Supercharge Your Video Output with Smart Automation

The Power of Automation in Content Creation

Before we dive into the technical details, let's consider what automation can do for your content workflow:

1. Increase Efficiency: By automating repetitive tasks, you free up your team to focus on creative aspects.
2. Streamline Workflow: From initial creation to review and distribution, automation handles the heavy lifting.
3. Improve Organization: Automated placeholder management and version control keep your content organized.
4. Speed Up Review Process: Automatic notifications ensure smooth and timely content approval.
5. Scale Your Output: With a well-oiled automation machine, you can handle much more content without proportionally increasing resources.

Now, let's build a system that can help you achieve these goals.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have:

1. An Airtable account (Free plan is sufficient to start)
2. A Make.com account (formerly Integromat, Free plan works for initial setup)
3. A Frame.io account (Trial version is fine for testing)
4. Basic familiarity with spreadsheets and databases
5. Understanding of your video content production workflow

Step 1: Set Up Your Video Content Database in Airtable

First, we'll create a centralized database for managing your video content.

1. Log in to Airtable (https://airtable.com/).
2. Create a new base named "Video Content Database".
3. In the main table (rename it to "Videos"): a. Set up these fields:
   • Video ID (Type: Autonumber)
   • Title (Type: Single line text)
   • Description (Type: Long text)
   • Frame.io ID (Type: Single line text)
   • Frame.io URL (Type: URL)
   • Status (Type: Single Select, Options: Planned, In Production, In Review, Approved, Published)
   • Created Date (Type: Date, with time)
   • Video Type (Type: Single Select, Options: Short-form, Long-form, Tutorial, Interview, etc.)
   • Thumbnail (Type: Attachment)
   • Publish Date (Type: Date)

This structure allows you to track each video through its entire lifecycle, from planning to publication.

Troubleshooting Tip: If you can't see new fields, try refreshing the page. If fields aren't behaving as expected, double-check the field type and configuration.

Step 2: Set Up Your Automation Platform in Make.com

We'll use Make.com to create our automation workflows.

1. Sign up or log in to Make.com.
2. Create a new scenario - this will be the backbone of our automation.

In the following steps, we'll create several scenarios to handle different parts of the video production workflow.

Step 3: Automate Placeholder Creation

This scenario will automatically create a placeholder in Frame.io when a new video is planned in Airtable.

1. In Make.com, start with an Airtable trigger:
   • Module: "Watch Records"
   • Table: Your "Videos" table
   • Trigger: When "Status" changes to "In Production"
2. Add a Frame.io "Create Asset" action:
   • Project: Your Frame.io project
   • Name: Map to the "Title" field from Airtable
   • Description: Map to the "Description" field from Airtable
3. Add an Airtable "Update Record" action:
   • Update the Frame.io ID and URL fields with the data from the Frame.io action

This automation ensures that as soon as a video enters production, it has a place in your Frame.io project, streamlining the handoff to video editors.

Step 4: Set Up Version Control Automation

This scenario will update Airtable when new versions of a video are uploaded to Frame.io.

1. Start with a Frame.io webhook trigger for new versions.
2. Add a Frame.io "Get Asset" action to retrieve details of the new version.
3. Add an Airtable "Find Record" action to locate the corresponding video entry.
4. Add an Airtable "Update Record" action:
   • Update the Frame.io URL to the latest version
   • Change the Status to "In Review"

This automation keeps your database up-to-date with the latest version of each video, ensuring everyone is working with the most current information.

Step 5: Automate the Review Process

Let's set up notifications for when videos are ready for review.

1. In Airtable, create a new automation:
   • Trigger: When a record in the Videos table has Status changed to "In Review"
   • Action: Send a notification (email, Slack, etc.) with video details and Frame.io link

This streamlines the review process, ensuring stakeholders are promptly notified when their input is needed.

Step 6: Distribution Automation

Finally, let's automate the distribution process for approved videos.

1. In Make.com, create a new scenario:
   • Trigger: Airtable record updated (Status changed to "Approved")
   • Actions:
     • Download the video from Frame.io
     • Upload to YouTube (you'll need to add a YouTube connection)
     • Update the Airtable record with the YouTube link
     • Change the Status to "Published"

This automation takes care of the final steps in your video production pipeline, ensuring quick and consistent distribution of your content.

Bringing It All Together

With these automations in place, your video production workflow becomes a well-oiled machine:

1. As soon as a video is planned, a placeholder is created in Frame.io.
2. When new versions are uploaded, your database is automatically updated.
3. Reviewers are notified as soon as a video is ready for review.
4. Approved videos are automatically distributed and marked as published.

This system eliminates many manual tasks, reducing the time between video conception and publication. It allows your team to focus on what they do best - creating great content - while the automation handles the rest.

Wrap Up

By implementing this automated workflow, you've laid the groundwork for significantly scaling your video content production. Here's how this system helps you 10x your output:

1. Reduced Manual Work: Automations handle tasks that would otherwise require manual input, saving hours of work.
2. Improved Coordination: Automatic updates and notifications keep everyone on the same page, reducing delays.
3. Streamlined Review Process: Quick notifications and easy access to the latest versions speed up approvals.
4. Faster Distribution: Approved videos are published automatically, eliminating bottlenecks in the final stages.
5. Better Organization: With everything tracked in Airtable, it's easier to manage a larger volume of content.

Remember, automation is an iterative process. As you use this system, you'll likely find new opportunities for optimization. Don't hesitate to adjust and expand your automations to best fit your team's evolving needs.

By leveraging the power of automation, you're not just saving time - you're creating the capacity to produce more content, experiment with new formats, and ultimately, grow your video content strategy exponentially. Happy automating!

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