A new Online Video Platform (OVP) launched yesterday, right on schedule according to Allan Tone, CEO of ProVDN.com who told me back in November that he’d be launching just after the new year. Typically I would not write about the launch of a new OVP considering the fact that, as I’ve mentioned so many times before, the sector is very crowded. But ProVDN speaks to a niche audience with a highly specialized approach, another subject matter I’ve discussed at length, specialization in our space.
ProVDN is an “Online Video Platform designed specifically for Independent Content Producers, Wedding/Event Videographers, and small to medium sized Video Production Companies”, to put it in his words. Now that’s a targeted market segment. They don’t have an over the top, robust service with all the bells and whistles like Brightcove, or Ooyala with deep analytics and monetization tools but rather a simple set of clearly defined tools to help the videographer and producer get the job done in an effective and efficient manner. ProVDN does utilize variable bitrate technology to enhance smooth streaming, and they offer affordable pricing allowing content producers a low barrier to entry for their services.
Allan and I met at OVPSummit in November where he told me about a problem in our industry involving video producers. We spoke for almost an hour about how videographers must engage in a cumbersome process with their clientele at the highly critical point of approval. Historically the producer would take the edited version of the video, burn it to DVD, ship it to the customer, then wait for them to watch it and verbally report back to them what changes they wanted made. I can hear the phone call now, “Um, at one minute twenty seconds the cat goes to the bathroom on the floor in the background, cut that scene…”. Tedious. Allan explained that online production services like TurnHere have made great strides in this area with easy to use online tools but Allan wanted to take it a step further and develop a drop-dead simple online tool that anyone could use.
I took the interactive review tool for a stroll today and found it to be quite clean with a clean UI, and simple point-and-click navigation that needed little to no explanation. The customer is presented with a link taking them to a video to watch with several frames underneath and a progress bar below showing all the areas where notes have been added. You can jump forward and back 1 or 5 seconds or drag the progress button anywhere within the video. In the top left corner are the notation tools where the user can select Comments, Arrows, Rectangles, or draw Freehand the messages they want to leave per frame. Just click on a tool, then the video, and enter your text instruction. It’s that easy.
ProVDN found a pain point in the industry and addressed a need by developing a service that simplifies a process, making life easier for online video content producers. At a time when video production is in high demand and quality video content is difficult to come by (perceived), it’s nice to see a highly specialized service addressing this important need.
