Tapeless workflows are now establishing themselves in the industry. They have been around for some time and are starting to take off, particularly amongst broadcasting companies. This is being driven by evolving technology, and, critically in the current economic climate, the need to save time and costs - the need to do more, faster with less people and as cost effectively as possible.

Tapeless workflow means working with data and electronic files as opposed to tapes; dealing with data from the acquisition level right through to edit, and not having to use any tapes.

The new digital technology is designed to make production workflows easier and shorter. Shots, for example, can go directly onto the hard drive or onto memory cards.

Phil Checkland, Head of Business (UK) at Support Partners, says:

"Establishing the most appropriate workflows and drawing the processes together is crucial to ensuring the success of tapeless workflows. This requires a thought out plan and new disciplines to make the process work as seamlessly as possible.

"However, it is still early days for tapeless workflow so you should also be aware of some of the possible challenges."

Support Partners is working with tapeless workflow solutions for all its clients.

What are the benefits of tapeless workflow?

Tapeless workflow has the potential to be cheaper and quicker, and having an end-to-end digital process allows producers to review cuts taken in the field. Tapeless workflow can also result in improved picture quality, especially if the same technology platforms are used throughout the process.

Other great benefits of using tapeless workflow are:

• The tape ingesting process can be cut out (although you sometimes have to transcode files to different formats).

• You can develop high resolution 4K, using Red, without going to film.

• Using tapeless cameras for variable frame rates avoids the need to use vfr conversion hardware, which can be expensive and make for a convoluted process.

• Logging and metadata management are automatically embedded in the digitised files.

• Being able to use smaller cameras means that there is more room for bigger and better lenses.

• It is a more flexible, agile approach; film can be shot in many different environments with much greater ease.

And it is worth considering that tapeless workflow helps you keep much more of the production process in-house, from production right through to grading, potentially delivering huge long term cost savings.

What advice can you give on dealing with any possible tapeless workflow issues?

Nic Kemp from Support Partners, who has been working with clients across a range of different workflows, says:

"It is crucial to get the processes right, as well as the technology. It is a massive shift, as big as moving from film to tape.

"In practice there are different camera manufacturers each with their own proprietary systems and many different codecs. We advise our clients to look at the right camera and formats for their final delivery. Support Partners helps clients choose the best codecs for their workflows.

"Ideally you need to work as 'natively' as possible - that is, using the same platforms and codecs throughout. This avoids too much transference between different formats and ensures that the quality of the footage is as high as possible. However, this is not always possible as it depends on the compatability of the systems you are working with.

"You need to look at both the best offline and online codecs especially if doing long form work, although it depends on the ultimate delivery formats and the systems used for editing and grading.

"At present, the editing software versions sometimes struggles to keep up with new models of camera with new codecs, although we would expect to see this change over time."

Support Partners primarily works with the Panasonic P2 camera, Sony XDCAM, and the Canon 5D and high speed camera, Phantom V640, and some smaller models that use AVC-HD.

Nic Kemp concludes:

"A new challenge tapeless brings is the use of metadata, which means information is always attached to a file throughout the process. Metadata is a powerful and useful tool because it means that clips are searchable within databases and cataloging systems and can easily be found in the future.

"However, it also means a shift change in the way people work. Intially filling out the metadata requires time, but it is possible to automate and map the flow of metadata between software applications.

"Backing files up using LTO tape or Blu Ray discs is also essential. You must store your source material for future use or for disaster recovery."

If you want an informal discussion about your business's production workflows, please contact Phil Checkland on +44 (0) 207 043 5647, +44 (0) 786 750 3032 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it