Dataclay
Facilitating Efficient and Cost-Effective Video Content Creation

Video is one of the most effective communication mediums today owing to the impact it creates among audiences. Hence, video producers must generate content that’s personalized for the target market. However, considering the amount of data video content production professionals deal with, it is significant for them to leverage advanced software solutions to produce impactful content.

Dataclay, a video pre- and post-production solution provider, offers a plugin—Templater—built a top Adobe’s After Effects application. Dataclay’s solution aids content producers to efficiently manage their data and produce awe-inspiring videos.

In an interview with CIO Applications, Arie Stavchansky, the founder and CEO of Dataclay, talks about the inception of the company, its solutions, and their benefits for content creators.

What led to the conception of Dataclay?

Dataclay was founded in 2014 with the mission to empower video producers with a highly efficient and automated operational workflow to create high-quality content in less time. At that time, data was becoming significant for video producers, and we wanted to reduce the burden of that data on them. Thus, we came up with solutions to help film-makers and online content creators to develop larger volumes of superior quality content cost-effectively.

As more channels, such as online portals and mobile applications, are made available for content creators, we continue to innovate and broaden our strategy to include these new modes of video communication.

We believe that customized video can forge strong connections between a creator and the audience. Hence, our team creates a balance that facilitates the delivery of creative content from producers to viewers. We facilitate visual experiences that captivate the minds of the audience through the development and delivery of personalized content.

Could you elaborate on some of the trends that affect video production, and how you leverage these trends to evolve?

We are in the business of auto-customizing video production and distribution workflows. While we cannot explain all scenarios with certainty, an area that has witnessed growth over the past few years is the connection between customized video advertising and corporate communication.

Our solutions allow the merging of data with video communications while maintaining classic video distribution methods. We prefer video over other mediums as it is platform-agnostic. Once a video is created, it can be distributed to different types of devices. Businesses are utilizing our software to streamline and simplify post-production processes by bringing automation into the fold and allowing access to in-house customized projects such as text localization in a video.

Even as automation continues to grow across the video production sector, we understand the importance of creative talent and artists in the production process. We empower these professionals to take on larger projects and deliver them in faster timeframes. We train artists to help them deal with data-driven content specifically for video and time-based content. Our solution also allows customers to secure their data within their networks during automated video generation.

Please shed some light on Dataclay’s solutions for Adobe After Effects, and what difference it creates for video-production houses?

A significant factor that led to Dataclay’s decision to build a plugin for Adobe’s After Effects is the market share of Adobe within the motion graphics design and production space. With over 90 percent of the content creation space utilizing its products, Adobe is indeed the leader for this type of material.

Adobe’s market penetration allows us to work with clients and users that have years of experience with workflows that Adobe has developed over the last 25 years. We provide guidance through the whole implementation process of our product. Some of our clients have strong resources for either technical or creative development but not both. Thus, our solution sits between these two disciplines and helps clients fill that gap. This way, we ensure optimization in their workflow.

Could you describe a case where Dataclay successfully enabled a client to overcome hurdles and attain desired outcomes?

In America, football is like a religion, and televised National Football League (NFL) matches garner a lot of attention across the country. As a Dataclay client, NFL Media had visual media input readily available. Dataclay was able to integrate its solution directly into an existing systems workflow and improve efficiency in content creation and distribution. We developed a Slack chatbot interface to our server software allowing marketing personnel to create branded and internally-compliant content via a conversational interface.

We have also been working with Netflix. With nearly 150 million users worldwide utilizing their streaming service, Netflix was seeking a solution for their massive online video production and distribution portal to localize various texts embedded into video. With Dataclay’s solution, Netflix was able to streamline the post-production process by facilitating production content that was regionally-relevant across multiple locations.

Besides production houses, we work with several web-based video application developers that use our products and services to assist their end-users in creating rich motion graphics content easily.

Could you highlight some of Dataclay’s unique capabilities, the company’s future, and its strong partnership with Adobe?

One value proposition that sets us apart is that we go to our clients’ locations and work within their realm rather than having them come to us. By doing so, Dataclay’s customers never lose control of sensitive data, the actual video asset. We build tools that can fit every production environment, from major studios to marketing agencies. If you are a lone motion graphics template artist, Dataclay can serve as a technical production partner. In terms of leading a development team, we work as a perfect conduit between creative and technical teams.

A significant development for us is the announcement of our latest venture—Dataclay Studios—which we intend to release in 2020. This SaaS-based solution will deliver full-service studio capabilities to every user from professional video producers to commercial content creators or individuals. It will enable professionals to interface with the video solution directly within Templater inside Adobe After Effects, providing a cost-effective remote rendering solution. It will also provide a simple app interface for other users, allowing them to choose a video template, enter text, upload pictures, and finally decide how to share the final output. In terms of geographical expansion, we look forward to expanding in India as well as in other robust media markets.