Metaphorio is a free online video production management service which helps you reduce the time taken in your video production and makes the whole process more manageable. It achieves this by giving you a smooth workflow and real-time annotations/comments to get a good feedback.
The workflow it provides is typical to the video production management service. You first write a script, then a storyboard and finally make the video which might need improvement. The same thing has been applied in Metaphorio. A team member can be assigned to each workflow stage where they can co-ordinate with the clients and other team members by annotating comments on the script, storyboard and the video. You can also add attachments to the comments. A very cool feature if the client wants to show a rough sample of the product he/she wants.
You can also apply version control and visibility toggles for the content that you are creating. When you have made the necessary changes to a draft script or video, you can approve it and iterate it in a new version. You can set visibility options of the annotations if you don’t want the clients to see them.
You can add collaborators and clients through your emails. But, they have to sign up for this free video production management service. The only limit to this free service is that you can add only one more team member/collaborator. To add more team members, you have to go for paid version. However, you can add unlimited number of clients in the free version.
There is also a section where you can take part in a discussion with the teammates and clients about your video production strategy. Like the annotations on the content, you can put comments and insert attachments in the discussion.
So without further ado, let’s check out this awesome free video production management service. You can also check out these free video editing software you can use in parallel to Metaphorio.
How to Make a Video Project Workflow Using Metaphorio
To make a new project workflow, click on New Project on your main interface. You will be taken to page where you can edit the project name and there will be three sections, namely: Workflow, Collaboration, Discussion. The workflow will be given as Script>Storyboard>Video>Delivery. You need to click on each of the workflow stage to add them.
How to add a Script on Metaphorio Workflow
Click on Script to add a video script. It will turn Red to tell you that it has been added. The script will provide you a simple text processing workspace where you can write the script of the video you want to produce. Like the usual text processors, you can change the paragraph style, change the text color, add bullet points, add tables, etc.
How to add a Storyboard on Metaphorio Workflow
A storyboard is an important part of video production. You basically illustrate the scenes of a script in slides and pictures to give a clear idea about the video background, settings and content. You can add slides of pictures that tell you what will happen in the video, step by step in the Storyboard section. You can simply zoom in and zoom out to get a better view. To rearrange the slides, simply drag and drop the slide before or after the other slides.
How to add a Prototype Video on Metaphorio Workflow
You can now produce the video based on the storyboard in the previous stage. However this won’t be your final product since there is always room from improvement. To get a feedback from your team members and your clients, you can upload the video in the Video stage. Here they can add annotated comments (like in the storyboard) on the parts of the video that needs to be fixed.
Share the Final Product with Clients using Metaphorio
Now when all the issues have been fixed and you have the final product, you can upload the final video on Metaphorio for your client to download. Click on Delivery in the workflow and click Upload to upload the final video. The video will be available to the client only when you share it.
Feedback and Approval on each Workflow Stage
At each workflow stage, the team members and clients can add feedback as comments on the parts they want fixed. In case of the Script, one can annotate a sentence they want to rephrase or change and add the appropriate comment to notify everyone about the needed change.
The other workflow stages have the same principle too. Just select the video or storyboard frame and double-click on the video/image interface at the particular point that you want to add a comment to. A dialogue box will appear on the right. Here you can type the comment and extend it as an annotation to the part that you need to bring notice. You can also toggle the comment visibility if you want the client to see the team comments. You can attach files with the comments so you can add example samples, making the communication 10 times better.
Share the Workflow section with Clients and Teammates
To share a workflow stage, click on Share and Submit. You will get two choices here. You can either share it with added teammates and clients or you can generate a link of the section to share with unadded people. A client cannot see your progress unless you have added him to view that specific part of your workflow. This is an awesome way to communicate with your client while you are working on the production.
How to finalize the Workflow
When you have created the final iteration of the workflow stage, you can finalize the product at the end of the stage by clicking Approve in a particular workflow stage. A client cannot add more feedbacks once you have approved that part of the project. When you finalize a workflow stage, it turns its color from red to blue.
How to View the Shared Projects
To view a project shared with you, click on Projects shared with me on top right of the main interface. The access will depend on your role in the video project. If the project admin has added you as a client, you will only be able to see the changes and add comments, nothing else. Each team member can access a specific workflow stage that is assigned to them by the project admin. A project manager can access every production stage of the workflow.
Adding Clients and Collaborators on Metaphorio
To add a client or a teammate, click on Manage Collaborators on the collaborators section of the main interface. In the pop-up menu, you can enter the email address of your teammates to invite them on your project under the Team section. When sending the invitation you can assign the role of your teammates on different video production workflow stages based on their real project roles. As mentioned before, in the free version of Metaphorio, you can only add one extra team member besides yourself. However, you can add unlimited number of clients. To add a client, enter the client’s email address to the same pop-up window.
Discuss Video Project Using Metaphorio
Right below the collaborators section, is the Discussion section where you can discuss the project with your teammates. You have to enter the subject of the discussion and the body of the discussion. If you’re the admin or the project manager, you can select the teammates and the clients you want to share that discussion with.
Get Notifications on Metaphorio
Whatever new happens on Metaphorio is reflected on the notifications you get. The notifications can be accessed by clicking the ‘bell’ icon on the top right corner. Clicking on the notification will transport you directly to place where the notification was raised from.
My Analysis
This free online video production service can be your best friend if you’re a professional YouTuber or if you work in a small animation team since it only allows one extra team member. I believe it can truly save a lot of time for video production professionals. Gone are the days when one had to co-ordinate on videos with overstuffed email inboxes and tremendous workload. Now there is one place where you can create the content of the video and get real-time reviews on it. I award this awesome web service 5 stars.
Try Metaphorio here.
Know a better alternative to Metaphorio? Tell me in the comments!
