AWS and M&E for Beginners Volume 6 - Media Supply Chain
Author
TrackIt
Date Published
Links to Previous Volumes
Volume 1: AI/ML and Data Analytics
Volume 2: Broadcast & Live Remote Production
Volume 3: Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) & Streaming
Volume 4: Content Production
Volume 5: Monetization
Media Supply Chain
As the amount of content generated continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, media supply chain management has become increasingly complex. The media supply chain is the sequence of activities involved in creating, processing, and distributing content. This process involves four key stages: acquisition, post-production, distribution, and archive.
Key Challenges
Each stage in the media supply chain presents its own unique set of challenges that must be addressed to ensure operational efficiency.
Acquisition: This stage involves the capture of content from various sources such as cameras, microphones, and other recording devices. The primary challenge during acquisition is to ensure that the content is of high quality and is captured efficiently.
Post-production: This stage involves editing, color correction, and sound mixing of the content. Modern-day post-production requires advanced software and hardware tools to process the content effectively. The challenge in this stage is to ensure that the content is edited and processed to meet the required standards.
Distribution: This stage involves the delivery of the content to end-users. The distribution process includes steps such as encoding, transcoding, and delivery to various platforms such as television, cinema, or streaming services. The challenge in this stage is to ensure that the content is delivered seamlessly across various platforms and devices.
Archive: This stage involves the long-term storage of the content for future use. Archiving requires sophisticated storage systems and metadata management tools to enable easy retrieval of the content. The challenge in this stage is to ensure that the content is securely stored and can be accessed easily when needed.
AWS Services for Media Supply Chains
Stage/Workflow
AWS Services
Acquisition
Amazon S3 provides a scalable and cost-effective solution for storing and retrieving large amounts of data.
MediaExchange on AWS can be used to establish a shared object storage environment, securely connecting publishers and subscribers across separate AWS accounts.
Post Production
AWS Elemental MediaConvert can automate the process of transcoding and packaging content for delivery to multiple platforms.
Distribution
Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) that can be leveraged to distribute content to viewers worldwide with low latency and high transfer speeds.
Archiving
Amazon S3 Glacier is a secure and durable storage service that can securely and cost-effectively store archives for long-term retrieval.
Best Practices for AWS Media Supply Chains
To ensure optimal performance and operational efficiency in managing media supply chains with AWS, there are certain best practices that can be followed:
Automation: Harnessing serverless technologies such as AWS Lambda and Step Functions can expedite processes while maintaining flexibility. AWS services such as AWS Elemental MediaConvert also assist in automating other parts of media workflows.
Monitoring: It is also crucial to monitor the performance of the media supply chain regularly and use Amazon CloudWatch to gain insights into performance metrics.
Security: AWS provides a comprehensive suite of security services including AWS WAF, AWS Shield, and Amazon GuardDuty to ensure data protection. Leveraging these services helps secure media supply chains against potential threats.
Event-driven: Amazon EventBridge streamlines the orchestration of events and workflows in Event-driven Media Supply Chains by seamlessly connecting various AWS services and external sources, enabling real-time responsiveness and automation.
Data Lakes: Content data lakes help create a globally accessible archive with a unique ID assigned to each media asset. The collection of metrics from the data lake facilitates data-driven decision making and helps refine media supply chains, optimize content delivery, and enhance operational efficiency.
Backup and Disaster Recovery (DR): It is essential to follow backup and disaster recovery best practices to minimize the risk of data loss and ensure business continuity.
Cloud Localization Blueprint
In an era marked by increasing globalization and digital connectivity, international distribution offers an opportunity for content creators to expand their audiences and capitalize on new revenue streams. However, this endeavor comes with the challenge of adapting content for different languages and cultures as it travels across borders.
The Cloud Localization Blueprint is an innovative effort led by key players in the supply chain software sector and aims to create a clear plan for the distribution and adaptation of entertainment content worldwide. AWS, alongside other significant companies such as Warner Bros. Discovery, The Pokemon Company International, and ITV, contributed to this effort.
