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Avid Technology > Case Studies > Spotlight Productions Enhances 4K Content Production with Avid NEXIS
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Spotlight Productions Enhances 4K Content Production with Avid NEXIS

Technology Category
  • Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage
  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Storage Services
Applicable Industries
  • Electronics
  • Retail
Use Cases
  • Construction Management
  • Infrastructure Inspection
Services
  • System Integration
The Challenge
Spotlight Productions, a full-service production company based in Alberta, Canada, was facing a significant challenge due to the growing demand for 4K/UHD content. The company produces approximately 120 hours of unscripted programming annually, including educational programming for Rogers Broadcasting and a variety of lifestyle and cultural content for Canada’s TELUS Optik TV. Every month, Spotlight had to deliver a large amount of 4K/UHD mini documentary-style stories for TELUS Originals. This was putting significant pressure on its media storage capacity and throughput to its edit suites. Furthermore, the demand for 4K/UHD production was growing, and Spotlight’s president Matt Embry knew it was time to upgrade the company’s shared storage infrastructure, computers, and monitoring. Prior to the upgrade, the company was able to cut 4K/UHD footage, but was unable to view it fluidly. They also experienced excessive export and encode times, which prolonged their post-production deliveries.
About The Customer
Spotlight Productions is a full-service production company located in Alberta, Canada. The company specializes in creating television and digital series, feature documentaries, and scripted content. With a focus on high-definition digital production and access to the newest camera and editing equipment on the market, Spotlight Productions is committed to capturing intriguing stories in groundbreaking ways. The company produces approximately 120 hours of unscripted programming annually, including educational programming for Rogers Broadcasting. It has produced more than 320 episodes of programming for Canadian broadcast networks, and also develops theatrical, commercial, corporate, marketing, retail, educational, and nonprofit projects. Spotlight Productions also produces a variety of lifestyle and cultural content for Canada’s TELUS Optik TV, a community-powered funding program for emerging content creators in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.
The Solution
Spotlight Productions turned to Avid and its Canadian distributor, Applied Electronics, to upgrade and accelerate its post-production workflow. The company decided to invest in Avid NEXIS, the first and only software-defined storage platform specifically designed for storing and managing media. The company also upgraded its seven edit suites to the latest version of Media Composer | Symphony Option with Avid-approved HP computers to drive it. Powered by Avid’s MediaCentral, the most open, tightly integrated, and efficient platform designed for media, Spotlight’s Avid NEXIS | E4 enterprise-class system provides 128TB of storage and gives the team the fastest, most efficient and reliable post workflows for 4K/UHD media post production. And with Media Composer | Symphony Option always up to date via the cloud-based Avid Application Manager, the team can collaboratively correct and color grade, design visual effects, and master projects faster.
Operational Impact
  • Since installing Avid NEXIS, Spotlight’s team has been enjoying the improved speed and capacity of its post workflows. The workflows haven’t changed much, but with the faster computers and drives, there has been a major improvement in overall performance. The higher bandwidth of Avid NEXIS and Avid’s solid and dependable media management architecture have enabled the company to overcome the challenges it was facing with 4K/UHD projects. The new system’s clean and easy-to-use interface has made it easier to allocate and adjust drive space to editors and projects. With its new workflow, Spotlight is able to quickly and efficiently handle the large number of 4K/UHD projects it delivers to TELUS Originals every month. The company is also producing two documentaries that will also make use of the Avid 4K/UHD workflow.
Quantitative Benefit
  • 128TB of storage provided by Avid NEXIS | E4 enterprise-class system
  • Upgraded seven edit suites to the latest version of Media Composer | Symphony Option
  • Significant improvement in overall performance with faster computers and drives

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