Video editing can be a lonely business. But it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes, two minds are better than one.
Post-production can be a complicated business involving multiple disciplines, platforms, teams, and specialties – marketing teams, graphic designers, and possibly your sales team as well. The good news is that streamlined collaboration is possible, allowing you to easily share links and video files, make any changes, and give any feedback you need to.
That’s beneficial both creatively and practically. Here, we’ll look at a few of the platforms out there that make collaboration easier.
What Are the Best Video Collaboration Tools for Creative Teams?
There are some nifty products in the world of video editing that can help you co-create some cool video content. So once you’ve mastered production and gotten everything you want from your stylish footage, it’s time to sit down at your expertly arranged video editing desk and enjoy the process of collaboration.
Wiredrive
Wiredrive is, in its own words, an “an easy-to-use video sharing tool that can be seamlessly integrated for both internal and external functions.” It allows you to organize your workflow across remote teams, share your work easily, and review and comment on files. It’s secure and centralized.
Wiredrive takes a lot of the difficulty out of describing where a cut should be made in a commercial spot, or where some color timing issue needs to be addressed because it lets all users watch the same footage and leave notes. Changes can be made in real time, and for a collaborative video editor, it’s a bit of a godsend to have one central location with approval tools.
Wiredrive might be a little on the expensive side for some video content producers, with plans starting at $350 a month. But the seamless way it integrates teams, saving you from using multiple different pieces of software and platforms, could make it a valuable investment, helping to speed up feedback cycles.
Ftrack
Ftrack is a customizable tool that offers video creators real-time syncing and feedback, planning and scheduling, team management, and an interactive desktop review. It’s popular with filmmakers who work at a high studio level, with pricing tiers based on how many features you sign up for. Ftrack is reliable and well-regarded, as demonstrated by its Technical Achievement Oscar in 2021 for contributions to filmmaking and post-production.
Frame.io
Frame.io is another central locale that allows you to share media and feedback. It allows team members to collaborate easily on the same project. Advocates prefer its user-friendly layout to that of Wiredrive. Frame.io is secure and trusted by numerous major companies like Google and Vice. You can make handy notes or even doodles on individual frames of a video clip, sparing your team from the exhausting explanation of a note on visual material (you may want to thank Frame.io for saving you from more Zoom meetings as well). You can also leave a friendly emoji if you simply want to tell someone you love their work.
Still, there are some drawbacks to Frame.io. It doesn’t have unlimited storage space, doesn’t work on iPads (so you can’t necessarily take your work with you to a cafe), and limits the size of collaborator groups to five. But Frame.io does offer a range of pricing options, as well as free video editing software with collaboration tools.
TeamViewer
TeamViewer allows you to remotely control your computer. So if you’re traveling or in a collaborator’s office and need to access a file that’s located back at yours, TeamViewer allows you to get to those all-important files, no matter what platform you’re using. You can also access your computer via your mobile device, so it could be a handy tool if you want to drop in from overseas and watch your team put the final touches on a project in real time. And you don’t need a virtual private network.
TeamViewer’s interface, though, can take some getting used to. Its primary audience consists of software engineers and corporate teams, rather than creatives, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put TeamViewer to intelligent use.
Filestage
Filestage lets you easily share content and access your team’s reviews, feedback, and approvals. You can track team members’ progress and make sure all your ducks are in order. Filestage provides a handy visual timeline for projects so you can see how far down the pike they are – and make sure they’re flowing in the right direction. It almost has the feel of a social platform, making long-distance collaboration a more enjoyable process.
Why Is Video Collaboration Software Needed for Video Creation?
Say you have production teams in Europe, but the editing team is in Mumbai. You’ll need a way for everyone to collaborate smoothly. Free video editing collaboration tools can make your life a lot easier, but such tools are worth paying for, too.
And the pandemic changed work habits closer to home as well, with even team members in the same city preferring to work at home.
There are so many components to post-production (music, color grading, sound mix) and editing (picture, sound, FX) that collaboration is a fact of life, not a rarity, and that means you need software that makes it all flow with a minimal number of headaches.
How to Choose Which Tools Will Aid Your Video Editing Process
With so many tools at your disposal, the best collaboration tools for video editing are the ones that meet your particular team’s needs.
If you have two editors working jointly on footage, Frame.io or Wiredrive may be for you. If you want to look over your editor’s shoulder while she makes changes, TeamViewer may be the way to go.
If a tool is not working, don’t hesitate to improve your workflow with something else. It will make for a better creative process. Music that gives you too many rights headaches, for example, isn’t worth it. It’s better to go with music that’s royalty-free and simple to use.
Pick the Right Tools for Your Next Project
Give yourself a head-start when you’re readying your next video. Make sure you have collaborators you like, software that serves your goals, and music that makes your project sing. For that last, all-important component, reach out to Stockmusic.net for royalty-free music that’s of such a high quality that all of your collaborators will agree it’s the way to go!
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