Picture a team of over seventy people whose sole purpose on a daily basis is to make children smile.
Well, when it comes to Mike Young Productions, (MYP), it's hard to tell who's having more fun: the studio's millions of young fans around the world or the allegedly grown-up creators and producers. The prevailing mood at the studio is one of freewheeling creativity. It's a place where a child's spirit is not forgotten but rather celebrated, and passion lives for all things animated, from traditional hand-drawn 2D or cutting-edge 3D CGI animation such as a series of DVD movies based on the iconic "Bratz" toy line. Along with six other current productions that create an enormous production database, there comes a mountain of work - on average over 1,500 files per production - that needs to be reviewed, approved, and managed to keep jobs running smoothly. Like many creative companies, MYP used to rely on a disjointed group of tools to share production files and deliver materials to clients for approval.
"We found Wiredrive to have the best combination of ease of use and manageability, as well as project-specific password protection."Eric Kirby, Director of Technology, Mike Young Productions
"Deadlines are part of animation on a daily basis. The ability to get feedback and documented approval quickly from our clients located out-of-house is crucial," says Eric Kirby, Director of Technology at MYP. Generally, all information transfer had to be done by FedEx delivery because the only digital option seemed to be the standard FTP system. FTP was found to be problematic because it was confusing to clients who often had difficulty accessing materials at critical decision points. Furthermore, FTP does not allow for convenient file browsing and managing feedback. As a result, MYP had to spend money and valuable production time printing and mailing hard copies of production files to clients. Once revisions were made, clients would fax back physical copies of their notes to MYP for record keeping. Knowing there must be a better method, Mike Young Productions went looking for an alternative and found Wiredrive.
"We explored several possible software and service options," explains Kirby, "Each had unique qualities and weaknesses, but we found Wiredrive to have the best combination of ease of use and manageability, as well as project-specific password protection." With Wiredrive, MYP had the ability to set up users quickly and to give clients permission to "view only" or to "view and leave comments."
"Wiredrive provided the most user-friendly interface with the most needed functionality," Eric affirmed, "In our case, that was the ability to leave text notes attached to each uploaded file as well as brand a file 'approved' by our client. A virtual signature. The price was well within reason as well."
In this busy industry, time is very valuable and usually in short supply. Anything that saves people time means that they can spend more time performing other work obligations. The overall benefit of Wiredrive was that it reduced the amount of time MYP's creators and producers spent making multiple deliveries to its various departments, and cut down on shipping and time expenses, a fact that Kirby calls "undeniable." Obtaining feedback quickly is essential, and using Wiredrive enabled the review and approval process to happen more rapidly, with more accuracy and with less effort. The time between creation and approval was minimal, even with companies in other countries.
"Wiredrive provided the most user-friendly interface with the most needed functionality."Eric Kirby, Director of Technology, Mike Young Productions
Currently, MYP's production staff utilizes Wiredrive to show their clients and off-site associates materials they would like to review prior to the animation process. However, MYP has plans to expand their usage to be able to collaborate with freelance artists and writers, and use Wiredrive for creating & sending video reels and publicity materials.
"Every year that goes by, we are further challenged to produce better products and fresh ideas." explains Eric, "Digital production allows us to spend the time we save improving a product. Furthermore, we are growing into exclusively International co-productions so we must find faster and more efficient ways to share information on an ongoing basis between several countries. As we are able to share more and more with fewer digital limitations, I would expect that the future of our industry will be 100% digital transfer of information, with almost instant immediacy."
Bill Schultz, MYP's co-CEO added, "Quality takes time, nevertheless the stress of managing conflicting objectives particularly on an international level can prove difficult. Speed is also becoming an increasingly important factor. Systems that enable us to successfully juggle all of these issues can only make seeing a completed episode way more rewarding." Mike Young, MYP's co-CEO agrees, "Technology is here as the driving force in our industry. This means that we must remain flexible and stay open to new systems all the time. Classic technologies such as 2-D are here to stay, but keeping new technology a significant part of the mix is a recipe for animation success."
About Mike Young Productions
Mike Young Productions (MYP) is one of the most prolific and successful animation studios in North America. A leading producer of top-quality, award winning CGI and traditional 2D television animation, MYP's shows are seen in over 160 countries around the world. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the studio boasts a 16,000 square foot digital production facility and some of animation's favorites including Pet Alien and ToddWorld as well as the upcoming Growing Up Creepie, I Got A Rocket and Dive Olly Dive! Maintaining a 24/7 pipeline with its co-production partners throughout the world and its parent company MoonScoop in France, MYP is truly a global operation.