post production feature Once ingested and bound together,
the client’s worldwide sales staff can access all the content to browse for what they need through a custom, branded portal. When someone finds something they want the source file for, the user interface allows them to make a request for either the entire asset or a partial version in the codec/format they desire. This sends a request to a server via XML that the local system is set to poll at regular intervals. Using file acceleration software, a new deliverable is created and a link is emailed to the address on file for the requesting user. Once the email link is clicked, delivery of the requested content is initiated - and the link automatically expires after download is successfully completed. With this workflow, Client A has
been able to control the costs of offering a cloud service, while still providing a global distribution system and secure access to all media materials worldwide.
SAN in the cloud
Client B demonstrates a far more complex integration. This client is a major Internet media news property
which wanted to mirror its SAN on the cloud in proxy form so that at any given time, assets on its SAN are searchable from anywhere in the world. This would effectively create a PAM (Production Asset Management) system designed to track work in progress, something very much needed in a news environment. On top of that, it wanted access to multiple versions that would be hosted on its own system, rather than the cloud service provider’s - in order to ensure control of access. To serve this need, the integrator
for Client B used MediaSilo’s API to develop a server appliance and write an application platform that constantly monitors its SAN directories. As changes are made to the SAN, this application makes corresponding calls into the cloud platform that mirror these changes, which might include a new folder or subfolder being created, new assets being added, or content being moved to a new location or deleted. While not in real time, this sync updates on a fixed schedule multiple times per day. Utilising a concept called ‘external asset create’, a proxy version along with other deliverables can now exist on the cloud storage platform of the client’s
Client B.
choice (or any other HTTP-accessible storage location with its own RTMP streaming server to control access and cost) - while the source content remains its SAN. Through this set-up, multiple versions of each asset are available via download links which are inserted into the metadata of the record so that they can be accessed by those with appropriate credential and downloaded with a single-click. In both these cases, Clients A and B
have leveraged existing local systems and have been able to maintain existing workflows by automating the process behind the scenes. Instead of taking the time and expense of trying to host and build their own solutions, their integrators were able to leverage the benefits of a platform as a service (PaaS) that offers the flexibility and user-friendly interface needed to securely and easily get their content out to end users anywhere in the world. This means that their content is no longer locked away, but instead democratised across the entire organisation - ultimately saving individual time and organisational money. More than that, this process transforms previously unused and inaccessible content into valuable, dynamic assets.
www.ibeweb.com l september/october 2012 l ibe l 65
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