HITS

MCF Media: New Solutions for Content Localization

It was a pooling of resources between three companies that resulted in today’s MCF Media Solutions.

A few years ago, Westlake, Ohio-based MCF Tech Solutions teamed up with Los Angeles-based Von Johnson & Associates (VJA) to pitch an idea to a major studio: connect production, post and distribution through new, smart process applications. The goal was to offer a real-time, cloud-based tool that tracks workflows and predicts outcomes during the planning phase of any project.

Today, Hermosa Beach-based MCF Media Solutions LLC is a partnership of MCF Technology Solutions, Agilcore and Von Johnson & Associates, Inc (VJA) – combining entertainment industry expertise with technology development to offer unique business solutions.

MCF Media Solutions created its flagship product SpeedySuite — which provides real-time, cloud-based planning, tracking, and asset management for global collaboration — for content producers and distributors seeking a solution to managing the localization process.

The idea was to offer a real-time tool that schedules, manages, communicates and delivers subtitles language dubs, audio description and forced narrative files.

Speedy not only tracks workflows, but can potentially predict outcomes during the planning phase of any project.

“We designed Speedy to eliminate the practice of using spreadsheets and email as project management tools,” said Von Johnson, founder and CEO of MCF Media. “Speedy increases capacity, accelerates delivery and reduces mistakes by integrating asset and project management on a single platform. Speedy facilitates collaboration, accountability and transparency between producers and suppliers.

Speedy manages the information associated with every workflow step needed to bring content from post-production to street date, and does it on a territory-by-territory basis. As each supplier accomplishes assigned tasks in the work-stream, Speedy updates the information so the entire Team sees what’s going on. “

More importantly, everyone can see if we are in jeopardy of missing a deadline” Johnson said. “One missed milestone can negatively affect the Team and reduce project accuracy and quality.”

Govind Davis, CTO of MCF Media added, “Speedy is a new approach to project visualization, and it’s uniquely applicable to the planning needs for a major product launch. On a technical level, we took critical path, complex project planning techniques, and applied them in a visual manner that’s easy to use.”

What MCF Media offers has been attempted in the past, but previous tool sets and processes weren’t prepared for the explosion of content stemming from OTT platforms.

MCF Media developed a flexible and customized offering that is rapidly deployed and suits the work habits of every stakeholder.

“Speedy demonstrates our ability tackle and solve a problem that’s recognized as a critical issue,” Johnson said. “Producers, distributors and suppliers work in unique ways that suit their organization. Speedy respects these differences and is tailored to the way our customers prefer to work.”