GEAR CAMERA TO CLOUD
offer fast, reliable internet connectivity. Holroyd notes: “The mobile phone is one of the best-connected devices filmmakers have, and will increasingly become integrated into workflows.” The MAVIS Pro Camera app, launching at NAB, will marry the power, portability and innate connectivity of the iPhone with Frame.io. “We will support fast, progressive uploading to the platform,” Holroyd says. “For other platforms, we are launching MAVIS C2C, a service that provides progressive uploads to Sony Ci, MediaSilo, Amazon S3 and Grass Valley Framelight X, unlocking the iPhone for larger teams capturing content for news and social.” There are wrinkles in some C2C workflows that users should be aware of. Even in studio environments, many software solutions are limited, requiring media to be stored in their own cloud storage, which doesn’t always work for production teams, according to Fournelle. “Teams need the flexibility to get content immediately off any camera as it’s being captured and to deliver that content to any private or public cloud storage,” he says. “Perhaps the biggest hurdle is workflow inertia — filmmakers trusting their established processes and being reluctant to adopt new methods, even when the benefits are clear.” The practicality of C2C on location depends heavily on high-speed internet access, especially when dealing with large 4K, 6K, 8K or even 12K media files. “Slow connections or network interruptions can undermine the entire workflow,” explains Fournelle. “Reliable connectivity, efficient transfer protocols and scalable infrastructure are essential for this approach to be viable on-set.” Signiant’s accelerated transfer technology, support for growing files, proxyless play and metadata support ‘make it the go-to platform’ for media professionals in this area. “Beyond simply
FROM A TO B Signiant Media Shuttle (above) has portals for accessing and transfering large files
moving media to the cloud quickly, it’s just as critical to be able to instantly access, review and interact with that content — whether on-set or from anywhere else in the world,” he says. “With Signiant, media professionals can do just that using a standard web browser, eliminating the need for specialised desktop tools to interact with or transcode Raw media.” Sundance Film Festival has used Atomos C2C workflows for coverage since 2022. Atomos has also seen an uptake in sports, with the NBA and NHL using C2C to feed their social media channels. And, more recently in Europe, FC Bayern Munich and MotoGP have experimented with C2C. “C2C has already evolved,” Wise says. “In its early stages, it mirrored a typical offline/online workflow; simultaneously capturing two versions of the footage: a high-quality Apple ProRes or Avid DNx hero file and a lightweight H.265 HEVC 2K or 1080p proxy file that gets instantly uploaded to the cloud. The two file versions share the same file name and timecode reference, enabling a rough
cut to be made with the proxy file in the cloud that subsequently can be auto- conformed on terra firma with any NLE. “But for social media platforms and for breaking news on conventional broadcasting services, what used to be considered ‘proxy’ video quality is now perfectly usable. For example, an HD/30p H.265 proxy file recorded at 10Mbps would be perfectly acceptable online.” Holroyd thinks storage will become permanently integrated into the capture device and, thanks to C2C, physical media will become a thing of the past. “With faster upload speeds, content rich in metadata will flow directly into an AI editor or VFX generator with only final polishing and editorial decisions needing to be carried out by a human,” he claims. Fournelle also expects camera manufacturers will normalise direct access to media across their camera range. “However, bandwidth alone isn’t enough. To truly capitalise on high-speed connectivity you need a software solution that can efficiently utilise all available bandwidth. The higher the bandwidth – or the greater the distance and network latency – the more critical this becomes. “Without the right technology, even the fastest internet won’t guarantee the seamless transfer of large media files needed for modern workflows.” Faster, more reliable internet access facilitated by 5G and 6G would most certainly help. Insomuch as there is a comparison with the AI phenomenon, C2C can only get faster, cheaper and more reliable.
THE practicality OF C2C ON LOCATION DEPENDS HEAVILY ON high-speed internet access ”
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