autoWorks · In internal use
From raw footage to the episode, end to end
autoWorks is our tool for producing video podcasts end to end: from raw footage to the master, the vertical clips, the cover art and the copy. It was born in-house and it is what Singular Works, our content label, works with.
- From raw footage to the master of the show
- Vertical clips, cover art and copy for social media
- A person signs off before the final version
The problem
An episode is not one file
Every episode of a video podcast is many pieces, and behind each one sits the same chain of work, episode after episode.
Many pieces per episode
The full show, the vertical clips for social media, the cover art and the copy that goes with them. It all comes from the same raw footage from cameras and microphones.
The same steps, every week
Transcribe, work out who is speaking, cut, pick the shot, frame, assemble. A process that repeats should be the same every time, not rely on the memory of whoever runs it.
What was approved is not redone
Once a person has approved a cut or a piece of text, a later run should not decide it all over again on its own.
What it is
A production flow in seven stages
autoWorks is an application that follows an episode from the moment the raw footage arrives until it is published. It automates the repetitive parts and stops where a person has to decide.
Setup
The raw footage is analyzed, normalized and checked for quality.
Transcript
The conversation is transcribed, each turn is attributed to its speaker and the text is corrected. A person reviews the proposed corrections before signing it off.
Selection
This is where it is decided what gets cut, which shot goes where and which moments hold up on their own as a clip.
Assembly
Each shot is framed, and the cover art and title cards are prepared.
Review
Low-resolution samples are generated and a person reviews them. Without that sign-off there is no final version.
Rendering
The full show and the vertical clips are rendered.
Published
The episode and its pieces move on to publishing.
Progress so far
What has been built so far
The whole flow
All seven stages exist and run in a single application, which opens in the browser and starts with a double click.
The human checkpoints
The process stops at least once per episode so that a person can look at the samples and sign off. That signature cannot be given by a machine.
The seal on what was approved
Whatever a person approved stays tied to its result, and a later run reuses it instead of deciding it again.
Each show's format
A show's fixed structure (opening, segments, interlude, closing and sponsorship) is defined once and applied to all its episodes.
The pieces for social media
Vertical clips with a title and synchronized captions, cover art and copy. Before publishing, each clip goes through a framing check.
The best-moments teaser
An optional piece per show that opens the episode with its best moments and is approved at the same human checkpoint.
A design system per piece
What gets drawn on top of the video, and at what sizes, is written down: it is not eyeballed for each episode.
Connected to Odoo
The shows and their episodes are loaded from Odoo, and the finished pieces go back to Odoo with their cover art and copy.
Already in real production
With autoWorks we have produced clips, cover art and copy for real episodes of our own shows.
Who it is for
Today, for our own shows
The Singular Works team
Singular Works is our content label, the team behind Profesionales Excepcionales, Outstarting and Polemizando, three Spanish-language shows. autoWorks is its production tool.
If you produce a video podcast
autoWorks is not for sale and not open to third parties. If the problem sounds familiar, tell us about your case: it helps us decide what to do with it.
Current status
In internal use, and still a work in progress
- StatusIn internal use and in development
- Who uses itThe Singular Works production team
- AvailabilityNot for sale and not open to third parties
- What we are working onConnecting the missing pieces, simplifying the process and finishing its automation
Do you produce content and know this problem?
If autoWorks interests you, or you would like to propose a pilot or collaborate, write to us. There is nothing to buy today: there is a tool in use and a wish to put it to the test.