Sample Digital

Marketing & Publicity - New Release & Home Entertainment

Today studio marketers have to get more creative materials to more places.

Media placement has changed and online strategies are more about time to market and simultaneous global execution. Studios have to find creative ways to re-use and re-purpose content over and over again for different distribution and marketing channels. Studios produce a lot more content that just a full length features or TV shows - Enhanced Content from DVD Bonus Materials, Value Added and Electronic Press Kit Materials, trailers, sizzlers, outtakes, and more all have much value for many different marketing applications.

Access to materials has always been cumbersome and tough to wrangle - you order materials from one vendor, who ships to another vendor, or resource, to create DigiBetas and DVDs of the content just for review. Once content is available and a creative decision of what to use is made, it could take days to edit or clip, re-produce, burn DVDs, re-encode and upload to FTP, and then redistribute to business affairs, marketing, and creative just for sign off - and if it's not approved, you start the entire process again. It's a convoluted workflow that could take weeks just to obtain a twenty second clip that should have been on Amazon or Yahoo! days ago.

dax|D3 allows you to have all your content securely accessible via your desktop computer, complete with business applications so you can:

• • Approve work in progress materials.
• • Search, find, view, order and clip exiting approved Enhanced Content.
• • Submit content/clips into an approval workflow in real-time.

It's workflow + media asset management - here is how it works:

dax|D3 Clip Creation & Approval Workflows

Business Case:

Interactive Marketing needs a 15 second exclusive movie clip for Amazon.

Step 1

Log into the system and either submit a request for content (i.e. I need a 15 second clip of movie XYZ, designated exclusive for Amazon), or search for content via dax|D3's granular search engine. When a Request for Content is submitted the system routes the request to designated studio employees or system users (like Online Publicity) that can perform detailed metadata searches with filters in the system to find content that matches the request.

All content is encoded and ingested into the system once as an e-Master - eliminating redundant work such as encoding and burning DVDs. E-masters could be anything from a full length feature to a director's interview, to an animated end card, trailer, b-roll, or any other audio-visual property that has been created for a title. For best value, use dax|D3 during the content creation process. Approved final versions can be made immediately available for pulling clips.

Step 2

Once searches are performed and content is located, users can securely view the resulting media. Secured by watermarking and DRM users can perform the following actions when viewing content:

• • Create Clips - Select time code in and out points in your e-Master and save clip to a folder for others to review - automated workflow and notifications can be pre-set.
  
• • Submit the clips into an approval workflow without the need to re-encode. Once a clip is created and saved an automated workflow can be triggered where tasks to review and approve content/clips are assigned in the system. Designated personnel in legal, creative, marketing, and external partners such as talent, directors, copy writer holders and music clearance can all approve simultaneously and notification/reminders are sent via the system.
  
• • Create an EDL or ALE - Users can create an EDL or ALE that matches time code to the video master. Users can export an EDL or ALE that can be imported into any near line or offline editorial environment.
  
• • Build Strings, Sizzlers, Playlists or Presentations - assemble strings of media, like 5 trailers, or strings of clips, and release the materials for approval or review/presentation to internal or external partners.

Step 3

Once users receive notification that they need to review/approve clips in the system, they simply login into dax|D3, go to their tasks inbox (like email), click a button to review the clip and use case, and approve/reject/submit comments according to availability. All approvals are tracked and recorded as content metadata along with existing content metadata (master serial number, usage, internal link, etc.) for future reference or re-use. System users can also log into one of many customizable reports that can track status and provide system wide updates of content in an existing approval workflow.

The following business units get value from dax|D3:

Online PR	Music Legal
Traditional PR	Home Video International
Home Video Creative	Digital Distribution / VOD
Home Video Legal	EC Group (DVD Bonus Content)
Home Video Marketing	Home Video Digital Services
Interactive Marketing	Global Brand Management

Use dax|D3 for the Content Creation Process and Approval Workflow

To maximize value, use dax|D3 throughout the content creation process. EC vendors and creative agencies can upload work in progress content for approval, presentation and review. The system has complete version control and approval tracking, and once content is approved final, versions can be made immediately available and released to stakeholders for use, re-use, and re-purpose (users can start pulling clips of content for other marketing applications immediately).

Using dax|D3 during the during the production of all EPK and DVD Bonus Materials saves money and reduces future redundant work such as finding media, re-encoding and replicating media on DVDs and tapes, and uploading media to FTP sites - just upload the source file once and the rest is taken care of by the system. All content is metadata tagged during the creation process and once it's deemed final or approved, it can automatically be made available to different stakeholders.

dax|D3 removes the risks and inconveniences of email or FTP; and the associated costs and delays of editorial, DVD or tape duplication and couriers. Simplified and centralized asset storage form the core of a collaborative environment for the exchange of ideas and approvals between studio personnel in all departments and divisions. dax|D3 is an enabler that provides faster time to market reduced operating costs and a significant contribution to a company's bottom line.

dax|D3 is already in use by such companies as 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Walt Disney, Lionsgate, CBS, Showtime and Summit Entertainment to name a few.