playback can be shared parties after hitting pause on the content.
in real-time, not only to multiple screening The review coordinator initiates the Pivot
rooms, but also to creatives reviewing from ‘calls’ from the sending creative workstation
the safety of their home office on an Apple to the receiving screening rooms and invites
TV and a colour-calibrated consumer TV Flex viewers via email to participate in the
(such as the LG C9 or CX models). same session. Once the sessions start, the
playback management across both systems
should be seamless.
Remote Finishing Review
Learn more: ‘Finishing
Review and Approval with
Social Distancing’24 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SCENARIO:
SAFE IN-PERSON COLLABORATION AND REVIEW
LIST OF SOHONET CREATIVE WORKSPACE PARTNERS
Not everything can be done from the LOS ANGELES NEW YORK LONDON TORONTO
home. While we have the technology to Company 3 Atlantic Studios Company 3 Deluxe
enable the editor, the colourist, the VFX Deluxe Company 3 Deluxe Sim Digital
Digital Vortechs Deluxe Derwent
artist and even the creative executive Fotokem Goldcrest DMR Film VANCOUVER
to perform their role from home, there Harbor Picture Company Harbor Picture Company DNEG Deluxe
are times when getting a small number Lantana Mad Old Nut ENVY Post DNEG
of people into a room together (with Lot 5 Media
Mad Old Nut
Montague
RK Studios
Goldcrest
Harbor Picture Company
Finale Post Production
Sim Digital
social distancing and masks) is just Picture Shop Sim Digital Hireworks Ltd
more effective. Pivotal Post Soho Works Molinare ANZ
Serendipity Labs Spring Studios Regus Soho Square Arc Edit–Sydney & Melbourne
Sohonet’s connected partners worldwide can Sim Digital Technicolor - Post Works Soho Works Cutting Edge–Sydney & Brisbane
offer purpose-built creative work spaces for Soho Works Spring Studios Images–Auckland
editing, colouring, finishing reviews and even
Spring Place ATLANTA Technicolor Toybox–Auckland
Syracuse Studios AIP Studios
screenings, all of which can be connected to Technicolor Company 3 MANCHESTER
creatives working from home. The Foundation Wyatt Studios Flix Facilities
Tribeca West
WeWork Santa Monica SANTA FE
Stagecoach Foundation25 SOHONET EBOOK:
WORK YOUR MAGIC FROM HOME
CREATING YOUR WFH ENVIRONMENT
Connectivity Control
Now that we’ve considered a range
of specific working scenarios, on the
following pages we’ll examine four key
elements need for creative collaboration for remote creativity for remote workflows
from home in the new normal... When you cannot be in the same room Whether using VDI or cloud-based virtual
with your creative collaborators, you need workstations, you need to maintain full
network connectivity to make your remote visibility and control over your remote
workflow successful. access workflows.
Security Sharing
for remote content for remote delivery
While our industry continues to adapt to You need to apply best practices for
new working environments and workflows, remotely sharing content and IP data
you need to create, collaborate on and share files – source media, work in progress,
captivating content – securely. and resulting deliverables.26 SOHONET EBOOK:
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PRIMER ON SETTING UP YOUR WFH ENVIRONMENT
Comprehensive M&E connectivity Distribution studios: Every major
with Sohonet distribution studio is already connected in
some way to the Sohonet Media Network. MONTREAL
We have a wide array of options to TORONTO GLASGOW
support your content creation needs in Post and VFX houses: Hundreds of post VANCOUVER
CHICAGO
BOSTON BELFAST
MANCHESTER LEEDS
every situation or location: and VFX houses around the world are SEATTLE
DETROIT
MADRID
DUBLIN
NEW YORK
connected to our network.
