The Cinematography Podcast Episode 258: Michael Cioni

Michael Cioni is one of the film industry's most influential people in digital cinema and post production technology. He is uniquely gifted at identifying and following fads that turn into trends, and trends that convert into industry standards. Michael was always drawn to the challenge of helping filmmakers figure out their best workflows. “I really wanted to embody knowledge to help workflows, so that I could inform customers, partners and filmmakers. And then together we would figure out what's the best recipe for this particular film.”

Michael began his career at post house Plaster City, then co-founded the post house Light Iron, which was acquired by Panavision. He then worked for Frame.io where he found several workflow shortcuts, including Camera to Cloud. Shortly after Adobe acquired Frame.io, Michael started paying closer attention to a new trend: AI. Last year he decided to leave Frame.io and together with his brother Peter, they founded Strada. With Strada, Michael wants to enable creative professionals the freedom to work entirely from the cloud, using helpful AI tools. “The most lucrative, and I think the most useful forms of AI is in utilitarian tasks. The first major part of filmmaking workflow that Strada wants to use AI to eliminate is the mundane aspects of creating a story. If creative people can get rid of the boring, mundane, repeatable, low-skill stuff, then it means we have more time to do the satisfying, creative, fun stuff.”

Strada can transfer assets from cloud to cloud without having to download them and then reupload them. Using AI, Strada can provide a transcription and a translation of narrative content early and up front. It can also tag and analyze images so that it's easy to search using just one word for a specific scene, saving hours in the editing process. Plus, all the work can be done remotely, from any location, because everything is stored in the cloud.

Strada is currently still in private beta but anyone can apply to try it. If you have a project you're working on, go to Strada's website to contact them about trying out the beta version. The company plans to start rolling out the public beta by fall 2024.

The entire Strada team will be at NAB Las Vegas next week April 13-17 at the Atlas Lens Co. booth in Central Hall C5539 to provide live demos of the AI-powered workflow technology platform and allow filmmakers to test out Strada's capabilities firsthand.

Find Michael Cioni: Instagram: @michaelcioni

Close Focus: The NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) trade show, happening April 13-17 in Las Vegas.

If you're going to be at NAB next week, come to the Fireside Lounge for a Hot Rod Cameras/Cinepod Meetup!

Sunday, April 14 from 4:30 - 7:30 PM at the Fireside Lounge inside the Peppermill.

You must RSVP to get complementary drinks or appetizers provided by our lovely sponsors Revar Cine, Cartoni USA and Module8.

Click the link to register and we'll see you this Sunday!

Be sure to arrive early before the sponsored bar tab runs out.

Strada CEO Michael Cioni: Using AI to simplify workflows

The Cinematography Podcast