M+E Daily

Content Companies Praise Entertainment Partners’ Scenechronize

As production of feature film and television content continues the inevitable migration to cloud-based tools and software, Burbank, Calif.-based Entertainment Partners (EP) illustrated this evolution by highlighting practical use from prominent studios during their breakout-session panel discussion on May 25 at the Hollywood IT Society’s (HITS) “Holly-wired: Where IT and Entertainment Meet” event in Los Angeles.

Production gurus from AMC Networks, Starz and HBO — all long-time partners with EP — spared no compliment when it came to using Scenechronize, EP’s cloud-based production information management system, offering both production office and production accounting information in one database. The service lets productions securely share just the right files with just the right people, and do so quickly.

“[We’re] making shows all over the world … it’s important that all the documents go into one central place so that we’re able to access it,” said Cameron Angeli, executive director of originals for Starz. “It gets pretty complex when you start talking about all the different departments and all the different people. A production is a unique situation, where you really don’t want everyone to see what they’re missing. [EP’s system] really gives us that flexibility, and does it in a way where people don’t feel like they’re missing something.”

He said that for Starz, one of the benefits of Scenechronize is that every time any production file is accessed, the person looking at it is digitally logged, bringing a level of security and accountability that can help production managers rest easier. There’s also the ability for every arm of a production to quickly supply crucial feedback, Angeli added.

For Danielle Gerber, manager of production for AMC Networks, it’s the ability to pick and choose who sees what from a production that makes Scenechronize unique. Any major content company today has divisions all over the world, and using something like Scenechronize can make sure things like confidential cast lists and pictures of extras go to the right people, without being shared with those who don’t need them, she said.

“I can share just the folders I want, and each person is customizable, each department is customizable,” Gerber said. “It’s very beneficial.”

Rachel Lynn, post coordinator for HBO, maybe offered the greatest praise of Scenechronize and EP: when the broadcaster first started using the service, it was just the production and post-production arms of HBO taking advantage. Today, more than a dozen HBO departments — from legal to accounting — use the service, taking advantage of the easy access to any production documents they need, she said.

“We saw value with it, and started spreading it across the company,” Lynn said. “[Scenechronize] is very user friendly.”

Darren Ehlers, VP of products and Scenechronize technologies for EP, accepted the compliments gracefully at “Holly-wired,” and seemed most interested in hearing about the benefits EP’s clients have gotten out of Scenechronize. Still, he wasn’t going to pass up the chance to plug the product.

“Studios can customize their document types, they can customize their folders, and they can customize the metadata filtered and collected,” he said. “Scenechronize helps automate processes.”