For video teams pushing the boundaries of creativity, the pressure is on to continue raising the bar. Audience demand for dynamic, engaging video continues to accelerate. To keep up, brands need to create more video content in more formats to support more channels than ever — without sacrificing quality. But tight deadlines, unclear client feedback, and inefficient review processes can add an enormous amount of strain on already maxed-out video production teams.
Optimizing video workflows with tools like Frame.io can make a world of difference by accelerating production from concept to delivery, freeing up valuable time for creativity. Automating manual processes, leaning into smart collaboration, and empowering distributed teams with centralized, cloud-based tools will put breathing room back in your production timelines and give you space to focus on making innovative, high-impact work. Read on for 10 ways to streamline your video workflow and scale brand content creation.
Let your tech do the heavy lifting.
Investing in the right technology allows your brand video team to automate repetitive tasks and reduce context-switching to free up more time for creative execution.
1. Let integrations create shortcuts. Manual, tedious, and slow processes are often the result of disconnected tools. Tech integrations can reduce friction points in the video production process so your team can spend more time creating and less time hopping back and forth between different platforms. “Use a tool that’s integrated into many different platforms like Premiere Pro or After Effects. Integrations improve creativity and prevent headaches,” says Karina Anglada, Strategic Development Manager at Adobe.
2. Use workflow automations to expedite production. Video teams often perform the same time-consuming tasks over and over during a project. Finding ways to automate routine tasks can help make space for more creative work. Anglada has experienced this improvement first-hand as a video producer and editor for several sports brands. “With new tools like Camera to Cloud, you have an essentially automated workflow from the moment your videographer or cinematographer presses record to when they stop,” she says. These types of workflows can save hours of time by reimagining a traditional, linear file handoff process between production and post.
Save time with asset management best practices.
Video teams creating innovative content and workflows should also be savvy about asset management. Organized, searchable storage can free up time and give them a competitive edge by helping them make the most of their existing video content.
3. Keep content centralized and searchable. A well-organized collection of video and other project assets is a huge time saver for fast-moving teams. For example, because the Golden State Warriors video team had a robust collection of well-tagged footage stored in the Frame.io cloud platform, their post-production creatives could quickly search for and access clips for new projects.
4. Customize workflows with APIs. Seamless processes such as automated archival workflows can reduce the volume of manual tasks on your team’s plate. For example, the Yeti content marketing video team created an effortless archival workflow with APIs that meant there was no manual archiving effort after projects. This automation saves their team time and ensures their global project teams and asset libraries always have access to the latest project deliverables in a centralized place.
Utilize centralized collaborative features.
Breaking new ground is often a collaborative effort. Support your internal brand creatives and other stakeholders with a unified toolset that helps people share ideas and feedback seamlessly throughout the video development process, unlocking new ideas along the way.
5. Centralize the review and approval process. Managing your review and approval process with a unified cloud-based platform can keep work moving throughout a video production. Anglada says, “Faster workflows and faster reviews and approvals remove the inefficiencies that previously existed, like feedback via email or back and forth emails of multiple versions.”
6. Break down silos and connect teams. Brand videos don’t just involve your brand creative team, but stakeholders from several different departments. A centralized collaboration toolset can help you improve communication and break down barriers between teams. Anglada says, “Departments are often segmented or physically or literally divided in some way. Frame.io workflows bring that seamless collaboration together onto multiple projects.”
7. Maximize team creativity anywhere, anytime. Working together in the cloud on video projects means your team can add notes and ideas no matter where or when people are working. For example, Riverside Entertainment and Bruton Stroube/Outpost used cloud collaboration tools during a Ford Bronco commercial shoot to turn around edits on a super tight deadline — even with a distributed post-production team working from home in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine.
8. Allow for last-minute edits and changes with version-stacking. Having the right tools in place can facilitate down-to-the-wire changes with fewer headaches for your video team. Anglada says, “If any creative needs to make a quick change, they can make that adjustment on their editing platform, and version stacking in the Frame.io workflow automatically shows that new update once it’s uploaded. It saves so much time and energy, and automates something that normally would’ve taken hours or even days.”
Empower distributed teams with cloud-based tools.
A cloud-based creative ecosystem gives teams the freedom and power to work from any location and collaborate from any device.
9. Access content from any device. Cloud-based workflows enable team members to work from anywhere on any device, which opens up new creative collaboration possibilities for your brand. Anglada says, “One thing that's really useful in the Frame.io workflow is you can work from your mobile app, your desktop app, the transfer app — and everything is seamless in terms of that integration.”
10. Enable agility and scalability for projects of any size. Even with the best planning processes in place, brand video projects can change scope or direction midway through. Having cloud-based workflows and tools can make it easier to accommodate these kinds of changes as they come up. Anglada says, “Frame.io workflows solve common production challenges like maintaining or growing a volume scale of content, but in a consistent way.”
As you’re looking for new ways to set your brand apart with innovative brand video content, investing in smarter workflows, tools, and technology can give you a solid foundation to experiment creatively. With the right support in place, your video team can remove roadblocks, increase content velocity, and free up time for groundbreaking work.
Adobe can help.
Frame.io is a scalable video collaboration platform that can cut video turnaround times by 31% and improve client satisfaction by 36%. Accelerate your production workflows by sending media right from your camera to stakeholders anywhere with Camera to Cloud. Streamline your creative process with centralized asset storage, seamless integrations with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, and frame-accurate video reviews so you can collaborate in real time with distributed team members. Protect your creative assets with enterprise-level security and access controls. With a modern video workflow, your team can work at the speed of creativity.