First off, I hope that the title made you think of Will Ferrell playing a cowbell. Now let’s move on to business: mobilizing your production process for video.
If you’re reading this, I’m going to assume that you’re in the film and television production business or other related field, so I’m going to put this story into a format that you’re familiar with. A script (I apologize for the formatting ahead of time. Final Draft doesn’t copy and paste well).
INT. PRODUCER’S OFFICE – NIGHT
It’s raining outside. The drops are BREAKING against the window with force. PAULY THE PRODUCER 40’s, three-day beard, and coffee cup in hand sits watching dailies on his iPad using a mobile app that his company purchased.
His phone RINGS.
PAULY THE PRODUCER
Hello?…What do you mean our footage has been leaked?!…I know it was my idea…I’m fired?! Noooooo!!!
That scene comes from the never to be released film called “A Production Company’s Worst Nightmare”. What this extremely well-crafted scene represents is the biggest fear that hinders production companies from investing in digital distribution apps for their various projects.
Luckily for you, that scene isn’t from one of those horror movies that are “based on true events”. No pre-production content has been leaked, but this fear is what keeps most entertainment companies from making the leap to digital distribution.
The Reality
Let’s take a more concrete look at this idea. The documentary version, if you will (I urge you to imagine Morgan Freeman’s voice reading this next paragraph).
Enterprise mobile platform providers, like Mediafly (that’s us!), build technology to support complex business needs such as screening pre and post-release cuts, dailies, and video. Our software engineers have worked to ensure that the app is wonderfully easy to use and “executive proof” but still has all of the complex elements that make it the go-to tool for entertainment powerhouses. Forensic watermarking, control over screening access rights and the ability to integrate with your existing workflows are just a few beneficial features of ProReview. It also has a “this message will self-destruct” feature built in. Don’t worry, your device is safe, but after the allotted viewing time window is up, the material is no longer viewable.
It’s all about finding the right provider. There are a lot of generalizations that get thrown around, especially when it comes to technology. You have to be the one to sort through these inflammatory claims and realize that those “true events” might not be so true after all (I’m looking at you Blair Witch Project!)
What other concerns are keeping you from using an app as part of your production process?
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