The Cloud Localization Blueprint aims to tackle the difficulties that come with efficiently adapting movies and TV shows for a global audience. With the increasing popularity of streaming platforms, it is essential to have flexible and cost-effective methods for adapting and localizing content. Traditional processes are often slow and expensive, making it hard to make content accessible to people who speak different languages. By using cloud technology, the blueprint aims to speed up the process of adapting content, reduce costs, and make it easier for people from various regions to enjoy the content. The framework provided by the blueprint can be used to build API-integrated, Step Function-driven multi-vendor localization workflows that streamline the complex process of adapting Movies and TV Shows for global audiences.
Solution Example - Pixelogic Archive Workflow
With almost 100% of on-premise storage space being utilized, Pixelogic Media was in need of a sustainable archiving solution. Video files that were not in active use had to be identified and shifted from on-prem to an alternate location to free up storage space.
TrackIt helped Pixelogic implement a storage pipeline that leverages the PixStor Ngenea HSM (Hierarchical Storage Management) solution, Amazon S3, and S3 Glacier to provide an automated, scalable, and cost-effective archiving solution.
Amazon EventBridge
Amazon EventBridge can enhance media supply chains by enabling real-time event-driven automation and orchestration of various processes. It can be leveraged to trigger media processing workflows when new content is uploaded to a storage service such as Amazon S3, ensuring rapid encoding, transcoding, and distribution. Additionally, EventBridge can facilitate efficient error handling and monitoring by notifying stakeholders of any issues or exceptions in the supply chain, thus improving the overall reliability and efficiency of media processing and delivery workflows.
EventBridge implementation example
Other Solutions
Arc XP Digital Experience Platform: An integrated collection of tools that help create and distribute content, monetize websites, drive ecommerce, and deliver multichannel experiences.
Dalet Flex: A supply chain and media asset management solution with comprehensive metadata modeling capability and a workflow orchestration layer to automate activities.
Glide Publishing Platform: An API-driven headless publishing platform and CMS toolset for media.
Riverside.fm: A solution enabling the production of studio-quality recordings from anywhere.
Vercel: Technology that helps host websites and web services that deploy instantly and scale automatically without supervision.
Working with an AWS M&E Partner Integrator
AWS M&E partner integrators can assist in navigating the various challenges associated with the implementation and maintenance of cloud-based media workflows on AWS.
With deep expertise in AWS, M&E partners not only offer guidance on best practices and migration strategies but also provide comprehensive managed services including monitoring, support, and optimization, allowing media companies to focus on their core business while outsourcing the technicalities of cloud management to experts.
M&E partners also play a crucial role in facilitating the relationship between AWS and end-users. Partners have extensive knowledge of AWS-based media workflows and can help clients identify funding opportunities provided by AWS. These funding programs help offset the costs associated with migrating to the cloud, making it more accessible for companies operating with stringent budgets.
Process of Engagement
The basic process of engagement typically involves an initial consultation to understand client needs and objectives, followed by a design phase to develop a customized solution. Implementation and testing are then carried out, followed by ongoing support and maintenance to ensure that solutions remain up-to-date and effective.
CloudWise - AWS Managed Services
CloudWise, TrackIt’s AWS Managed Services offering includes a suite of services such as monitoring, optimization, and support, enabling companies to manage their AWS infrastructure with ease and efficiency. CloudWise allows customers to stay focused on their core business while TrackIt experts handle all the technicalities of cloud infrastructure management.
Built on in-house custom monitoring software, the offering includes real-time monitoring, customized dashboards, monthly cost analysis and coverage reports, annual architecture reviews, and quarterly security assessments. Customers also benefit from 24/7/365 global support from AWS-certified TrackIt engineers working to ensure that their cloud investments are optimized to their full potential.
Managed Services Offering Provided by AWS M&E Partner TrackIt
About TrackIt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBiJ156cA2I
TrackIt is an international AWS cloud consulting, systems integration, and software development firm headquartered in Marina del Rey, CA.
We have built our reputation on helping media companies architect and implement cost-effective, reliable, and scalable Media & Entertainment workflows in the cloud. These include streaming and on-demand video solutions, media asset management, and archiving, incorporating the latest AI technology to build bespoke media solutions tailored to customer requirements.
Cloud-native software development is at the foundation of what we do. We specialize in Application Modernization, Containerization, Infrastructure as Code and event-driven serverless architectures by leveraging the latest AWS services. Along with our Managed Services offerings which provide 24/7 cloud infrastructure maintenance and support, we are able to provide complete solutions for the media industry.