Back to Workflows
Autonomous Vehicle Developer Producing Media Content
Company Situation
The company operates within the autonomous vehicle development industry, focusing on creating affordable self-driving vehicles. Their team is relatively small, with about five core users who manage the media content. They are at the prototype stage, preparing to launch a larger commercial campaign to go public with their product. The team frequently collaborates with external photographers and videographers to produce and review media content.
Existing Workflow
Currently, the company’s media assets—primarily video and image files—are stored across multiple hard drives distributed among team members and backed up in the cloud. They use Adobe Suite extensively for post-production, with some consideration of DaVinci Resolve for enhanced effects. The team also uses Frame.io for feedback on edits but finds it limiting. The CEO and C-suite executives often need quick access to media files, which requires manual intervention from the content manager who directs them to the appropriate folders. External collaborators upload final content in bulk, which then must be manually reviewed and organized.
Issues with the Existing Workflow
Media content is fragmented and scattered across various physical and cloud storage locations, causing inefficiencies in retrieval.
The content manager’s time is heavily consumed by organizing and providing access to files, limiting their ability to focus on higher-value tasks.
External collaborators’ bulk uploads are disorganized, complicating review and feedback cycles.
Frame.io, while useful for feedback, lacks comprehensive organizational and storage capabilities.
The team anticipates rapid growth in storage needs, potentially reaching or exceeding 10 terabytes soon, which current solutions do not effectively consolidate or scale.
The small team size and budget constraints require an affordable, flexible solution.
How Shade Would Change Their Workflow
Shade would replace the multiple disjointed storage systems—hard drives, cloud backups, and collaboration tools—by providing a single, centralized cloud storage and management platform tailored for media-heavy teams. It would allow all users, including external collaborators, to upload, organize, and access content independently without intermediary assistance. Its integration with post-production workflows would streamline editing and review processes. Shade’s flexible subscription model, scalable from a few users and terabytes to larger enterprise needs, aligns well with the company’s current and near-future storage requirements. This would free up the content manager’s time, enhance team autonomy, and ensure a smoother path as the company scales their media operations.
Benefits
- Centralized, cloud-based storage replacing fragmented hard drives and multiple cloud accounts
- Easy access for internal executives and external collaborators without manual file management
- Scalable storage plans that grow with the business’s needs (starting from 3-5 users and ~7 terabytes)
- Streamlined post-production workflow integration supporting Adobe Suite and potential DaVinci Resolve use
- Affordable pricing at $25 per user per month, fitting small team budgets
- Improved organization and review process compared to Frame.io limitations
- Reduced time spent on file retrieval and management, allowing focus on creative and strategic tasks