Efficient integrated collaborative production of high-end audio-visual content

In recent years the world has witnessed an unprecedented expansion in the global audio-visual industry and actions have been initiated to strengthen its actors, especially in film-making and video production. Companies seeking ways to improve their performance and productivity and become more competitive are investing in modern digital technologies. Very powerful high-performance computing systems are found today even in small production facilities. Yet, little effort has been used to implement activities other than production/post-production and even less, to integrate the whole cycle of content development and creation within a networked collaborative environment. This paper reports the experience of the DAViD project, aiming to establish ways to interact and collaborate during pre-production phases. Several benefits have been demonstrated such as reduction of the overall production time and cost, increased productivity and increased ability to execute complex, multi-company productions in shorter times and lower budgets