The advantages of remote client review--using the internet to allow your far-flung clients to review and critique your work-in-progress-are many. No need to mesh schedules for in-person meetings, no need to spend time and money traveling, no need to even change out of your pajamas. However, up to now, remote client review tools have been hampered by immature web technology and unwieldy pricing and licensing schemes. syncVUE (www.syncVUE.com), while still a version 1.0 application, gets beyond those issues and delivers the advantages of remote review in a very well-thought-out package.

Click To Enlarge The syncVUE interface is nicely laid out and easy to navigate.

Making connections

Leveraging existing technology, syncVUE communicates via Skype, a free VOIP conferencing tool, which includes services such as Instant Messaging and Peer-to-Peer file transfer. You and your clients will need to create Skype accounts in order to participate in a syncVUE session, but it's a very simple process, which is outlined in the syncVUE Getting Started Guide.

syncVUE uses Skype as a portal, so it needs to run in the background and your status needs to be "Online". In case you forget to launch Skype, syncVUE will remind you, and even launch it for you.

Click To Enlarge syncVUE depends on Skype's VOIP conferencing in order to connect participants, and will even launch it for you.

syncVUE uses the contact list in Skype for its own connections, which means you don't have to create a separate syncVUE contact list. During your syncVUE session, Skype can still be used to send and receive files, send instant messages, and make phone calls.

Media Matters

Skype is the means to get connected, but in order for a syncVUE session to work, the mediafiles you want to review need to be sent to your clients and copied to their local hard drive(s). While video is my main focus in the discussion below, a syncVUE session can also use sound-only WAV, AIF, and MP3 files, as well as still image files.

The first step, after finishing your creative work in your NLE or similar app (Final Cut Pro, Avid, After Effects, ProTools all come to mind), is to create a Quicktime movie and distribute it via whatever method works for you--FTP, Skype, email, etc. The size of the movie file is determined by the playback capabilities of your clients' computer setup. syncVUE itself is codec-agnostic, as it is only sending out tiny packets of data over the internet--not the media itself. If you've been successfully sending your clients work-in-progress via FTP or email already, you can use that file size and codec as a safe bet. syncVUE specifies the minimum requirement as the ability to play a 320x240 Quicktime movie encoded with the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec.

Whatever the file size, the syncVUE interface is very responsive. I tested some 720p HD files in the H.264 Quicktime codec, and experienced zero lag. One of my other tests for this review was with a director who had an older Mac, which was a tad too slow for H.264 HD files. We reverted to MPEG-4 files and the experience was smooth again. Navigation in syncVUE is easy, too. Familiar JKL keys, a' la FCP and Avid, can be used to jog and shuttle through the material.

Getting synced

Once your clients all have the Quicktime files, they need to launch and license syncVUE (more details on licensing later), and create an Asset folder to store the movies being reviewed. Also, all the participants need to be included in each others' Skype Contact List. Skype Contacts invited to the syncVUE session show up in a sidepane, along with locators and notes.

For me, traditional technology comes in handy here -- I call the client on the phone, tell them I'm ready, and say "Please launch your Skype and syncVUE". I can then initiate the session by inviting the client, producer and as many people as desired from within syncVUE.

Click To Enlarge The participants in a syncVUE sesson need to be on the Skype contact list. They can then be invited to join in.

With all the participants logged in and the Asset loaded, the experience is a Virtual Review. It feels like you're all in the room together, playing, watching, and discussing the work-in-progress, and syncVUE's snappy playback is a real asset here. Typically, everyone is also connected by a simultaneous phone conference call, either traditionally, or via Skype.

Control and keeping track

As its name indicates, syncVUE keeps the media in sync for all to see, and offers a number of ways to manage who controls playback during a session. The editor might control the playhead initially, though others can be given control as desired.

Click To Enlarge Any participant can get control of the movie's playback in syncVUE. "Free-for-all" mode works best in polite company.

There is also a Free-For-All mode, and despite my expectations, in a civil crowd, this works quite well. I feared it would be akin to a client/producer reaching over my shoulder to grab the mouse (and it could go that way), but actually Free-For-All is quite natural when participants verbalize their intentions. A simple "May I take control?" does the trick.

Locators are among the more well-thought-out features in syncVUE. Each person can add or subtract locators, which are visible to participants, and contain timecode, author info, and notes.

Click To Enlarge Timecode-based locators can be added on-the-fly by any participant. All the metadata can then be exported as XML and imported directly into an FCP project and linked to a timeline.

The coolest feature in my book is FCP Export which saves notes and locator information in XML format for import to FCP. All the notes are automatically linked to the project, and the author info remains intact, which should minimize confusion when implementing changes. syncVUE session participants can also go "out of sync" with the rest of the group to make notes and work privately, playing the video as needed without interrupting the session, then "resync" to join the group again. The notes made while out of sync still show up for the group to see. One gotcha with the notes - be sure to hit Return when finished typing or the note will not stick.

Licenses

syncVUE employs a streamlined floating-license scheme. The app itself is free--and syncVUE is adding a "client" link to their website to make for easy downloading. Licenses are tied to Skype log-in names and that's the part that makes it all work. It takes two licenses to tango, so the minimum investment in order to invite another participant to a session is $179 x 2=$358. While in some cases it makes sense for each person to purchase their own license, it's not necessary, because, through the License Manager menu, you can extend a license to anyone for the duration needed.

For instance, if I buy a 4-license copy of syncVUE (for $716 list, a 5% discount off the single-license price) I can license my producer, the client and graphic artist, and even juggle a few licenses between many clients as needed: before a session I'll activate one license and deactivate another by changing the Skype name, selecting an expiration date, and presto-change-o, they're licensed, and can participate.

Click To Enlarge The License Manager allows the floating licenses to be assigned to syncVUE session particpants as needed.

Conclusion

Having dealt with the hassles of remote review sessions, I've wanted a tool like this for years. Michael Buday, the founder of Intelligent Gadgets, is an editor, and it's clear that he designed syncVUE with the needs of editors like me in mind.

Several features come to mind to make the next version even better, such as improved control of locators, having all notes visible at once, an assets browser so you can see all the clips for review, built-in peer-to-peer file sharing instead of having to send files through other means, video streaming so that you can start a session as soon as the file starts transferring, and Windows support. According to my reports, these features are in development.

But while waiting for these improvements, syncVUE is something I can use right now. It will change the way I work and review projects with clients. For all I know, they'll start doing syncVUE reviews with me while wearing their pajamas. syncVUE may be a "little app" but as a new tool that can be useful on every job, it actually represents a significant development in post production.