M+E Europe

The spring/summer edition of the “M&E Journal,” published by MESA and geared toward senior media and entertainment executives who oversee their companies’ digital futures, is now available online.

The 170-page publication features insights from nearly four dozen MESA members, from ATMECS to Xcapism Learning, with the issue’s main focus centred on how productions have evolved due to the challenges presented by the pandemic.

Along with the cover section — “It’s Showtime!” — the issue offers industry insights for several crucial industry areas, including “Diversity & Inclusion,” “New Workflows,” “Smart Content” and “Security.” Additionally, the “M&E Journal” also features columns from MESA’s executive leadership.

Here’s a quick look at what’s included in the main section:

• “Hollywood’s New Remote— and Virtual —Production Reality” sees MESA members discuss how remote-access workflow and collaboration tools have changed how productions are done, how the cloud is making it all possible, and how securing everything is proving a challenge. A lot of these changes won’t be going anywhere post-pandemic.

• “The Future of Storytelling: Improvement and Innovation” by ATMECS’ Jeff Caldwell. Over the years bold innovation came to production activities in terms of sound, colour, cameras, and digitalisation. The pandemic accelerated the virtualisation of compute, storage and accessing production creation talent across the nation and the globe.

• “From Limitation to Innovation” by DigitalFilm Tree’s Ramy Katrib. From the use of game engine technology to previsualise stunt-and effects-heavy sequences, to the ability of smart- phones to scan backstage environments and generate an accurate 1:1 digital representation, COVID-19 kickstarted advances in virtualised production.

• “Orchestrating Pipelines With Connected Technology” by 5th Kind’s Paige Barnett. Remote and distributed work is here to stay. Due to cloud- security advancements — among other trends — we’re witnessing a connected-technology (r)evolution, where the orchestration platform is becoming central to studio and production company workflows.

• “The Client Experience in the Age of Virtual Workflows” by 3rd i Digital’s Ramón Bretón. Virtual workflows, with internal and client-facing systems accessible anywhere on the planet, enable global expansion. However, companies serving the M&E industry must not lose sight of the importance of direct client interaction with dedicated and knowledgeable staff.

Beginning Monday, June 7, look for stories from the winter edition of the “M&E Journal” every week in the “M&E Daily” newsletter.