Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/551510
53 SUMMER 2015 / CINEMONTAGE 53 SUMMER 2015 / CINEMONTAGE TECH TIPS particular frame. Suppose you are working on a science- fiction project and you and your team are going over the visual effects. With Frankie's drawing tools, you can point out areas in a tracking shot that looks off, emphasize the teeth of a monster, or perhaps make notes to your colorist to add more blue in a certain area. After the review, Frankie automatically creates a PDF containing all the notes from the session as well as thumbnails of the frames to which they pertain. You can then share the PDF with everyone who took part in the review, or send it to someone who might have missed it. The PDF makes it simple for them to know what went on during the session, even if they were not there. However, a nice thing is that the people who weren't in the live synchronized session can jump in afterward and add their own thoughts and drawings to the discussion since Frankie saves sessions when they are over. Frankie is a web-based application that requires no software installation; it is always up to date with the latest version. It's also built around the HTML 5 web standard so it works with any modern browser and operating system. To create a review session, log into the online Frankie application, start a new review, add the media files you want to discuss, and invite your guests by sending them a link. Obviously, aside from typing notes and drawing, you'll probably want to have a voice conversation with your crew while everybody watches the video at the same time. This you can do via Skype or more primitive technology like a telephone. Frankie also allows you to organize your reviews into different Projects. For example, you may wish to assign a project to a specific client or production. Say you were creating a commercial for Verizon that had jugglers in it. You could create a Verizon Jugglers project and store all the reviews during the course of the job under that project. This way you can keep all your reviews nicely organized and easy to access for future reference. After you upload your videos to the system, Frankie automatically transcodes the video into a format that is optimized for smooth and responsive playback. You can use newly uploaded videos for a review, or videos that have been used during a past session. It is up to you. You can also play more than one clip in a review. That is useful, for example, if you have separate clips for separate scenes you want to review. Frankie helps to break down geographical barriers between colleagues, collaborators and clients and allows for quick and timely feedback. It's a simple and straightforward tool that can make it seem like you and your team are all sitting in the same room — even if you're miles apart. Frankie has three pricing plans. The Basic plan is $49 per month and allows for two reviewers, one project and 5 GB of storage. The Plus plan, at $99 per month, permits five reviewers, three projects and 29 GB and offers you the PDF summary at the end of each session (and other benefits). For $249 a month, you can opt for the Pro plan that accommodates 10 reviewers, 10 projects, 50 GB of storage (and other perks). For the full details, visit www.cospective.com/ frankie/. axle CAM If you're an editor, you already know that one of the most unpleasant tasks you face is simply managing the tons of video clips which form the bulk of the raw footage that you will eventually whittle down, cut and trim until your final, sleek video production is finished. Those who work on complex productions or newsgathering know what a chore this can be and just how much data needs to somehow be organized so you can find it all later. axle Video creates products to help you efficiently After a review session is over, Frankie will generate a PDF with all the notes as well as thumbnails of the frames to which they pertain.