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Netflix’s Media Production Suite

netflixtechblog.com

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Re: Netflix’s Media Production Suite

#141

Post by gcanyon »

dkh wrote: post #73
gcanyon wrote: post #33

I read through that whole article thinking, - I wonder what the UI looks like compared to tools I use now - I wonder if there will be a free tier, since my video needs are modest It never occurred to me until I reached the end that this wasn't a "enjoy this tool we made" post, but instead a "look how awesome we are" post. :-/

For people in within the industry or the tech side of it, Netflix’s engineering blog has always been fascinating and extremely useful because of the insane amount of stuff in this space they have solved or reworked. They have put more into tech side of modern-day TV/film than anybody else, and it's not even close. In a technical/workflow sense, working on a Netflix show is unlike working on any other. I have my issue…

I didn't say it wasn't interesting, but I'll take the bait: the article is light on details and misleading.

Light on details: the article is almost 3000 words, filled with vague and low-effort content: a lot more "We're so big and global!" and not nearly so much "Here's the problem we faced because we're so big and global, and here's how we solved it."

Misleading: they use the word "democratizes" twice: "we have crafted a scalable solution that ... democratizes access to advanced production tools across the globe" and "we’ve taken a bold step forward in enabling a suite of tools inside Netflix Content Hub that democratizes technology: the Media Production Suite" -- do you really get to say "democratizes" when you're describing an in-house system?

Re: Netflix’s Media Production Suite

#142

Post by gcanyon »

pests wrote: post #117
gcanyon wrote: post #33

I read through that whole article thinking, - I wonder what the UI looks like compared to tools I use now - I wonder if there will be a free tier, since my video needs are modest It never occurred to me until I reached the end that this wasn't a "enjoy this tool we made" post, but instead a "look how awesome we are" post. :-/

For your first point, you can see it in the videos they have embedded.

Not really -- the videos have brief glimpses of UI, but are mostly film clips and vague and pointless diagrams.

Re: Netflix’s Media Production Suite

#143

Post by [deleted] »

progbits wrote: post #50
wodenokoto wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That you don’t film on two or three wheels at a time

I mean they should, film can get damaged too. The reason they don't are probably because it would be too expensive, bulky and film is single-use so also wasteful. Even hobby level DSLRs have two card slots with option to write to both. Professional cameras have tons of gear strapped to them, a second drive or some link to external storage is a no-brainer.

[deleted]

Re: Netflix’s Media Production Suite

#144

Post by Jean-Papoulos »

>Netflix has been spinning up ingest centers around the world, where drives can be dropped off, and within a matter of hours, all original camera files are uploaded into the Netflix ecosystem.

Netflix is looking to sell shovels to as many people as possible, it seems.

Re: Netflix’s Media Production Suite

#145

Post by fastball »

crazygringo wrote: post #102
fastball wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need this pipeline to produce 6 shows over a decade. Said another way, they almost certainly would not have bothered to build this system if the purpose was mainly to produce the shows you mention. The reason these systems exist is to enable the creation of hundreds or thousands of productions.

Those were just six examples. There are many more. But OK yes, Netflix produces a lot of volume because that's also what its viewers want. Are you saying that's a bad thing? Sometimes people get home from an exhausting stressful day at work and they just need to relax with some mindless entertainment. And that's OK. Not everything has to be art.

Two problems with this argument / framing:

1. Consumers frequently don't know what they want, and will consume whatever is placed in front of them. Implying the consumption of Netflix shows (or other media) is a conscious choice they are making seems disingenuous to me. You see the same with doom-scrolling TikTok or Twitter (or even HN). Frequently it is less of a choice and more of a compulsion.

2. Even when they are making conscious choices, sometimes the things people choose to consume are objectively bad. e.g. sometimes people get home from an exhausting stressful day at work and just need to shoot up heroin. While you can respect the agency of those people to make those choices, most societies do various things to discourage such behavior. A drug dealer whose entire defense is "selling crack isn't bad because my customers want it, actually" is not gonna get exonerated.

