StudioNow - A Cut Above

New On-Site Production Checklist

So you're preparing for your shoot, and you're wondering "how do I make sure that I get everything that the client partner (Citysearch, CBS Radio, Clear Channel, etc...) wants while at the same time making sure that I get what each individual customer wants and get in and out in no time flat." 

The answer has always been found in the 5-10 minutes that you spend going over the On-Site Production Checklist with your customer immediately when you get on site.  We call it the Pre-Shoot Consult.  It is your opportunity to sit down with each customer and put them at ease with everything that is going to go on during the shoot and to get their direct input on what exactly they want the video to portray. 

To help make the Pre-Shoot Consult more valuable and to help you elicit more information from your customer, we recently implemented a revised On-Site Production Checklist.   In addition to the shot list, the speaker log, and the customer's primary messages, we have provided an area for the customer to outline key differentiators that set them apart from their competition as well as an area to note special requests that may fall outside the norm of a standard video shoot. 

Again, we hope that this will help all of us in our quest to better serve the members of our network, our customers, and in the end, create the best possible videos. 

Make sure that you are using the latest production pack for all of our clients including our revised On-Site Production Checklist.  As always, we welcome your feedback.  Please look it over, and let us know your thoughts. 

Preview assets before you download

Ever wondered what exactly you had to work with before you downloaded the assets? 

Now you can actually preview the photos (we don't have previews for videos yet, but that won't be far behind) that are associated with a project... BEFORE you download them, even before you accept a project. 

All you have to do click on the assets tab of the project and mouse over the link to the assets, and a thumbnail will pop up.  Click on the link above browse around to see what it looks like on a sample project. 

We are hopeful that this will make your job of evaluating and editing the video just a little bit easier.  As always, let us know if you have any feedback.

Where we are now & where we are going

I want to take a moment to talk about where we are in terms of getting projects out to our ever growing Editor Network.  As most of you already know, we are still in private beta for the StudioNow Editor Network.  In fact, several of you are participating in this testing process.  For those who aren't already participating, we want to give you brief overview of what the testing process looks like right now and how it works.

Currently, editors who have agreed to participate in the beta testing of our Editor Network receive an email when a project is available to be edited.  This email provides some basic information relating to the project (including project title, file size of assets, and commission to be paid upon purchase) along with a link to the project page on the StudioNow website.   

On the project page, you can review the project in more detail and decide if you want to accept and edit the project.   If you decide to take the project, click 'Start Project,' and the project will be assigned to you immediately and made unavailable to other editors.  When you accept a project, you are expected to complete it within 48 hours.

So far, this method is working very well.  We have a great group of test editors who are working hard and creating fantastic movies for our customers.  That said, however, we recognize that this is not the ideal solution.  As a result, we are moving toward what we are calling a 'bulletin board' system. 

The bulletin board will be an environment where you will be able to view all of the available projects at one time, and accept (or check out) projects that you want to work on.  Projects will still largely be offered on a first come, first serve basis.  Instead of receiving an email every time a project is available,  however, you will be able to view the bulletin board at your convenience and control when you are notified. 

Only want to receive alerts when projects that qualify as Music Videos, Weddings, or Sports are posted?  How about only when projects that pay a commission of more than $200 are posted?  Want to be notified every time a project is posted on the board?  Or would you rather only receive a daily summary?  Perhaps you don't want any notifications at all. These are the choices that you will be able to make and control with the bulletin board that we are designing. 

The bulletin board is still in development so there are details that are still being defined and tweaked, but we are excited about it and think that it is a step toward providing a better experience for our editors.

Look for the release of the first version in the next 30-60 days.  As we continue to work toward the release of the bulletin board, if you would like to become a test editor, please visit our contact page for test editors and let us know that you want to participate.  By participating as a test editor, you will also be one of the first to access the bulletin board when we release it. 

John Wallace
VP, Production