The Power of Collaboration with Frame.io

Today’s article explores the amazing tool that streamlines our collaboration process: Frame.io. Let’s get started!

Creativity + Collaboration within an organization is key to growth and success. Today, we’re taking advantage of collaboration outside of the traditional confines of brick and mortar buildings. We communicate via email, text, social media messengers, and Snapchat.

We may not talk face-to-face on projects as often as we would like, but we’re having new experiences. For example, we can communicate with people all around the world — something that was not widely available even as early as the mid-2000s.

I want to introduce you to a platform that has become an integral part of our own workflow in creating Filmmakers Academy content.

What is Frame.io

Their story says it all. This idea came from a need to fill a void. To take care of a problem and create a solution for themselves. Then the idea became so good that they saw a future of helping others and decided to share this creation with the world.

What Frame.io has become is an incredibly versatile, client review, internal review, and perhaps even cloud-based storage solution for everyone. Frame.io allows multiple users to connect together anywhere in the world and view content together, making notes, suggestions, etc. There are so many features it is mind-blowing.

Frame.io could also be potentially used as a cloud-based server for all of your assets. Frame.io keeps native files intact, creating an H.265 viewer of video files within the platform, but allowing you to download the original file, untouched. It can also handle audio files, photoshop files, and pretty much everything you can think of. Pause and wrap your brain around that for a minute.

Our Workflow with Frame.io

It was actually through “Shane’s Inner Circle” and the Facebook Forum that I found out about Frame.io and wondered if it would benefit us in our own workflow. I’ll break down how we were operating in our review process of content creation so you can get an idea.

First, I would email notes to our editor Dylan and let him know in which order the edits are coming and what videos need to be created. A pretty typical setup for us.

Next, he would put together a rough cut and upload to Vimeo, making a private link, and then he would share it with both Shane and myself at this stage. He would email a link and password to us.

Next, we watch the videos and give email notes back to Dylan, often taking down notes and running timecodes to try to give him as much detail as possible.

Then, Dylan uploads Version 2, sends it to us in a new email, and asks us to look at it and review it.

I think you get the picture here. Now Dylan works mostly out of our Los Angeles office but Shane is on the road or perhaps Dylan has to edit at night due to when we can get back to him and both Shane and myself would spend a lot of time reviewing videos at night from home, versus sitting with him in the edit suite and giving him direct feedback.

The problem became the countless emails and chains and lost notes that just get buried in your inbox. Dylan does a phenomenal job of keeping track, but with everything going on, I forget what I sent to Dylan and sometimes Shane would as well. But it shouldn’t be so difficult, it should be streamlined and much faster to give feedback.

Let’s Talk Comments

The comments you can add are what makes Frame.io so powerful.  It is the foundation of this platform.  In the image above you can see how there is a piece of video, ready for review.  Just below the video is a little box that has a logo that looks like a person’s face, this box is where each person who is logged into Frame.io can add a comment.  
Wherever you are on the playhead, that is where your comment will be placed, easy for your editor to go back and review.   Comments then get placed in a running box on the right-hand side.  You have the ability to make comments on top of comments, mark them as done, etc.

Think of it in the workflow of collaborating from the Director’s vision, teaming up with a Creative Director and now the Editor.  You’re all in sync together.  You’re able to interact in real-time, sharing notes and ideas, from anywhere in the world.  Have I mentioned that you can do this anywhere in the world yet?  I think I have, but it’s probably good to point that out again!

Moving to Frame.io’s platform

What stood out to me right away with Frame.io is the ability to have countless people commenting on the videos, giving notes directly tied to where the playhead of the platform is located. Watch this introduction tutorial from Frame.io to learn more, it’s from a year ago but everything mentioned here is available and is even more developed than before.

From the auto-notifications that someone has made a comment on a video or drawn something on the video, yes, did you see that you can draw on the video spelling out exactly what you need to show and say to the editing team. This has been incredible for us. We’re constantly talking about specific visuals, so to have the flexibility to draw an arrow or circle exactly what we are talking about, that’s powerful and a huge time-saver.

The ability to be anywhere in the world, with an internet connection, is what delivers this platform as such a powerful tool. You have the option to have specific members of your team with 100% access all the time and to add “collaborators” who can come into just specific projects, say for example an AD Agency or the Client who is just working on one specific project.

Frame.io Plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro CC

I almost get too excited when attempting to tell people about this plugin. Visualize what Frame.io offers as a platform, from what you have read and seen in this article. Now imagine working within Adobe Premiere Pro CC. With the notes and comments, you have the ability to export directly from your timeline, connected to Frame.io. Simply watch the material within Frame.io and then edit the files by downloading them directly to your computer.

 

IOS

One major development for Frame.io is the integration into iPhones with their IOS device. Before they released their app just a few weeks ago, you could go on the site via your iOS Browser. However, it could be a little difficult to move around inside the browser.

That’s no longer the case. The app gives you full control of Frame.io in your hand, while you’re on the road, everywhere. Just think of how we used to do it. We would send out Vimeo links, watch them, and then stop to take notes, record the timecode, etc.

Frame.io Privacy

I have barely scratched the surface of Frame.io’s power. One final aspect that I would like to point out is that Frame.io is 100% private. No one can go to your YouTube or Vimeo page and accidentally find your video. This is helpful if you forgot to put a password on it. Oops! No, Frame.io doesn’t allow for this to happen. You have to invite each person to view the video. Your material lives on their servers which are not public.

Collaborate with Frame.io

There are different levels of Frame.io accounts, but you can start off with some small storage space. It’s enough for a single project and gets your feet wet. I suggest you dive in head first!

Get your FREE Frame.io Account here – Sign up

Oh, I almost forgot. Frame.io just received the 2016 Apple Design Award. I think this team at Frame.io is really going places.