CHALLENGE: Since establishing a hybrid workflow in 2020, Fresh Tape Media faced inefficiencies shipping drives, logistical hurdles managing media between remote collaborators, and delays due to missing files during handoffs. With a distributed team and frequent reliance on freelancers, these issues often extended timelines, increased project costs, and prevented consistent file organization on projects with hundreds of deliverables, hindering the team's efficiency & scalability.

WHY SUITE? Suite provides a centralized, cloud-based storage solution that streamlines collaboration and eliminates reliance on physical drives by enabling real-time file streaming for everyone connected to Suite's cloud-based storage. Suite’s intuitive platform enables easy onboarding, user-specific permissions settings, and enhanced project oversight for supervisors, while Suite Connect file transfers provide Fresh Tape a secure, reliable way to send/receive media directly to/from the cloud. Suite’s customer support also plays a big role, helping Fresh Tape’s team focus on managing complex, high-volume projects without interruption.

KEY INSIGHTS:

• 15+ full-time employees in Denver & New York City
• Global freelance network includes editors in UK & France
• Seamless remote collaboration on projects with 600+ deliverables
• Scalable access supported by easy onboarding & permissions

“Having unprecedented access to every file, we're able to work faster and take on more projects simultaneously.”

— Drew Marsh, Post Production Supervisor, Fresh Tape Media

Fresh Tape Media, based in Denver, Colorado, is a champion in the world of sports media. Working with some of the most revered sports organizations and leagues in the world, the full-service production company established its identity bringing on-site multimedia campaigns to life during tentpole sporting events.

Over time, the team’s focus has evolved to include commercial work and documentary-style content, and they now remain steadfast in their commitment to exploring every avenue of creativity, ranging from social media activations, launch videos, hype reels, live streams, anything else that might grab eyeballs & drive engagement. “Sports are our niche, but we’re always looking to work with brands to push creative boundaries,” says Post Production Supervisor, Drew Marsh. “We’re excited to expand our portfolio.”

Fresh Tape’s archive includes work for the NCAA March Madness tournament & Final Four, NBA All-Star game, WNBA Draft, Denver Broncos, San Fransisco 49ers, and Jacksonville Jaguars, Electronic Arts (EA), the NFL’s biggest showcase the Super Bowl, and even Team USA at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Needless to say, Fresh Tape knows how to entice & activate an audience in the digital age, frequently driving multi-million impressions on its campaigns.

Challenges with Remote Collaboration

Recently adding an office in New York City, Fresh Tape’s leadership recognizes that new opportunities often go hand-in-hand with the flexibility to work with anyone, anywhere. For Marsh, who manages media for Fresh Tape’s dispersed team of 15 full-time employees and a network of freelancers, expansion was exciting but presented new challenges.

“As an agency, we’re constantly balancing projects in pre-production, projects about to be in production, as well as managing post,” Marsh explains. “It got overwhelming. When I stepped into my role as Post Production Supervisor, we quickly started seeing flaws in our workflow. Before Suite, our process involved taking footage from a shoot back to the office in Denver, duplicating it on SSDs, then shipping those out to the appropriate editor(s). Obviously, that can cause issues; those handoffs were always really rough. Not only does the drive end up ‘on an island’ with the editor, but the worst part would be getting the drive back only to realize we were missing files. There were a lot of these smaller issues and headaches that took extra time to resolve.”

Game-changing creativity on Suite

Adopting Suite’s cloud storage and has been game-changing for Fresh Tape Media. While offering clearcut oversight of working assets for Marsh, Suite also provides his internal & dispersed team members instant access to organized media with file streaming, keeping everyone on-track without confusion.

“Suite is the perfect solution,” Marsh says. “For active projects, Suite is our go-to spot. Having unprecedented access to every file, we're able to work faster and take on more projects simultaneously. It’s one less step—everything’s in one place. Our biggest internal headaches were quickly resolved with Suite.”

