Presented as “quite a game changer for editors that need to work together”, the new Postlab Drive allows you to edit with media directly from the cloud. No need to download files first.

As Work- from-Home mandate became the norm for those who were able to work remotely, many companies discovered that working remotely can be kept in place far beyond the initial shelter-in-place timelines mandated by state and local authorities. Also, because no one is sure how the coronavirus pandemic will evolve, many companies have decided that remote work is going to remain as an option.

In fact, a poll released by Zixi reveals that 80 leading global media company executives showed that the majority do not believe we are experiencing a one-time event.Of those responding, 81% believe that their organizations require a permanent remote workforce capability for future breakouts from the current health crisis, or for potential future like incidents or disasters.

The COVID-19 pandemic lead to a drastic shift towards a remote workforce, as entire companies had to rethink their workflows and daily routines and explore new options to keep teams working. For media and entertainment, one of the industries hardest hit by the pandemic, the effort to support remote infrastructures is especially considerable, and ProVideo Coalition has shared a variety of solutions made available by different companies, from Blackbird to OpenDrives, EditShare and others. Here is another one that you should check: Postlab Drive, from Hedge.

A review in ProVideo Coalition

As Paul Matthijs, Hedge’s CEO told ProVideo Coalition, Postlab Drive is “shared storage in the cloud, allowing you to edit with media directly from the cloud – not having to download all files first. It’s quite a full-featured product. Without sounding to blasé or hyped, this is quite a game changer for editors that need to work together.” Postlab Drive is being tested – battle testing, says Paul Matthijs –  “in productions for six months with various teams” adding that “they’ve been so happy with Drive that they see it as a competitive advantage.”

Postlab, for those who may not know the name, was acquired by Hedge in April 2019, and in December 2019 it was re-released with three flavors: Postlab, Postlab Pro and Postlab Server. Those 3 flavors are old plan names, and Hedge has recently launched Postlab Local for Jellyfish, Mac, and NASs like Synology and QNAP. To put it simply, Postlab is a cloud service.

The tool is a Mac app that lets you collaborate, now, on Final Cut Pro X libraries and also on Premiere Pro. Postlab enables users to share libraries, track and save changes, and make sure no more than one person is working on the same library simultaneously. In Postlab, libraries are part of a production. Productions can contain multiple libraries, but also related documents like stills, scripts, and graphics. Productions are shared with others, and they can be shared with as many people as needed.

We’ve written before about Postlab. If you’re curious to read the whole story just follow the link to the article “Hedge launches Postlab with 3 flavors: Postlab, Postlab Pro and Postlab Server”. You can also read a whole review of Postlab, by Scott Simmons, which can be summed in a few words: If you want to take your editing and post-production collaboration to the next level consider Postlab.

The best of both worlds

In his review, published July 2020, Scott Simmons says that Postlab Drive is coming, and comments this: “One thing I like about Postlab is the developers are constantly updating the app’s feature-set and making it better.” In fact, mny of the screenshots published with the review are from a beta version of Postlab that included the upcoming feature Postlab Drive. As Simmons noted then, “Drive is online, cloud-based storage that will be included in the Postlab Pro and Team plans. This storage will mount on your desktop just like a local drive and you’ll be able to move files in and out as well as stream media right from Postlab Drive into your NLE.”

Postlab Drive is finally here and you can read all about it – sounds like the lyrics from a song in The Who’s  rock opera Tommy – in a funny blogpost written by Paul Matthijs. It’s  “a journey into shared storage, in the cloud.”, it’s “partly cloudy…” “with chance of rain”. And keeping in tune with the times, it even has “clear skies”, “altocumulus” and colliding air masses. Above all, it takes you through all the steps that led to the creation of Postlab Drive and why it is important.

As Paul Matthijs  writes, ending the blogpost, “That was a six-month process, in a nutshell. Drive is available as of today, for all Postlab users, and also for non-Postlab users. Even if Postlab’s collaboration tools are not what you need, Drive will still be of help in many ways – sharing data between people is just one. And in case you do end up needing Postlab, it’s already included with Drive – everyone that just needs Drive, also gets access to Postlab Solo. The best of both worlds.”