Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1532337
www.postmagazine.com 32 POST JAN/FEB 2025 he MovieLabs 2030 Vision has be- come a content production and dis- tribution standard followed by creative and technology stakeholders as they prepare for the future of media and entertainment. Outlining ten principles for technology in filmmaking, the 2019 whitepaper titled "The Evolution of Media Creation" serves as a ten-year roadmap to efficient, se- cure, cloud-based media pipelines. Many have worked toward this shared goal and made notable progress. For example, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the only cloud provider to demonstrate five of the ten original MovieLabs principles in its AWS Studio in the Cloud solution. Achieving fully-integrated interoper- ability has proven a persistent hurdle, partly due to a reluctance to give up legacy approaches to infrastructure and pipelines. But the tide is changing, as MovieLabs' guidance is increasingly tak- en to heart: "Media companies embrac- ing open interoperability today will be optimally positioned to capitalize on the future of virtualized, cloud-based pro- duction. Those still relying on monolithic, proprietary stacks will be impeded." To maximize the potential of cloud- based workflows, creators need to be able to assemble tech stacks tailored to their requirements. This is where interop- erability becomes imperative. Why interoperability matters Like open-source technology, interopera- bility encourages cross-industry collab- oration, and equips creators with the ability to work nimbly and scale effec- tively. Without interoperability between different tools and platforms, studios and creators risk being locked into rigid, inflexible pipelines that constrain creativ- ity and collaboration. Vendor or format lock-in can lead to technical debt, higher costs and an inability to adapt. Disparate systems that don't communicate seam- lessly result in inefficient handoffs be- tween creative stages, duplicated efforts, and the potential for errors and data loss. By developing interoperable solutions, pipeline decisions can be made based on each project's needs, reducing iteration time and encouraging more experimen- tation with different elements. Creating an interoperable industry Interoperability hinges on industry-wide commitment from technology providers, studios, developers, integrators and stan- dards bodies. A standardized approach and support for modular pipelines are essential to progress. Successful modular pipelines need fundamental interoperability. This in- cludes common data classification and security models, compatibility with open- source file formats and reusable integra- tion patterns. They also require soft- ware-defined workflow interoperability encompassing standardized connectivity and API integration layers. With these pieces in place, creative teams can con- figure preferred tools, infrastructure and processes for each production, as well as leverage interchangeable modules. Interoperability is also needed to achieve a holistic, cloud-based workflow, as the cloud provides the compute fabric to stitch together multiple software-de- fined tools and services into cohesive vir- tual pipelines. Interoperability augments the key benefits of leveraging cloud computing for content production — including scalability, agility and the ability to assemble tailored solutions. As the required technologies and architectures to enable interoperability evolve and become more accessible, me- dia and entertainment companies will be able to harness more of the benefits of modular, interoperable workflows. Those who do will not only future-proof their operations, but also position themselves to thrive in the rapidly-evolving land- scape of media creation and distribution. AWS is a broadly-adopted cloud that of- fers over 200 fully-featured services from data centers globally. SOLVING FOR INTEROPERABILITY WILL ADVANCE MEDIA WORKFLOWS BY CHRIS BLANDY DIRECTOR, STRATEGIC BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, M&E, GAMES & SPORTS AMAZON WEB SERVICES HTTPS://AWS.AMAZON.COM T BY JAMES CRANFIELD GLOBAL VP SALES & PARTNERSHIPS CINEDECK HTTPS://CINEDECK.COM t's been a challenging year for many in the broadcast and media industry as economic pressures and global uncertainty have continued unabated. This is driving media compa- nies to seek out new ways of working to improve efficiency and save costs. The need to do more for less is stronger than ever, and this means working smart- er, automating where it makes sense, and using the best media processing technologies. However, given the many different software, hardware and cloud systems typically involved in post production, this is easier said than done. Changing entire ways of working is usually a com- plex, painful and bumpy process. One approach that can help media compa- nies produce content more efficiently, without the pain of re-architecting their entire way of working, is to focus instead on bridging gaps in existing work- flows. This means integrating tools and processes, ensuring compatibility and simplifying the entire process. Integrating tools and processes To move raw footage from camer- as to post production, and through to delivery, content moves through many different processes, starting with ingest and including proxy file creation, metadata logging, storage, QC, insert edits for video and audio, timecode restriping, captioning, file trimming and transcoding. If the tools and processes used to carry out these tasks aren't seamlessly integrated into the workflow, time-consuming transfers and conversions will cause bottlenecks. This is precisely what media companies need to avoid if they want to create a seamless process from start to finish. For an efficient workflow, content needs to be able to flow through each stage smoothly, without delays. Ensuring compatibility A typical media-processing workflow uses technology from different vendors, so compatibility is another key factor when it comes to improving efficiency. If solutions are not fully interoperable, it's impossible to create a comprehensive and cohesive workflow. When choosing solutions, it's also important that they can work seamlessly with the different software, hardware and cloud systems involved in the post process. This gives media companies flexibility to add in additional technology or switch solutions if needed. WORKFLOW I TECHNOLOGY OUTLOOK MAKING MEDIA PROCESSING EFFICIENT & PAIN FREE