In Postlab, all work lives inside of a Production.

A Production contains your project files, known as Documents. Productions are cached on your local computer. Only changes within a Production are observed and synced with the Postlab Cloud service.

Create a Production

1. In Postlab, go to POSTLAB CLOUD → Teams → <Your Team> → <The Big Plus Sign Button> → [Production].

2. Then define:

   1. PRODUCTION NAME

   2. LOCATION - the Folder or Subfolder where this Production will live.

   3. DESCRIPTION - add any additional details about your Production.

   4. [Open production after creating] ☑️ - opens the Production once you click [Create].

3. Click [Create].

4. Done!

Inside a Production

• PRODUCTION

  • Activity

  • Tasks

  • Drive

    • Bookmarks

• DOCUMENTS

  • Final Cut Pro X Libraries

  • Premiere Pro Projects

Activity

All Document operations are logged under Activity. Logged activities include:

• Started working on...

• ...canceled upload

• Documents - additions and deletions

• Tasks - additions and completions

• Bookmarks - additions and deletions

The last nine activities are displayed, with your last logged activity being the first one displayed. [Show all Activity] shows you all logged activities in a Production from the moment of creation. You can also click the search bar to filter activities by Document names, operations, or Team Members.

Tasks

Tasks help your Team stay focused using To-Do lists combined with a lightweight chat experience.

1. [New Task]

   1. TASK TITLE - name it.

   2. ASSIGNED TO - assign it to a Team Member.

   3. DUE DATE - give your task an end date.

   4. DESCRIPTION - describe it.

2. [Add Comment] - discuss, clarify, give progress updates... it’s your Task!

3. Done? Click [Complete Task].

Drive

Launch and access Postlab Drive directly from your Production. For security reasons, Drive is only available to Team Members, not External Members (Productions or Folders).

Bookmarks

Bookmarks are aliases, or shortcuts, to folders on Postlab Drive.

1. In a Production, click [Drive] to connect your Team’s Drive. Your Team’s Drive will appear in a new Finder window.

2. In Finder, locate or create a folder to add to this Production’s Bookmarks.

3. Drag and drop the folder from Finder to Postlab.

4. Done!

Bookmarks don’t sound like much. But with Drive Thru, Bookmarks let you wield the power of Postlab Drive. Create links that allow clients, producers, and broadcaster to transfer files directly to and from your Team’s Drive. We call it Drop Off and Pick Up.

Bookmarks are available to all Team Members, but not External Members (Productions or Folders).

Documents

In Postlab, Documents are your video editing app’s project files added or imported into a Production. Once inside a Production, Documents are synced with the Postlab Cloud service for activity tracking, versioning, and collaboration possibilities.

Currently Supported Video Editing Apps

• Final Cut Pro X - https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/​

• Premiere Pro - https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html​

Getting Started

Documents are stored inside a Production, a bundle of files downloaded and cached on your local computer. Are Documents already available inside your Production? First time accessing these Documents on your computer? Click [Download] to get started. Otherwise, add or import Documents into your Production.

Add a New Document

In a Production, click <The Big Plus Sign Button> → DOCUMENTS → <Your Video Editing App> → New...

• Final Cut Pro X Library

  • LIBRARY NAME - name it.

  • DESCRIPTION - describe it.

  • MEDIA LOCATION - set how storage locations will be defined when a Team Member opens this Library.

  • TEMPLATE LIBRARY - create a new Library based on a Template.

    • Preferences → Templates

• Premiere Pro Project

  • LIBRARY NAME

  • DESCRIPTION

  • TEMPLATE PROJECT

    • Preferences → Templates

Import a Document

In a Production, click <The Big Plus Sign Button> → DOCUMENTS → <Your Video Editing App> → New...

Inside a Document

• (Document Name) - the name of the Document.

• Description - this Document’s description.

• Status

  • Application Status - give your Team an at-a-glance view of this Document’s progress.

  • Approval - use Postlab with your clients or producers for some Review & Approval.

• Media Status - Postlab can tell you when media is online, offline, or partially missing.

  • Click the Media Status indicator for a report on all available media, or direction on relinking media if everything’s offline.

• Documents

  • THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT ON YOUR COMPUTER

    • [Download]

  • When editing a Document for the first time:

    • JUST HAVE A LOOK - [Open Copy]

      • The last version of this Document synced to Postlab Cloud is downloaded to your local computer then opened in your video editing app.

      • Take a look at this Document, then close it when you’re done.

