Pre-Production
Best Project Management Collaboration Tools for Video Production
We are truly living in a digital renaissance for modern film and video production. Digital cinema cameras are growing more advanced and sophisticated by the day. Video editing software is getting faster and smarter with every new update. And now, even production management and workflow resources are becoming more intuitive and collaborative with every new app and platform as well. What a time to be alive!
Seriously though – if you’re looking to take advantage of the outstanding new technologies to better streamline and manage your video production projects, here are some of the best project management collaboration tools currently available online.
Assemble
Let’s start with Assemble where you’ll find everything you need to collaborate with your video production team. Assemble’s collaboration platform offers end-to-end project management that enables you to centralize all of your assets from pre to post. This will allow you to get your entire production team and crew on the same page from the very beginning until the very end of your project’s production cycle.
You’ll also get plenty of advanced feedback and file review features including frame specific commenting, version control, private feedback threads and plenty more. Also, Assemble offers one of the most advanced production calendars in the industry which easily syncs across multiple calendars (including Google Calendar and Apple’s iCal) to keep everyone on the same page.
Assemble helps you collaborate with your teams, assets, and timelines all on one powerful production management platform that includes everything from task lists, shared calendars, advanced review tools and plenty of media management options.
It’s truly an industry gamechanger and one of the best end-to-end project management collaboration tools for video production on the market. Check out Assemble more in-depth here.
Frame.io
One of the more familiar names out there for video production project management and collaboration, Frame.io is a tool for video review.
Frame.io’s strengths lay in its collaborative video review capabilities as it’s a very handy app for sharing feedback and collaborating on cuts and reviews from several parties at the same time.
However, while it is indeed a powerful platform, it can get expensive as storage costs start to rack up, and it is lacking in many other collaboration features outside of video review.
Wipster
Another collaboration software for creative teams which many film and video professionals might recognize from projects over the years is Wipster, which has really made a name for itself as a popular option to replace the mundane and confusing nature of group-editing and long and messy email threads.
Wipster offers plenty of collaborative video workflow and media management tools like threaded comments, version controls and staged feedback cycles for approvals and final delivery.
Vimeo
You might not know this, but the famous video-hosting platform Vimeo – long popular with film and video professionals as a higher-end and more filmmaker-friendly offering compared to its counterpart Youtube – has actually made some great strides in the realm of collaborative review and management.
Many of us have been organically using Vimeo’s base video-hosting platform as a de-facto collaborative management system for the sharing of edits and peer reviews, however with their new focused platform they’ve taken some great strides for real-time collaboration.
It’s a solid option to check out, but it may not be one of the best project management collaboration tools because it’s really only mostly focused on the reviews for video edits, not so much on a full production cycle from start to finish – which is really what you want when looking for a project management collaboration tool for video production.
Screenlight
One of the few free options available, Screenlight is yet another solid option for disorganized video editors and clients to get on the same page and collaboratively get things done. And believe me, I know the pains of having to deal with unorganized client reviews and feedback.
Screenlight has proven to be a great tool for solving many of those communication issues that go along with video reviews and approvals. However, like any free offering, while you’re going to get your money’s worth, you might not find all the comprehensive resources and collaborative coverage options like advanced feedback or seamless calendar integration that you’ll get from a more robust platform with more production tools at your disposal. Additionally, the free tier only allows for up to 1GB of storage.
Celtx
Many might be surprised to see this legacy screenwriting software name on our list. And indeed, if you’re looking for one of the most advanced screenwriting softwares out there, Celtx is certainly high on our list. In recent years though, Celtx has branched out from screenwriting and has actually put together an equally impressive project management software for all manner of online video, television and film production.
Celtx’s cloud-based UX is helpful for creating, organizing and managing your scripts and screenplays through all stages of your production process and includes call and script breakdown sheets and other cast and crew management tools. However, it doesn’t include post-production video review tools like private feedback threads, frame specific commenting and advanced version control, so it might be best to partner with another platform for your post-production needs.
Filestage
Finally, we have a relatively new offering with Filestage, an asset review and proofing platform founded back in 2015 designed for simplifying review and approval workflows for not just video production – but also all manner of files, documents, images and more. So if you’re looking for collaborative management in more than your film and video profession, it’s a great resource to consider.
Filestage otherwise is another solid option for collaborative client reviews and includes some useful markup tools to help you consider it against all the great project management collaboration tools available to you here.
So, there you have it. Technology has brought us not one, but actually several of the best project management collaboration tools for video production that you can find online. While each is unique, it’s up to you to decide which would be best suited for your ideal workflow and individual project’s needs.
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