inFocus
AI technology to help photographers and film-makers choose the very best shots to send to edition for final production.
Problem Statement
How do we automate photo and video editing for professionals to create a more streamlined and easier to manage workflow?
Problem Background
Everyday, professional photographers and film-makers are spending a significant amount of hours using editing software to refine their art. A production of even the most basic photoshoot will require a minimum of 1 hour in edition before the finalised product can be turned in to a client.
The phase of edition after a photoshoot and/or film production is a process in itself, involving manual efforts to go through and choose the best images to send into edition. Although editing images can be a personal preference, much of the time spent going through and choosing the best “in-focus” shots is mundane work in a creator's workflow. Many times it ends up turning into more of an elongated process, especially if they have to go backtrack and make a specific change based on a client request.
Many creators have normalised spending hours on end during this process and advise clients ahead of time so that they can set expectations around their timeline for turnaround. Time for turnaround will be highly dependent on the photographer's workload and individual processes.
Current technologies being utilised in the edition phase for professional creators can range, but on a surface level tend to include:
- Apple Suite + Airdrop (for immediate sharing of mobile versions)
- Adobe Suite
- CaptureOne
- Pixieset
For professional photographers/film-makers using even the most popular technologies there is typically a significant amount of time spent landing on the right workflows. The bare-bones of editing is going through the best shots to send into edition to produce a final product.
A typical day will involve several shoots beforehand. Both user groups had similar workflows in their editing process with fairly slight changes depending on their artistic style and ICP. Independent photographers could only hold a limited number of sessions throughout the day, compared to their counterparts of group 2, since they were able to accomplish more tasks in less time as a “team”.
The teams of professionals tend to work on specific phases of the entire workflow process, usually leaving the mundane tasks to be delegated to another member of their team. Easily an additional cost, but as a business unit must decide how their time is best spent based on the goals of their business.
User Pain Points
3 user interviews were conducted
To address the problem, efficient user interviews were conducted to better understand a creator's use of time in the workflows of a typical project. The interviewees were split into two user groups. The individual creator and the teams of 2+ creatives (addressed as “teams”). In the user interviews conducted we were able to find out the pain points creators experienced utilising software technology in the edition (end) phase of their work-flows.
Common Issues as an Individual Creator:
- “Doing it all”
- Paying for software technology that doesn’t automate certain tasks
- Longer turn-around time for clients
Common Issues as a team (2 or more people) of Creators:
- Learning curve of utilising various softwares
- No highly specialised editing options to choose their best images
- Countless hours in front of a computer screen editing
Feedback
Gathering information from users, we were able to agree on the one constant issue of time usage. All in all the process of a creator is much better utilised creating. It takes too much time to go through tedious manual work when technology can automate and choose the best shots to go through. Having the necessary tools to automate those tedious tasks will give creators more free time to dedicate for additional clients and/or projects of their choosing.
Landing on the Solution
The solution to give back time to creators was a common pattern within both user groups. Their pain-points all consisted of wanting to “have more time in the day” to take on more clients or focus on the projects they were most passionate about.
This is what the solution plans to address and resolve altogether.
Most creators are already utilising the most popular editing softwares on the market. A plug-in that integrates into their workflows seamlessly would be able to save them time by automating a manual process that can be sorted by using ai technology at the most advanced version.
Explanation of the Solution
inFocus will be able to integrate into the most popular editing softwares like Lightroom, Photoshop, and CaptureOne to save creators hours on end in the editing process.
Users will be able to download and purchase the plug-in just like any other app on the market. Many users who are already accustomed to adding presets to their editing softwares to optimize workflows anyways. Downloading the plug-in for the first time should be the most difficult part of implementing the inFocus tool. After implementation, AI technology will be able to identify the best (“in-focus”) images and clips for users.
All types of creators will be able to utilize inFocus (even though it was created with the professional in mind) it will still have the same capabilities for any user to take advantage of utilzing in their creative pursuits.
Future Steps
I do not plan to continue with this project to build and launch just yet. This idea can solve a lot of problems for anyone who spends hours in front of a computer editing software. Speaking to users and conducting interviews addressed the surface level pain points, but uncovered that there could be time better spent in improving their business altogether.
The editing software solves certain aspects of a creators workflow, but could still be improved with adding features that would eliminate some of the manual work that needs to be done.
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Abigail Cobian
As a founder there are many ideas that come to mind. It’s much too difficult to address every issue that comes to mind in our usual day-to-day life.
Holding back from trying to jump into finding a solution is not as intuitive when you are going about your day-to-day avoiding obstacles that might hinder performance. As a product manager you are taking a different approach to finding solutions by getting to the root of the problem.
The importance of breaking down the problems and finding commonalities between user stories (in addition to asking the right questions) you can then begin to understand the urgency and prioritise problems as they come.
Then being able to communicate your vision to the rest of the team. Addressing similar problems that are creating obstacles for the user with supporting evidence, then begins to map the priority of problems to start working towards a solution.
Designer Learnings:
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
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As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
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As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
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Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
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- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
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All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
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I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.