The document below walks through a simplified end to end workflow for Media & Entertainment

It is high level enough to be generally applicable to multiple sectors within the vertical. There is of course more nuance when we dive into these sectors:

• Movie Production
• TV Production
• Advertising
• Live Sports
• Broadcast Playout
• VFX / Animation production
• Post Production

Movie Production

Each broad area of this workflow can be considered a sector within the overall M+E Vertical

Specialist companies, or specialist departments within larger organisations, carry out the work required for each step in the workflow

Specialist software is often used for one or more parts of a production.

The below diagram describes a high level end-to-end workflow for a traditional media production involving some for of “Live Content” (e.g. Camera Footage) such as Movie, TV or Advertising

It should be read from left to right, such that on the left we have nothing but some actors, script and a set - and on the right we have a completely finished asset that can be played in a Movie Theatre or through a consumer’s Television.

Workflow Steps

Production

This is where live footage is captured, comprising of:

• Camera footage using digital cameras, e.g. live action shots, actors on-set, etc
• Specialist capture techniques may be used at this stage, such as Motion Capture (Mo-Cap), Volumetric, Photogrammetry, Lidar. This data is used to enhance and enrich downstream processes such as Visual FX

Post Production

The main disciplines or functions within Post-Production are:

• Data IO: handling all of the media that is generated in production, getting it to the right place in downstream processes
• Editorial: video editing the footage, often using lower resolution proxy media from the original camera footage
• Visual Effects (VFX): there are many specialities within this over-arching discipline, but the end goal is to enhance story telling using computer generated imagery.
• Audio Production: similar to VFX, there are many techniques within the field of audio that enhance the listening experience as part of storytelling
• Online/Grade: This is where all of the component parts are combined (Editorial, VFX, Audio) and the entire project is “visually finished” with a process called Color Grading

By the end of post-production, a large amount of new data has been created.

As well as many “work in progress” files, there exist a series of “Master Assets” that can now be used to drive the Packaging and Distribution processes.

Packaging

Master Assets are the input to the Packaging process.

Processes will be dictated by where the content is intended to be consumed (e.g. Movie Theatre, Broadcast TV, Digital VOD platform, etc)

These processes are sometimes separated by activity (e.g. specialist localization facilities), but are more often “bundled” by companies that specialise in “Distribution Services”

• Localization: creating subtitles and alternative audio for the content so that it can be consumed in different global markets
• Mastering: transforming the post-production Master Assets into the requisite deliverable format for distribution platforms
• QC: validation that all content is technically and qualitatively perfect post-transformation, and adheres to the relevant delivery specification for the platforms so they can be automatically ingested for distribution

Distribution

Distribution tend to be done by “closed” platforms, and have strict quality standards to ensure that the automation systems in use can handle large amounts of content.

Examples of Distribution:

• Movie Theatres: might use the Digital Cinema Package format
• Broadcasters: use standards such as DPP, which combine compressed video with sidecar metadata files
• Subscriber VOD Platforms (SVOD) such as Netflix: might use the IMF Packaging format that contain video, multiple language audio tracks, subtitles and metadata
• VOD Platforms (VOD) such as Youtube: might just require compressed video formats with sidecar metadata

Workflow Data Flows

Each high level step in the workflow is likely to be either a separate organisation, physical location, or simply separate infrastructure.

Many tasks within the workflow, such as Post-Production or Packaging, may be carried out by a single organisation.

But it is also likely that the act of creating a Movie or TV Show will require specialist expertise to create the highest quality content.

The higher budget the production, the more likely it will use best-in-class specialists for each part of the workflow.

As such, the act of data flowing through the workflow creates many copies of original data, and brand new data along the way.