Re: Netflix’s Media Production Suite

#146

Post by throwaway2037 »

gamblor956 wrote: post #136
dkh wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I should’ve been more specific—I was referring to the modern-day workflow for producing a scripted series, which is what the article was about. In that context, Netflix has the most technically sophisticated workflow and tooling to optimize production of that kind of content, from the perspective of creatives working on those sorts of shows. Certainly they have major blind spots in a lot of user-facing stuff that the…

Netflix's workflow for creatives isn't more sophisticated than their competitors; Netflix simply prefers to re-create the wheel in-house while their competitors are more likely to use off-the-shelf software solutions to the extent that they use software at all. As others have pointed out on this thread: Netflix's solutions don't scale up or down for others. This means that the technical solution is sophisticated beca…

I am such a luddite -- I hardly stream (a couple of things per year from Google Play). I know about the book "The Electric State", but I never knew it was made into a film by Netflix. If you Google search for reviews, they are absolutely savage. Just the headlines are enough:

Vulture: Netflix's The Electric State Is a $320 Million Piece of Junk

The Atlantic: How to Make an Instantly Forgettable, Very Expensive Movie

The Guardian: Why are the most expensive Netflix movies also the worst?

EDIT:

Regarding this:

    > Netflix can get away with inefficient business processes because it's making enough money right now to paper over those costs, but eventually they'll have to streamline their processes.
If this were really true, why are the professional stock analyst ratings overwhelming "buy" (instead of "hold" or "sell")? The stock is up 50+% in last 1 year, and 150+% in last 5 years. That is outstanding performance.

Re: Netflix’s Media Production Suite

#147

Post by nthingtohide »

ksynwa wrote: post #11
pests wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember reading once how all Netflix content is really meant for phones or smaller screens. Simple shots, not much background detail, lots of face closeups etc. I remember when being made by Netflix was a unique and cool thing, it didn’t last long until it meant probably-slop.

A lot of them are also meant to "second screen worthy" where they run in the background while your attention is mainly focused on some other task like playing a video game.

the importance of picking a fight you'll never win

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vWRLGnTGg

A filmmaker discusses their experience with Amazon, who bought the rights to their movie and decided to release it on their streaming service instead of in theaters. The filmmaker explains why they feel this is unfair and why they are fighting for their movie to be seen on the big screen.

Re: Netflix’s Media Production Suite

#148

Post by crazygringo »

fastball wrote: post #145
crazygringo wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those were just six examples. There are many more. But OK yes, Netflix produces a lot of volume because that's also what its viewers want. Are you saying that's a bad thing? Sometimes people get home from an exhausting stressful day at work and they just need to relax with some mindless entertainment. And that's OK. Not everything has to be art.

Two problems with this argument / framing: 1. Consumers frequently don't know what they want, and will consume whatever is placed in front of them. Implying the consumption of Netflix shows (or other media) is a conscious choice they are making seems disingenuous to me. You see the same with doom-scrolling TikTok or Twitter (or even HN). Frequently it is less of a choice and more of a compulsion. 2. Even when they ar…

No, because people usually do know what they want in terms of TV and movies. They've been watching their whole life and know exactly what they like generally and what they don't and what they're in the mood for tonight. This is precisely why Netflix's personalization is so key, because people won't consume whatever is in front of them. People even rotate between streamers precisely to watch the specific shows they love. You're denying people's agency. Streaming isn't IG or TikTok.

And no, TV isn't heroin or crack. And who on earth are you, or me, to judge what other people want to watch on TV? That's paternalistic and insulting. Next do you want to censor which books I can read?

Re: Netflix’s Media Production Suite

#149

Post by mavhc »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #146
gamblor956 wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netflix's workflow for creatives isn't more sophisticated than their competitors; Netflix simply prefers to re-create the wheel in-house while their competitors are more likely to use off-the-shelf software solutions to the extent that they use software at all. As others have pointed out on this thread: Netflix's solutions don't scale up or down for others. This means that the technical solution is sophisticated beca…

I am such a luddite -- I hardly stream (a couple of things per year from Google Play). I know about the book "The Electric State", but I never knew it was made into a film by Netflix. If you Google search for reviews, they are absolutely savage. Just the headlines are enough: Vulture: Netflix's The Electric State Is a $320 Million Piece of Junk The Atlantic: How to Make an Instantly Forgettable, Very Expensive Movie…

Because people don't read reviews and do like dumb action flicks. Netflix will put it on the home screen and people will click on it

Re: Netflix’s Media Production Suite

#150

Post by mavhc »

pier25 wrote: post #119
dmbche wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Phantom menace used some (pioneering) digital shots but Collateral is fully shot on digital from my understanding

Attack of the Clones (2002) was shot fully digital with an early Cine Alta camera. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CineAlta

So early the film isn't even in 1080p
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