Web App

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Building the Future of Film Set Management with Smart Technology

Showrunner aimed to transform film and TV production with a smart home-like ecosystem that connects all on-set equipment.

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The Team

Product Manager

Product Designer

Front-End Developer

Back-End Developer

Nest.js

DMX Protocol

React

Typescript

API Design

UX/UI

Data Modeling

B2B

The results

$9.8M

Raised

$1M

ARR in first year

1yr

Built product from 0 to 1

The scope

Missions

Years

Active

Status

Prototyping

Media & Entertainment

Improvements

Manage the entire film set on one platform

The film and TV industry is traditionally characterized by a waterfall workflow: one department completing its task before the next one starts, leading to inefficient delays. Tools and technology are usually siloed within departments, which also amplifies the redundancy of information. Showrunner wanted to blow that system up.

They had a vision to create an operating system for virtual production that would connect everything on set—all the cameras, lights, virtual backgrounds, Unreal Engine, media, servers, audio—into one interface that could be accessed from any device. But building a seamless operating system turned out to be way more technically challenging than anyone anticipated.

Content Creator

Machine Learning

Internet of Things

Virtual Production

Integration

the a.team solution

Tapping A.Team to help reach escape velocity

A.Team assembled a team of highly skilled specialists across multiple domains to ramp up production speed on Showrunner’s enterprise-level platform for smart studios. Without their expertise in everything from development to design, there’s no way Showrunner would have made an MVP in time. The A.Team crashed in to help triage between the disparate protocols and technologies used across film sets, enabling full integration. That means real-time collaboration, optimizing the filmmaking process and minimizing redundancy.

Internet of Things

The team had to connect cameras and lights and audio running on different protocols. “Creating an operating system that could translate to all of these different types of devices was really hard.

Team Integration

Making A.Team engineers a part of the core team was part of the strategy. "Our product team does a daily stand up and every A.Teamer is part of that.

Quality over speed

Showrunner decided to spend more time before going to market to make an exceptional product. “We do have money, let's stop being stingy. Let's build the best product we can.

I think tech leaders and founders should be considering A.Team because you not only want the best talent in the world, but you also want groups of people that add up to more than the sum of their parts.

Shane Snow, Founder of Showrunner

We're doing something that nobody else is doing, not just plugging away at some random backlog. And if you had attended our stand ups, I don't think he would have even known that we weren’t on the core tech team.

Ted Middleton

building the team

Leveraging the power of cognitive diversity

To tackle these challenges, A.Team assembled a diversified and highly skilled team, including Tim, an exceptional designer with a film background who ensured the product was practical for users in the industry, and Ted, known as one of the world's top Unreal Engine developers.

Not to mention Lucas, a brilliant front-end developer based in Mendoza, Argentina, whose unparalleled coding skills brought digital designs to life. The unique perspectives and skill sets of each of these team members helped overcome the unusually hard technical problems this mission entailed.

Product Manager

Patrick C.

UI/UX

Data Modeling

Scrum

AWS

Product Strategy

API Design

Product Designer

Tim R.

Fintech

Invision

HCI

UI/UX

Product Design

Wireframing

Front-End Developer

Lucas C.

React

Design Thinking

Node.js

Github

Tailwind CSS

SQL

QA Engineer

Ted M.

Unreal Engine

C++

AWS

Docker

Algorithm Design

Flask

building the product

Quality over speed to market

Showrunner opted to fully perfect their product before its market debut. What began as an ambitious prototype, developed by the founders and a small crew, evolved into a larger project demanding more time and a broader skill set.

With its integration of diverse devices such as lights, cameras, virtual backgrounds, audio, and other set elements, Showrunner's tool required an operating system capable of communicating with an array of different technologies, each with unique protocols and control methods.

This technical challenge, though frustrating and time-consuming, was critical to creating the cohesive, seamless system Showrunner envisioned.

results

The future of virtual production is here

Showrunner's operating system and interface successfully streamlined set management and unlocked new possibilities for filmmakers. The product significantly reduces inefficiencies in film production, enabling crews to work proactively and get home in time for dinner.

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It allowed for improved control and coordination on set, reduced costs, and saved valuable time. This, in turn, boosted Showrunner's position in the market and helped them scale their business. With the robust support of A.Team, Showrunner was able to achieve its goal of revolutionizing the film set - transforming the way filmmaking teams work and enabling