Production studios: 50+ production
SAN ST LOUIS MUMBAI
FRANCISCO COLUMBUS
MAN CARDIFF
SANTA
ATLANTA
Creative work spaces: We offer 50+
CLARA
LONDON MAN
studio partners around the world with HAWAII
DENVER BERLIN
AMSTERDAM
great connectivity options to the internet collaboration locations and purpose-built DALLAS
MIAMI
LUXEMBOURG
and the Sohonet Media Network, that can production offices around the world. AUSTIN
MUNICH
LOS ANGELES
be turned up quickly. MAN
Home working: We help creatives and PARIS MAN
WARSAW
Off-lot productions: Our field services executives to work effectively and securely
BRISBANE MEXICO CITY
PRAGUE
teams can get your production teams
BARCELONA
AUCKLAND
from home with studio-grade VPN
leveraging a warehouse or corporate office protection and other solutions. MELBOURNE WELLINGTON
space for their production office or team
SYDNEY MAN
collaboration needs – just about anywhere
Learn more: ‘The future CANBERRA
in the US or UK, in just 3-5 business days.
of home connectivity for
Remote locations. Leveraging bonded 4G production, post and visual
mobile data, fixed wireless and (coming effects’ Sohonet Media Network: specialist M&E connectivity, everywhere you need us
soon) SpaceX Starlink satellite connectivity.27 SOHONET EBOOK:
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CONNECTIVITY FOR REMOTE CREATIVITY
Getting high-grade home connectivity is Of course, a business-grade connection
Whatever your workflow requirements,
no longer the exclusive domain of studio (with symmetrical bandwidth up and down
if you cannot be in the same room with
bosses with private screening rooms. to the internet) is always more reliable
your collaborators, you need network
It is now becoming commonplace for and effective, but can take longer to get
connectivity to make your remote
colourists, editors and visual effect artists installed and is more expensive.
workflow successful.
– as well as creative executives in the
Regardless of your budget and home
Sohonet is the M&E industry’s connectivity review process.
challenges, security should also be at the
partner of choice. As well as studios and
Recently, many M&E professionals have forefront of your planning. Sohonet can
workplaces, we have been connecting
elected to install an additional consumer- provide professionally managed firewall
the homes of highly influential directors,
grade internet connection to their home solutions for the creative professional
creatives and producers directly to the
office. This means they can have their working from home, which makes sense if
Sohonet Media Network for years. Now
work connection separated away from there is valuable creative content stored in
the pandemic has created a stronger ‘data
their family’s countless Zoom calls and the home.
gravity’ in the home than ever before.
Fortnite sessions.28 SOHONET EBOOK:
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CONNECTIVITY FOR REMOTE CREATIVITY
Sohonet Media Network: specialist M&E Home Connectivity Options
connectivity, everywhere you need us.
Business Grade
Existing Home ISP Separate / 2nd ISP
Connection
Learn more: ‘The future of Upload Speeds ✔ ✔✔ ✔✔✔
Home Connectivity’
Bandwidth Quality ✔ ✔✔ ✔✔✔
Security Options ✔ ✔✔ ✔✔✔
Cost $ $$ $$$
Install Lead Time none 5-30 days 30-90 days
Minimum Term none 6-12 months 12 months29 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SECURITY FOR REMOTE CONTENT
remains unwavering, with families at home һ Domestic-grade networking and security Home networks need to be treated like
The rise of the pandemic triggered
consuming more hours under lockdown. – How hardened is that cable router? a ‘guest wi-fi’ in a production facility. You
a rapid exodus from our industry’s
So, while our industry continues to Did you change the wi-fi password from don’t allow visitors to your facility on your
studios, facilities, offices and other
adapt to new working environments and the factory default? Do you even have a secure production network. The same now
carefully secured environments.
workflows, the requirement to create, firewall? applies to working at home. You need to
Some creatives left expecting just
collaborate on and share captivating ensure proper security for your software,
a few weeks of remote work. Others һ All kinds of connected data-gathering
content securely is ever present. hardware, network – and the wider home
prepared for the long haul, taking devices – home assistants, security
environment.
their workstations home with them. While IT and security professionals cameras, smart TVs, and even robot
have worked hard over many years to vacuum cleaners – on the same network
The usual bastions of protection for
successfully secure the office and studio as pre-release content.
valuable content and Intellectual Property
landscape, the home environment presents
(IP) –security gates, cameras, RFID badges, һ Well-meaning family members on social
a unique set of challenges for M&E
studio-grade firewalls and air gapped media – “Stuck at home but look at the
industry workers, such as:
networks – were left behind. new baby alien that Mom is working on...”
