Introduction

Post-production is a very critical part of the whole content creation process, a part that we now many studios struggle with. It has to be fast, it must be very accurate and it has to be very cost effective. Managing this at high volume production can be very challenging.

In ProStudio we support these processes by a number of features and functions, first and foremost is the Work Order accompanied by the Asset status. These two in combination helps you manage high volumes at speed and with accuracy.

The External post-production process

It all starts with the Work Order. Once capture is done and all the assets has been uploaded to ProStudio, the photographer can hand over to the assigned post-production person or team. 

The download process

They will then follow this process.

1. Open up the Work Order
2. Check that the Work Order status is on Post-production
3. Select the Asset view on the Work Order
4. Select the Assets to retouch
   1. Can be all or a selection
   2. Asset status can be used to identify
5. Download selected assets
6. Do the retouch work
7. Save the retouched images 
   1. Use the same file name as the downloaded
   2. It can be a different format

Ship to external partner

Most companies use services likeFTP, DropBox, We transfer,or similar services. This is, in many cases, depending on the standards of the retouching partner. 

Select your standard method of communicating with your partner and send assets as you usually do. NOTE: In this case it is very important to set the status correctly on the assets to indicate that the are at retouching.

The upload process

Once retouch is done and you have received your assets back from your partner, you should upload the retouched images to ProStudio. Note that the file name should be the same even though you may have changed format, e.g. from RAW to JPEG. Follow this procedure

1. Open the Work Order
2. Select Upload assets
3. Drop the retouched assets in the drop area
4. SKIP the upload matching rule
5. Select the asset category
6. Set a new status indicating that images has been retouched
7. Click "Create and match selected assets"
8. Click on Assets view and validate that the assets has been imported correctly

Should anything go wrong in matching assets to a product and view, this can always be don manually by opening the preview panel and edit product and view relations. Please see Product overview and the "Assets - ..." article.

Key success factors

The key success factors here are

• Work Order
• Work Order status
• Asset status.

By making sure you have a clear understanding and principle for working with these entities, you will be in full control of the retouching process regardless if you are working internally or using an external partner.