What is a post production technology audit?
A post production technology audit is an independent review of how footage moves through your company, from ingest to archive. I look at the workflow as well as the equipment, then recommend changes against your team’s needs and budget. The engagement is remote, with a fixed fee agreed before work starts.
It’s built for production companies, agencies, broadcasters and internal video teams that need experienced technical input. You might have no dedicated IT person, or an IT team that needs help with the specifics of post production.
I don’t sell hardware. If your existing equipment can do the job, that belongs in the recommendation too.
When should you get an audit?
Get an audit before a purchase or change that will be expensive to undo. A server quote tells you what a supplier proposes to sell. An audit starts earlier: what does your team need, where is the current workflow failing, and which changes are worth paying for?
Good times to bring me in include:
- You’re considering a NAS, server or major storage expansion.
- Your editors spend too much time downloading media or shipping drives.
- You’re moving away from Dropbox or adding remote editors.
- You’re moving offices and need to decide what infrastructure comes with you.
- Your storage bills keep growing, but nobody has a clear retention policy.
- You already have vendor quotes and want an independent second opinion.
You don’t need to have chosen a platform first. Comparing the options is part of the work.
How does the audit work?
I start with the people and the footage, then work towards the technology. Interviews and a review of your existing setup give me the context to assess options, model costs and put the recommendations in order. We finish with a walkthrough so your team understands the decisions and the next steps.
- Discovery call. We discuss the problem, the decisions ahead and what the audit should cover. I then confirm the scope and fixed fee.
- Team interviews. A starting scope might include four or five people, with 45–60 minutes each: a post lead, production manager and editors who see different parts of the workflow.
- Review of the current setup. We walk through folder structures, project files, camera originals, storage and access over screen share. We agree what access is needed for the review.
- Analysis and cost modelling. I compare practical options, including keeping parts of the current setup. Where a return-on-investment calculation is useful, I show the assumptions behind it.
- Report walkthrough. We review the findings, priorities, costs and responsibilities together.
What do you get at the end?
You get an interactive report site with an executive summary, findings and a prioritized plan. Each recommendation includes the reason for the change, the next action and an owner agreed with your team. The aim is to give you something you can use to make decisions and assign work.
The handover also includes an Excel implementation checklist and editable Word guides for the workflows and platforms covered by the engagement. Your team can update those documents as the setup changes.
Where relevant, the report covers:
- Storage capacity and performance requirements.
- Local, cloud and hybrid workflow options.
- Backup, archive and retention gaps.
- Hardware and software recommendations.
- Purchase and operating costs, with assumptions made explicit.
- What needs attention now, and what can wait.
What does a post production technology audit cost?
I quote each audit around your company size and the work involved. The number of people, locations, systems and workflows we need to review all affect the scope. After the free consultation, I send a proposal with the deliverables, timeline and a fixed fee agreed before the audit starts.
A small team making one storage decision needs a different engagement from a company reviewing several departments. The proposal makes that scope clear so you know what you’re paying for.
Implementation support is available afterwards and scoped separately. You can also have your own team or a supplier carry out the plan.
What problems do I look for?
I look for places where the workflow is creating unnecessary storage, transfers or maintenance. That can mean reviewing the editing codec before sizing a NAS, deciding what belongs in active storage, or checking whether a proposed server will actually help remote editors. The purchase should follow those decisions.
- Too much media in the active workflow. Camera originals, editing media and archives have different jobs. A house codec may reduce what needs to move between editors.
- A storage purchase without a performance requirement. Capacity alone doesn’t tell you whether a system can support your timelines. Choosing a NAS starts with the workload.
- An office server proposed for a distributed team. Remote access needs its own design. Remote editing storage compares the options.
- An archive that keeps expanding without a plan. LTO versus hard drives is a cost and retrieval question, not just a price-per-terabyte comparison.
Questions about the audit
Do you sell hardware?
No. I help define what you need and assess the options. Hardware purchases are separate from the audit.
Can you audit a team outside Canada?
Yes. The audit can be carried out remotely, with interviews and screen-share reviews arranged around your team's time zones.
Can you review a vendor quote we already have?
Yes. I can assess whether the proposed capacity, performance, support and backup arrangements fit your workflow, and identify what the quote leaves out.
Do you help with implementation?
Yes. We can scope setup, migration, documentation and training after the audit. The report also gives your team a plan they can take forward themselves.
Do we need a full audit for one question?
Possibly not. If a focused consultation is enough to resolve the decision, I'll recommend that when we speak.