һ Family members, friends and even
Despite production initially grinding
neighbours using your wi-fi – offering
to a near-halt, the demand for content
hackers a route into your home network.30 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SECURITY FOR REMOTE CONTENT
Obviously having a full replication of an Alongside the advanced technology, it While there is no panacea to solve the new inherently more secure. However, policies
office environment at home isn’t practical might also be worth investing in some security challenges we face, there are a lot and controls will need to be adapted and
– but at Sohonet we have developed a more physical aspects of security – such of things you can do today to secure the evolved to accommodate new ways of
range of solutions that can help protect as putting a lock on the home office door, WFH environment for all users. Protection working securely.
your home-workers and your content. installing blackout blinds, and so on. is improving as apps become
Whether it’s for production staff, tech
teams, editors, VFX artists or colourists, Security for
Sohonet has solutions scaled to fit each
Learn more: ‘Securing the remote content
of your use cases and security challenges,
home: Top Tips for M&E’
such as:
Secure VPN access solutions
Centralised Unified Threat Management
(UTM) solutions Learn more: ‘5 simple steps
Secure file transfer to assess your working from
home (WFH) security profile’
Secure remote collaboration solutions31 SOHONET EBOOK:
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CONTROL FOR REMOTE WORKFLOWS
As many of our industry colleagues have Here are our recommendations to support
When the pandemic hit, our industry 3. Try a hybrid approach. Long before the
discovered, these cloud solutions have these cloud workflows:
was forced to find new ways to enable pandemic, many VFX artists using cloud
some challenges in achieving the high-
creatives to accomplish their workflows 1. Get the licensing right. Many of the workflows had figured out a workaround
quality video streams needed for real-time
while working from home. Many in our cloud-based tool providers cannot offer for review sessions. By keeping a few
critical review. The solutions available to
industry decided to harness the existing a license for the tool, which must be remotely-controlled physical machines
facilitate live review sessions are not yet
infrastructure at the office by deploying purchased separately, directly from the in the office, which are connected to
able to provide scalable and consistent
remote access workflows with virtual tool creator. ClearView Flex or Pivot, VFX artists can
real-time, frame-accurate output with high
desktop infrastructure (VDI). move the content for review to a location
colour fidelity, though we believe these 2. Remember that egress is expensive.
where they can easily conduct critical
However, many visual effects artists and problems will be solved in the near future. Design the creative workflow to stay
review sessions – such as live-streaming
some editors chose to deploy cloud-based within your cloud service provider (CSP)
to review suites, screening rooms, and
solutions to support their creative needs – as long as possible – to reduce the egress
executives WFH all over the world.
using virtual workstations for tools such as costs triggered by bringing large amounts
Avid, Adobe, Maya and Nuke. of data bandwidth out of the CSP.32 SOHONET EBOOK:
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CONTROL FOR REMOTE WORKFLOWS
4. Keep up with new developments.
Network Device Interface (NDI) is an
evolving software standard to support real-
time broadcast-quality video in distributed
production environments. Many players
in the industry are trying to force NDI
to work beyond the office to support
home-based workers, But NDI does
not perform well over consumer-grade
networks, suffering congestion, packet
loss and jitter – resulting in a choppy frame
rate experience for viewers. It can also
introduce colour and compression artifacts
into the video stream. As an alternative,
Sohonet is working hard with our industry
colleagues to build an open source API
approach to support critical review quality
output directly from cloud-based creative
Remote Editing with Virtual desktop infrastructure
tools like Avid, Baselight and Resolve,
although this is likely to take several
months to deliver – watch this space.33 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SHARING FOR REMOTE DELIVERY
creation. An advertising production might supplement this with a sync at the FileRunner makes the best use of the
In any M&E creative role, sharing
company may need to retrieve archived end of the workday, which can continue bandwidth available to it, with accelerated
deliverables while working from
footage from a previous campaign to re- through the night if needed. multi-threaded parallel uploads. It’s
home can be a challenge. Most of the
work. optimised for sending media file formats,
workflow advice in this Ebook is focused File transfer made simple which are usually either small in data size
on sharing the frame-accurate output You need to think through the concept of Sohonet’s file transfer tool FileRunner and large in volume (frame sequences) or
from creative tools in real-time. But how to share deliverables both internally is ideal for home-working usage. It’s single large files (completed video assets).
