In Broadcast - April 2018 - 21

21

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 8 - Issue 4 | April 2018

InForm

CLEAR Automated Work
Order Management

According to Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) the key to drive efficiencies and reduce
costs in media & entertainment is efficiently automated workflows...

R

unning a profitable Media &
Entertainment (M&E) enterprise is
more difficult than ever. The frequency
and speed with which original content
is being generated has been increasing,
supply chains are sprawling, and the
sheer number of touch points content
passes through from start to end is
spinning a web of complexity for the
content creators. What's more, with
the growing complexities of multiplatform distribution, content creators
can no longer rest on existing and
independently functioning systems.
To achieve faster time to market
with increased efficiencies, they
need automation not just within their
silos but across the entire content
supply chain. They need an innovative
technology stack that offers CLEAR
solutions, CLEAR outcomes, CLEAR
value and CLEAR results.
In a bid to help M&E companies
embrace automation, PFT will unveil
several industry-first additions to its
flagship product CLEAR Media ERP at
NAB 2018.
PFT is all set to showcase new,
transformational solutions built on the
back of CLEAR's powerful Work Order
Management, pre-integrated with
its MAM, Workflow Engine and Video
Tools.
Content Acquisition Portal
CLEAR's Content Acquisition Portal
serves as a robust entry point for
all media and ancillary files used in
the creation of mezzanine format
masters for the entire supply chain.
Users can leverage it to automate
content operations and securely
fetch media from any geographical
location, all without a VPN. With endto-end Work Order Management, the
portal enables users to assign tasks to
resources/vendors, view QC reports,
transcode content to create proxies,
and perform a host of other critical
content operations. It can seamlessly
integrate with other IT systems like
Rights, Ordering, MAM etc. and comes
equipped with a dashboard to track
the status of tasks. It automates task
management powered by work order
to usher in operational efficiencies.

CLEAR Distribution Cloud
CLEAR
Distribution
Cloud simplifies the
complexities of OTT
distribution
through
automated
work
orders - right from
scheduling to delivery.
Its powerful features
include schedule-driven
work orders, a unified
dashboard for tracking task status, and
seamless integration with scheduling
and rights managements systems.
Most importantly, the solution
leverages automation to detect
missing inventory items and triggers
the corresponding work orders. It also
enables users to deliver packages in
increments - e.g. delivering primary
video and metadata immediately, and
then the subtitle files later as they get
produced.
Centralisation
Today, running a profitable television
channel is more difficult than ever and
needless to say, the OTT phenomenon
is keeping executives awake at night.
This, coupled with the need to solve
revenue and cash flows is a major
challenge. Never before has there
been such a pressing need for speed
and reducing operating costs across
the industry.
What the companies should consider
is what to scale and what not to. What
modern day content enterprises can
possibly learn from Netflix and such
platforms, is that they BUILD ONCE
- One infrastructure; one platform,
one process. Avoid duplication &
repetition. This enables them to build
a lot faster, innovate a lot faster.
And that is because they innovate on
ONE platform, not on multiple siloed
platforms. The philosophy is CREATE
ONCE. Localise as need be. There is
a need to adopt centralisation in the
modern day media & entertainment
businesses.
Use Cases
CLEAR Ingest: Provides a single
software to simplify end-to-end
workflows for Satellite and Terrestrial

CLEAR
Digital Lab

distribution.
It
integrates
and
automates ingest, prep, QC and
distribution workflows, while providing
real time dashboards and notification
alerts to operations teams.
The solution enables users to review
proxies of the content moving through
the system, as well as manually
transfer content to local affiliates via
Signiant, Aspera or similar file transfer
utilities. Leveraging CLEAR's built in
Business Process Management (BPM)
engine, it automates file processing
and generates real time dashboards to
drive underlying distributed workflows
within a single user interface. CLEAR
Ingest offers extensive interoperability
and comes pre-integrated with
systems like PitchBlue, CatchBlue, IDCXD, CompuSat & Nexio.
Centralisation: Powered by Hybrid
Cloud technology, CLEAR enables
broadcasters to virtualise their
content supply chain, define standard
business processes and orchestrate
distributed workflows across locations,
partners and roles. CLEAR provides
ONE MAM across all global sites,
allowing broadcasters to centralise
their storage repository of source
media and archival, leverage a global
super-set of metadata, work with a
single downstream format and create
collaborative edits. Moreover, CLEAR's
work order management helps them
manage assets, resources and tasks
across the entire global supply chain
on ONE system.
CLEAR Digital Lab: Powered by
Microsoft Azure, CLEAR Digital Lab

automates the content
supply chain, connects the
production ecosystem, and
acts as the Media Universe
for
secure
content
operations from content
acquisition
through
distribution and archiving.
It brings together the
various stakeholders and
suppliers engaged in the
production
and
postproduction
processes
with supply chain vendors
for various tasks, such
as editorial, VFX, post-production,
sound, localisation, mastering, and
downstream distribution to connect
the entire ecosystem. CLEAR Digital
Lab is well equipped to handle
scripted, unscripted, short form, and
digital content genres. It has the
capability to handle files of different
resolutions, content types, help
review and collaborate, track jobs
and manage media logistics including
distribution.
Cloud MAM: With work order
automation to manage tasks efficiently
across the supply chain, CLEAR
Cloud MAM offers much more than
a traditional MAM system. It is a
single MAM with media management
capabilities across global sites, that
integrates production, distribution,
broadcasting and OTT related business
activities. Cloud MAM extends
beyond the technical operations
teams and is usable by creative,
marketing, legal, operations, sales and
executive leadership teams. It helps
content enterprises digitise media
management processes, handle clipbased workflows, distribute screeners,
manage & version on air promos and
collaborate seamlessly.
CLEAR Choice
It's no surprise that CLEAR is fast
becoming the product of choice for
broadcasters, studios, brands and
service providers across the globe.
For a hands-on demo, visit PFT at
NAB, where the team will be urging
customers to 'Think Automation. Think
CLEAR'.
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://www.primefocustechnologies.com/cleartm-media-erp
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - April 2018