      • Documents opened this way are not synced with Postlab Cloud.

    • LET’S GET TO WORK - [Start Editing]

      • This Document is downloaded from Postlab Cloud, locked for use by others on your Team, then opened in your video editing app.

  • While the Document is Open in your Video Editing App:

    • If Postlab doesn’t detect any changes in your Document:

      • DID YOU CHANGE ANYTHING?

        • [Check for Changes] - manually nudge Postlab to compare this open Document with the Document on Postlab Cloud.

    • Once you’ve started editing:

      • STEP 1: START WORKING

        • [Open Library] - Postlab takes you back to your edit session in your video editing app.

      • STEP 2 : UPLOAD YOUR WORK

        • What have you changed? - add meaningful comments. Add to your bread crumb trail. Be a good team player.

        • [Upload] - upload this Document to Postlab Cloud, which unlocks it for use by someone else.

    • If a Document’s locked:

      • [FORCE UNLOCK]

        • Transfers control from the Team Member who was working on the Document to you.

        • Opens the latest version of the Document last synced to Postlab Cloud.

        • Any work-in-progress on the formerly locked Document should be considered orphaned and lost.

  • Activity

    • Open copy of this version

      • A copy of this version of the Document is downloaded from Postlab Cloud to your local computer, then opened in your video editing app.

      • Useful for seeing a Document at a particular moment in time, perhaps for troubleshooting.

      • Documents opened this way are not synced with Postlab Cloud.

    • Export this version

      • Export a copy of this version your Document outside of Postlab to your local computer.

      • Useful for seeing a Document at a particular moment in time, perhaps for troubleshooting.

• ⚙️ (Options)

  • [Reload] - nudge Postlab to resync your Document with current date from Postlab Cloud.

  • [Edit Description] - is that space under your Document name still blank? Add a Description! It’s a full-featured, rich text editor. Bold. Italics. Underline. Do it.

  • [Export] - export a copy of your Document outside of Postlab to your local computer.

  • [Duplicate] - duplicate a Document inside your Production.

  • [Remove Local Copy] - removes the currently cached local copy of this Document, prompting you to download a fresh copy from Postlab Cloud.

  • [Housekeeping] - compares Document changes between the locally cached version with the version on Postlab Cloud, then removes any unnecessary references for faster syncing with Postlab Cloud..

  • [Delete] - delete this Document inside your Production.

FAQ

How do I make my project files available to my Team?

Add or import project files as Documents inside a Production. If you’re using Postlab Drive, you might be tempted to upload these directly to Drive. You can... but you’ll miss out on the real magic of Postlab with activity tracking, versioning, and collaboration.

Where do my Productions actually live?

Productions are bundles of files that contain your Documents and related activity (Preferences → General → DEFAULT PRODUCTION LOCATION). Productions downloaded and cached locally on your computer, with changes synced with the Postlab Cloud service.

What is Housekeeping?

Postlab saves each version of a Document. But it doesn't save an entire version each time. It only saves the parts that have changed. When you go back to a previous version in Postlab, the Document is reconstructed based on what parts changed, and when. For that, a lot of reference points are saved. Over time, many of them become moot. Housekeeping will check each of those references, then decide which one’s are needed. If it’s not needed, it's removed. This makes Productions open faster and feel more responsive.

Housekeeping is done automatically on the server. So downloading a Production for the first time always feels neat and tidy. But like real life, housekeeping can be time-consuming. The more versions you have of a Document, the more references to compare, the longer housekeeping takes. Housekeeping’s best run after finishing a job, or if a Production starts to feel a bit sluggish.

If your Production still feels sluggish:

1. In Finder, delete the Production bundle from Postlab’s Default Production Folder (Preferences → General → DEFAULT PRODUCTION LOCATION).

2. In Postlab, redownload the Production when prompted.

How do I delete a Document?

1. Select a Document.

2. Click ⚙️ (Options), then [Delete].

3. Read - ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DELETE THIS…?

4. If you still want to delete this Document, follow the instructions, then click [Delete...].

How do I delete a Production?

1. In Postlab, go to POSTLAB CLOUD → <Your Team>, then click the Production to delete.

2. In the Info & Options panel, go to ABOUT → [⚙️ Options] → [Delete Production].

3. Read - ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DELETE THIS…?

4. If you still want to delete this Production, follow the instructions, then click [Delete Production].

Still have questions?

Email us! postlab@hedge.video​

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