what are the best practices for actually with your team members and to external extremely easy to use, and works in This makes it ideal for delivering files from
sharing source media, work in progress, parties. For internal file sharing, you may any modern web browser, with no one creative to another throughout the
and resulting deliverables as files? consider synchronising your tools – so special plugins, server setups or desktop production pipeline.
files are automatically shared and updated
A better approach to M&E file across your team’s workstations. This
applications to manage. You’ve no need
Using TCP as the underlying transfer
to bother your already overstretched IT
sharing works great in the office – when you department to get your whole team up and technology, FileRunner is much more
Creatives in our industry do not work in have tons of bandwidth for sending and running. If you do encounter any issues, friendly to other network traffic than
a vacuum. You might work your personal receiving. But most home-based solutions Sohonet’s customer success team is ready UDP-based solutions, which tend to stomp
bit of the magic alone, but ultimately you are going to have an asymmetrical to help, 24/7. over other users of the connection. This
need to deliver the result into some other connection, where the upload speed is will make you much more popular with
workflow by sending it somewhere. For significantly slower than the download the other people you share your home or
example, an editor may be sending EDLs speed. In this scenario, sending the workspace with.
to the colourist, sound designers or VFX deliverable output file only when needed
teams. The studio marketing department is a better approach than constantly
may be sharing film stills for movie poster synchronising all your source files. You34 SOHONET EBOOK:
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SHARING FOR REMOTE DELIVERY
Gbps network fabric (connected to the Essentially, if you have huge data volumes,
Low-cost cloud file storage Sohonet Media Network) to ensure data then performing the initial longhaul data
and sharing replication is immediate. move will be one of your biggest concerns.
For those managing the delivery of large This can be avoided by using FileStore+
data sets across geographic regions, Many productions now create hundreds
geo-sync – and you can then just move
Sohonet’s FileStore+ cloud file storage is a of terabytes of camera RAW data, which
files more locally, focusing on smaller data
secure and low-cost solution. needs to be moved from the production
sets for those working at home.
location through to post-production
Files can be loaded directly via local on- – which may be located on an entirely With no data egress fees, FileStore+
ramps at speeds of 1 Gbps or higher into different continent. In such cases, unlocks the ability to push and pull data
the secure cloud object storage platform. FileStore+ eliminates any concern about to the cloud and across worldwide regions
A second and third copy of that file are connectivity or tools for file transfer. You for delivery purposes at will – which is
replicated to other regions immediately then only need to think about the local otherwise financially unviable with other
– giving your workflow partners in other distribution of files within the region, from major cloud service providers.
regions local access to the same data your main office location to those working
within minutes of it landing in your local from home – which can be accessed on a
region. Sohonet’s storage partner RStor more ad-hoc basis.
uses their RWave product and their 100WORK YOUR MAGIC FROM HOME WITH SOHONET Our solutions for film, TV, and ad production can help your creatives work magic from home – or anywhere in the world. Get in touch to learn more. North America +1 310 449 8600 usasales@sohonet.com UK & Europe +44 20 7292 6900 sales@sohonet.com Asia-Pacific +61 (0) 2 8311 0066 anzsales@sohonet.com.au www.sohonet.com Copyright © 2020 Sohonet Group Limited and its affiliates. All rights reserved.
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