Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/34797
Studio ManagementSoftware ago, it introduced nine new mod- ules, including FTP, an integrated file transfer module that logs each FoxOMS's Tim Mohr says clients like their tiered, monthly licensing model. involvement in the projects he took on. Then he realized the product should be tar- geted to commercial recording studios, and in 1998 released the first official version of Studio Suite (www.studiosuite.com). Soon after, “post production studios called and begged for a product that met their needs, so I added post workflows in the next release, and it’s been evolving ever since,” he explains. Today, among the 1,400-plus facilities that use Studio Suite, parent AlterMedia counts JWT,Warner Bros., Universal, DirecTV, Fox, National Geographic, Sundance Channel, Post Factory, OffHollyhood, AlphaDogs, Crawford Media Services, NASA, hundred of small boutiques and many Fortune 100 companies and universities in 40 countries. “2010 was a record year for us, and so far 2011 is way ahead of last year,” Stoner re- ports.“There are a million moving parts in a production and one change has a domino effect; there’s no room for error.You can’t manage things on Post-It notes; you need something everyone can access and see and that can do reporting so you can do busi- ness analysis. Every major corporation has enterprise software to keep everyone on the same page and so should production and post facilities.” When Studio Suite 9 bowed 18 months 40 Post • June 2011 transfer and offers the option to add the transfer as a billable line item on a project; Employee Sched- uling; AICP and AICE-style budgets; Tasks; Productions, for centralized management and reporting of mul- tiple, related projects; and Web Re- quest, which permits clients to re- quest studio time online. Studio Suite 9 also added an Internet ver- sion, which provides access to about 85 percent of the application via browser. “A lot of features are based on customer requests, and a lot of times the customization we do for clients ends up in the next version of Studio Suite,” Stoner says. “That’s one reason we’re one of the most full-featured products on the market.” The already cross-platform Studio Suite 9 extends functionality further by offering its Contacts, Calendar and Tasks modules as iPhone and Blackberry Web apps. “Production teams are now so spread out. Freelancers need to know what’s happening — they don’t have a white board in an office or a binder with pages to refer to.” Stoner believes that companies that use studio management software not only boost their efficiency but also present themselves as professional organizations with business management skills.“Having the kind of detail you get with Studio Suite 9 at your fingertips wherever you are turns your facility into a well-oiled machine that every client will ap- preciate. In fact, when your clients see you manage your business details easily and effi- ciently with Studio Suite, they’ll know you’re on top of things.They’ll feel confident in your business and so will you.” FARMERS WIFE After launching in Spain 10 years ago, Farmers Wife scheduling and facility man- agement software (www.farmerswife.com) made its debut in the US in 2005. Since then post and VFX studios — including LightIron, Cinelicious, Sonic Union, Brickyard and Pub- lic VFX — production companies and broadcasters have come on board as Farm- ers Wife users.“We try to cover most mar- kets, including quite a few advertising agen- cies with internal facilities,” says Simon Had- field, managing director of Farmers Wife www.postmagazine.com USA, based in Santa Monica. The software is very comprehensive, and Hadfield says it runs natively on Mac and PC. “Everything is contained in the main package, from bidding, scheduling and project management to invoicing and finan- cial reporting on the back end,” he says. “Report Design is built in, not via a third party, and that’s one of our unique selling points.Also included in the base system is the iPhone app integration, which uses SSL security technology. It allows users to check their schedules, time report work com- pleted, and even be notified of any changes to a booking.” Hadfield notes that while Farmers Wife “can capture the big information, it’s the small things that make a difference” such as remembering to bill a client for an ordered lunch or cab service.“You can enter data di- rectly for all those elements.They start to make a difference where margins are minus- cule; your profits can be gone if you don’t keep an eye on those things.” The optional, three-part Media Manager module permits users to keep track of all the physical or digital media in the client’s system via Media Library, Dispatch and Media Order functions. “It links media to projects with standard or custom fields,” says project manager Sophie Malten.“It also pro- vides information on individual clips on a particular tape by timecode and their order sequence on the master tape and enables users to print labels with their barcode through Label Designer.” Farmers Wife is known for spending time with clients, Hadfield says.The com- pany furnishes pre-training documentation to help them collate data for building the database, then recommends setting aside about three days for training and imple- mentation. Its post-sales and development service is also noteworthy to ensure that “the workflow is integrated with the whole business,” such as the popular QuickBooks accounting software. Like its competitors, Farmers Wife has enjoyed a significant increase in sales lately. “We’ve sold more systems in the last quar- ter than in the whole of last year,” notes Hadfield. He attributes the uptick not only to clients seeking efficiencies in a struggling economy but also to the software’s native Mac compatibility and iPhone app. “Apple’s Final Cut Pro is everywhere, and more peo- ple are buying Macs,” he says.“They want to buy a system that sits on a Mac, and [we do that] without the need to buy any additional software to make it work!” VIDEO