Okuhle Media, a Cape Town-based producer of local and international broadcast and corporate content, has implemented Media Composer 5 for Mac, Avid's powerful HD video editing suite, through Spescom Media IT. It has allowed this busy production house to quickly turn around the huge amount of post-production work passing through its edit suites, as well as future-proof its shows.
Says Louise van Hoff of Okuhle Media: "We are, among others, responsible for SABC 2's flagship show Hectic Nine-9, and Which Way, the SAFTA winning teen travelogue, as well as corporate work which ranges from AVs, training and launch videos, to branded content and interactive clips for new media platforms. At any one time, we have a number of projects on the go that are in various phases of production. With a significant amount of post-production work that often requires fast turnaround, we needed to improve efficiencies. That meant an upgrade."
The main requirement was for a fully functioning standalone HD-capable edit suite that could be upgraded and eventually linked up to a network and media management system, she explains. "This would allow us to streamline our postproduction department and have editors share projects and the workload.
It would also enable us to keep the final finishing and online processes, from effects to colour grading, in-house, so offering our clients the highest quality and standard of work without needing to outsource."
Okuhle researched its options and shortlisted two solutions. "In the end it came down to reliability of hardware and software, and technical support," says Van Hoff. "Avid has a longstanding international reputation for quality, reliability and innovation when it comes to nonlinear professional editing suites. Spescom Media IT's Avid expertise and service capabilities are also market renowned and making it a natural choice as a technology partner."
The installation was quick and easy. "The hardest thing was getting used to the Mac operating system," says Van Hoff.
Benefits were quickly achieved. Avid's Avid Media Access (AMA), a plug-in architecture that greatly accelerates tapeless video workflows, lets Okuhle work natively in high definition without transcoding, and gives editors the ability to import or link to HD footage instead of the real time capture.
"This saves our editors a lot of time," says Van Hoff. "Furthermore, since HD footage is stored and backed up digitally on hard drives, it has cut the cost and need for tape stock.
"In addition, by working in HD we are able to 'future-proof' our shows. And, importantly, HD allows us to meet international industry standards, opening the door to more revenue opportunities and the potential of establishing a global footprint."
Spescom Media IT will continue to provide local support and do maintenance and upgrades. Okuhle also plans to continue growing and upgrading its technology systems. "In the future we will add media management and networking to allow the edit suites to talk to each other and share hardware," says Van Hoff. "Avid Interplay will give the producers tighter control and let them access their productions from their desks. The Nitris DX hardware is also compatible with Avid's Symphony software, so the edit suite can be upgraded from Media Composer 5.0.3 to Symphony, which will greatly increase the quality and scope of the online and grading process."
Says Ian Holden of Spescom Media IT, who installed the solution for Okuhle and facilitated the optimisation of the solution: "We will be on hand to assist Okuhle as it grows its business and further sophisticates its systems. Avid's solutions are considered market leaders for good reason - they offer significant advantages to organisations in the highly competitive production arena where excellence is a prerequisite.
"Our customer service philosophy at Spescom Media IT is to ensure the Avid systems and solutions we install deliver optimal value."
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