LONDON — Arrow Media, the producer of long-form video programming in the UK and worldwide, is using the Aframe cloud video production and asset management platform to expedite production on Hairy Bikers. The show centers around TV chefs Si King and David Myers, who step out of the kitchen for the first time. The Hairy Bikers’ Restoration Road Trip debuted this month on BBC2 and brings the relics of Britain’s industrial past back to life.
“We have made Aframe an essential step in our production process,” notes Thomas Viner, series producer. “The strength of Aframe as a back-up is that we know we never have to worry about drive failure — and it happens. We have a secure back-up in three locations, and because it’s in the cloud, it’s available whenever and wherever we need it. Using Aframe to store all our tapeless media also saved us on buying another 3TB hard drive.”
Arrow had been using Aframe on shows in development for over a year, and decided to employ the solution when The Hairy Bikers’ Restoration Road Trip moved into full gear. Arrow Media returns rushes to the production office after each filming block, and then makes them available on Aframe. This allows the director to view the rushes and make decisions without interrupting the editing process.
“The key advantage that Aframe has over other services is security, ease of use for the viewer, and the option to offer material for streaming and downloading – whichever works best,” notes Viner. “We’ve found Aframe to be robust and reliable, as well as secure and easy to use, so I think we will be making even greater use of it on future productions.”
Uploads of raw rushes take less than an hour — after which Aframe automatically creates a H.264 Web proxy so that anyone who needs to watch the video can do so from a standard Web browser. Aframe allows Arrow Media’s team to avoid courier and shipment costs and logistics, and assures safety and security of the works in progress beyond that of random screener DVD copies.