ARRI And Symply Revolutionize On-Set To Post Production Workflow

On-set workflow is evolving to make the transition to post production more efficient, and it is about time.

In today's fast paced production environment, more than ever time is money. This goes beyond just the production time involved in bringing productions to audiences, so many other factors now need to be considered. Whether you are working on a large movie production, episodic or reality television, the time spent in each area of the production process needs to be highly efficient and reliable.

For years we have focused on tuning post production methodologies and techniques. Key areas were the development of better tools for work in process, and leveraging the advantages of collaborative workflow. A number of innovative software production tool packages have been developed that help in every area of the work in process and delivery cycles. The management of assets that was once the equivalent of herding cats or blindly searching for randomly named clips is now down to a science and well under control. The added ability to use AI tools to enhance the storage and retrieval of content and relative content is nothing short of amazing. The once difficult shared storage problem of multi-user live editing and finishing is practical, even in raw high-resolution workflows using a mix of Fibre Channel and Ethernet based connectivity, being deployed in many cases simultaneously.

With all these advances on the Post production segment of production, it's time to look at efficiencies in acquisition. One of the companies that is helping to shape the efficiency of on-set production as it relates to the transition of on-set to post production is ARRI. There is little doubt that the ARRI ALEXA65 camera is anything short of amazing. It’s a perfect example of the why on-set has to evolve and with this camera you are shooting a lot of high-resolution content. Managing, securing and transferring that content to post is expensive. It is not just the cost of the time on-set, but the cost of insuring the content while its on-set, the cost of reshoots if the they are not caught early, and the cost if content is lost.

ARRI Rental has taken a big step in improving on-set efficiency and content safety. By pairing the ARRI ALEXA 65 with a SymplyULTRA high-speed "workflow in a box" everything can be on-set providing nearly the same capabilities of a full post-facility. With little or no IT assistance required, the director can focus on the work and check each shot carefully and quickly to determine if anything needs to be reshot - this way the right content gets to post as quickly as possible. The Symply high-speed storage is self-contained, allowing creatives to focus on the work, not technology, and lets content be viewed in real-time with no performance issues. Symply uses the industry standard StorNext multi-user file system embedded in the SymplyULTRA to allow users to collaborate during the process in order to speed up processing, leading to greater efficiency and taking a giant step toward simplifying the on-set to post production process. Another key element in reducing the stress involved comes from knowing that a system is a redundant high-availability workflow, ensuring all content is safe on-set before it moves into the security of a self-contained post environment.

ARRI Rental and Symply have taken the first step in making on-set as painless and efficient as the rest of the production process by delivering a safe and fast on set to post production workflow. Others are likely to follow, but in the meantime check out what ARRI Rental has to offer and see if you agree.

This article is also available in the October edition of Broadcast Film & Video here.