M+E Daily

By Lyndsey Schaefer

Sony Corporation of America today announced the launch of Sony Media Cloud Services, a new cloud-based collaboration and production service that will be previewed at next week’s NAB Show in Las Vegas. The scalable cloud platform, Ci^SM (pronounced see), will provide studios, broadcasters, independent producers, marketing teams and other creative individuals a “one-cloud” solution to collect, produce and archive high-value, high-definition content, allowing fast and secure collaboration on a global scale.

“Every day, creative professionals around the world spend numerous hours and resources on non-creative tasks like moving and sharing content, figuring out how and where to store it, and getting the right assets to the right places and in the right hands,” says Naomi Climer, President, Sony Media Cloud Services. “Sony understands these complex challenges, which is why we designed Ci as a functionally rich, scalable and secure, media-focused cloud platform that can enhance and streamline traditional production workflows to make it easier to collaborate more effectively and cost-efficiently.”

Ci has the potential to be a game changer for the industry, Climer says, because it helps bring multiple assets together in the cloud, and since it can be utilized by the whole industry, from creatives to producers and legal departments.

“We see it at the forefront of the creative process,” Climer says.

Built from Sony’s expertise in solving real-world production and post-production challenges, Ci has been designed with intuitive capabilities to analyze complex media and data to enable machine-assisted workflows. It features pay-as-you-go pricing, infinite scalability and application-based servicing, all from a secure browser-based user interface, to make it simple for users to assemble teams online, work on projects and access files from locations around the world. Applications available at launch include:

• · Ci MediaBox: Collects, organizes, previews, shares and archives every media type and size using studio-designed cloud storage solution suite
• · Ci VideoLog: Enables logging of frame-accurate events to prepare content for downstream opportunities, distribution and playout automation
• · Ci AudioSync: Utilizes analysis algorithms and audio pattern matching to reduce non-creative editing work time in content-preparation workflows
• · Ci FrameMatch: Analyzes media files to automatically identify differences and likenesses between two sets of video files
• · Ci ReviewApprove: Enables review, annotation and collaboration on media files across multiple locations in real time, simultaneously

Ci makes it easy to find content as it automatically creates technical metadata, and allows users to comment in real-time on what’s stored in the cloud. Sony is leveraging Aspera Connect to give users the best experience possible, Climer says. Sony foresees Ci being used in many different departments, from marketing to have a place to easily review and discuss content of trailers and single shots to legal departments being able to address usage rights.

Ci is currently in beta production and is available within the U.S. and European markets, with plans for additional service capabilities to be launched within the year. Sony Media Cloud Services is headquartered on the Sony Pictures Studio lot in Culver City, Calif., with regional teams based in North America, Europe and Asia.

“Ci MasterSuite is an innovative approach to delivering professional media applications. Sony’s cloud-based, service-oriented architecture makes it easy to integrate these tools into our workflow, and the browser-based user interface will enable our teams to access content and collaborate from anywhere on our network,” says Jeff Mayzurk, SVP, Studio Operations, NBCUniversal.

For more information and to preview Ci, visit the Sony booth at NAB, or go to www.sonymcs.com.