Case Study

The Challenge

72 Films decided to bring the post-production phase of filmmaking in-house, but that didn’t necessarily mean on-premises. Having all their editors working on-prem would require an impractical amount of office space that would likely sit idle between projects — a tremendous waste of resources. Many talented editors have also become accustomed to the flexible schedule that comes with remote work. 

Michael Dias, head of post-production for 72 Films, wanted to make both hybrid and remote work possible for the editors they hire without slowing the workflow or making the remote editing experience feel like a stopgap measure. Given the highly collaborative nature of the post-production process, delivering an excellent user experience across continents was a critical hurdle to clear.

72 Films needed a solution that would eliminate some of the common pain points of WFH. In remote and hybrid workflows, it’s not uncommon for files to move around on physical storage devices. This practice raises concerns of security and downtime cost while editors work, requires intensive coordination by a data wrangler, and makes managing version control a challenge, even for colocated teams.

The Solution

To address these challenges, 72 Films needed a remote collaboration solution that delivered in critical areas:

• Speed: Quick to start, quick to learn, and no lag

• Superior experience: High responsiveness in any location, with almost any connection, to ensure an on-premises quality experience for all users

• Simplicity: No major hardware investments or maintenance required

• Secure workstation sharing: No leaks and no unauthorized access

This wish list led Dias to Parsec for Teams. Following a recommendation from a friend in the business, Dias downloaded Parsec on his laptop and started exploring the features. He quickly realized that Parsec met the 72 Films’s criteria for a solution, including impressive performance, security, and compatibility with a wide range of editor setups.

That speed and ease of use distinguished Parsec from other remote solutions commonly used in media creation, making their choice an easy one. Implementing Parsec was straightforward, even with a globally distributed team.

“I was astonished by how snappy it was. It’s frame responsive, and the playback is incredible. Not even terrible home internet would ruin the experience for me.” — Joe Meekel, Senior Tech Operator

The benefits: Working with the best talent to deliver on time and on budget

Optimizing to save resources and collaborate faster
Investing in new technology usually comes down to costs versus benefits. Parsec demonstrated its value to the 72 Films team by providing the ability to quickly review edits together in real-time, resulting in substantial savings for the production company. 

In the past, remote work meant that Dias would send a file for review and wait a week for notes to come back, leaving editors sitting idle. With the smaller budgets and shorter timeframes that are increasingly common in media production, pressure is high. Now, 72 Films editors can remotely share their session with executive producers, line producers, and other team members to review edits live and capture immediate feedback. 

Tapping into the best talent around the world
Going remote opens the doors to talent all over the world, without having to wait for visas or find temporary office and living spaces. 72 Films embraced these advantages by implementing shared workstations accessed by editors across time zones — giving them freedom to have as many projects in motion at once as they needed. 

Having a reliable remote post-production solution also prevents a lot of scheduling roadblocks when editors are working from distant time zones or juggling projects. Dias said that working asynchronously with editors to accommodate their schedules has been key to completing the award-winning work 72 Films is known for. 

“Parsec allows our editors to keep working on our projects, even if they are changing locations while working on a different project. Not being restricted to someone coming into the London office between 9 am and 6 pm, Monday to Friday, is valuable for us.” — Michael Dias, Head of Post-Production

Happy editors make everyone happy
Expectations for day-to-day work have changed since the rise of remote employment, and 72 Films is particularly proud of the way the company puts their staff’s work-life balance first. Parsec has given the 72 Films team more control over their own schedules, so editors can determine how they work while still keeping productivity high. 

Because Parsec is tech agnostic, they can continue using the equipment and setup they know and trust. The 72 Films team was also impressed by Parsec’s virtual display driver, which let them set up virtual displays with existing host machines and start working right away.

“Parsec works particularly well with different home monitor setups. The full screen playback option is precise and works incredibly for watching sequences back while working from home.” — Matt White, 72 Films, Editor

Last words

Dias says that remote work hasn’t caught on in the post-production world as widely as it has elsewhere, possibly because people aren’t aware of how well integrated a solution like Parsec can be. He added, “I would tell them that if you want an amazing, straightforward remote solution that keeps editors going and getting work accomplished — on time with no delays — you definitely need to look at Parsec.”