Tools of the Trade is an AgencySpy feature to help highlight the many tools that help make advertising and marketing folks successful. The tools can be anything that helps people perform at their top form, from a favorite drafting table to the best software program to a lucky pen, a vintage typewriter or a pair of headphones.
Next up is Brett O’Bourke, head of studio production at Upshot Agency.
Brett O’Bourke takes advantage of his Frame.io tools.
What is one tool you use all the time at work, and how does it inspire your work?
Frame.io has developed into game changing piece of software for remote video postproduction workflows. I used to absolutely love sitting side-by-side in a dark edit suite with a talented editor, working through notes or just “turning the screws” to really dial in an edit. Alas, those days are mostly gone. At Upshot, on any given day, I am just as likely to be working with an editor who is across town as I am with one in L.A., Seattle, New York or Boston. Frame.io gives us a massively powerful and robust set of tools to view, select, edit, and collaborate in real-time.
Why is it your favorite?
Without question the standout feature is the camera to cloud function, which allows us to begin editorial while the shoot is still going on, expediating the pulling of selects, which can be identified on set; directors and/or clients can circle or mark-up takes in the app, on timecode-specific frames, that our remote editor can see in real time and the proxies can be downloaded anywhere. Both the desktop and the mobile app have a pretty slick and intuitive UX which has made transitioning teams and clients to Frame.io for video reviews pretty effortless. With seamless integration into Adobe Premier and After Affects, it also plays nice with a host of third party apps; one of our editors loves the Slack integrations for keeping track of all uploads agency-wide.
How did you acquire your tool or hear about it for the first time?
I was sent a free beta version to test many moons ago. How they found me, I have no idea, but the first time Frame.io hit my radar was probably seven or eight years ago.
How does it help you be successful?
Speed. In this business time is, quite literally, money. The faster we can go from having captured images on set, to culling selects and getting an editor putting together a cut, to eliciting feedback from critical collaborators—the faster we can get to a final cut, which protects the margin for quick-turn projects. Also, more importantly, by expediting the front end process it can (on occasion) create just that little extra bit of breathing of room within the post process that allows you the time to make some magic. As creators, those are the moments we live for.
Does it have sentimental value?
Not in the least. I tend to be both agnostic and mercenary when it comes to nearly all production tools: cameras, lenses, editing software, et al. On one hand, they nearly all do the same things, they just go about it a little differently. On the other hand, if one tool does something a little better (and at more or less the same price) then that one wins; my loyalty belongs exclusively to the effort of creating the best possible work.
Do you think your tool could go TikTok viral?
For sure. Frame.io is a pretty clutch piece of kit of anyone working in video, especially for those who need to move fast and keep moving.
We want to know what tools you use to make you successful. If you’d like to contribute or know someone who would want to be featured in Tools of the Trade, contact kyle.obrien@adweek.com and fill out our survey.