Managing media with confidence

By centralizing working assets on Suite’s cloud storage and file streaming directly from the cloud, Marsh and the team experience a slew of benefits, from high-level wins to granular, everyday efficiencies. For instance, Marsh notes his role as supervisor and media manager is less focused on handling the logistics of shipping drives and locating missing files, and more tuned into project status, quality checks, and delivery dates.

“We’ve worked on a few projects with 600+ deliverables and four editors working at once," Marsh notes. "Now, we don’t need to duplicate the footage four times and send it out individually—editors can access footage from the same place, and we’re able to customize folders with the assets they need."

“Working with that many deliverables, Suite gives us that extra peace of mind," he continues. "Everything is centralized, and our internal team has 24/7 overarching admin access to make a quick fix. We’re able to hop into the timeline without an issue. I've absolutely noticed a difference in efficiency, and it ends up reflecting positively on us, how quickly we can get materials back to the client.”

Marsh also emphasizes the importance of keeping a tidy media library, an underrated key to success for any media agency. “Suite allows us to hand over projects to freelancers seamlessly,” he explains. “We have a preset file structure, a template of folders for each project; we have Suite set up the same way as our servers, so we’re able to quickly drop footage in the exact place we want it, have everything ready to go, then provide the editors access. Using hard drives, there’s only so much we could do to ensure freelancers were ‘honoring’ the structure.”

Everyday wins on the cloud

Fresh Tape’s dispersed team also notices day-to-day wins working from various locations. Whether it’s file sharing with Suite Connect, the ability to reinstate media with Time Machine, implementing user-specific permissions with a few clicks, or easily onboarding new team members, “Suite thought of all the little details,” Marsh says.

“We love the ‘right-click to share’ functionality that allows us to easily copy/paste file locations to other team members on Suite. When I click the link, it automatically takes me to the file and I can import it directly into the project. Tiny details like that mean a lot—anything that can shave off a second, a minute, an hour from the process. It's also nice to have hands-on support from Suite. If we ever have a question, they’re always there on a call within a few minutes of sending a message. Honestly, that might be the greatest feature that comes along with it.”

Overall, Fresh Tape’s switch to Suite, providing file streaming directly from the cloud, has been a workflow improvement worthy of the highlight reel. Getting the team started on Suite was intuitive and quick, and once everyone gains access, “it works just like a local drive,” says Marsh. “It was an easy transition for our editors. I’ve heard nothing but good feedback.”

Final Thoughts

Now, Marsh and the team at Fresh Tape can continue to expand their focus, scale for bigger projects, and access the best talent for the job with minimal slowdowns. “We’re able to work with editors all over the country, and the world, without have to waste days shipping drives. We’re able to onboard an editor in Boston just as easily as a local editor in Denver, or further away in places like Paris or London. It’s game-changing for the industry.”

Working directly off of the cloud might seem like a pipe dream, but the file streaming technology that exists with Suite makes it possible to connect remote creatives in real-time, as if everyone is working from the same room. Establishing a centralized source of truth for working assets, Marsh and the team at Fresh Tape Media are on the cutting-edge of media workflows. You better believe it.

“For anyone that’s skeptical, I felt the same way at first,” Marsh says. “I imagine other people have many of the same initial questions—but your team responded immediately to every concern that popped up. Suite made it clear & easy to understand how everything works. I highly recommend this cloud-based workflow. It removes so many headaches, big and small. I’m excited to see how it helps our agency moving forward.”

Fresh Tape Media’s transition to Suite’s cloud storage represents another leap forward in how modern media teams can operate with the help of file streaming. By adopting Suite’s innovative technology, Fresh Tape Media streamlined their workflow, enhanced collaboration, and unlocked new opportunities to scale their business. Whether working on a major sports campaign or tackling projects across multiple time zones, Fresh Tape’s commitment to creativity is now matched by their ability to deliver with unparalleled efficiency. As they continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in sports and entertainment media, Suite has become an indispensable part of their creative process.

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