Tulane Athletics Finds Success With Fujifilm/Adobe Camera-to-Cloud Workflow

‘It has been everything I’ve wanted it to be.’ — Tulane’s Caleb Thornton

Last year, Fujifilm and Adobe created the world’s first native camera-to-cloud (C2C) integration, allowing still photographers and video-content creators to seamlessly transmit photos and video from Fujifilm cameras directly into the Frame.io collaborative platform. The new workflow allows content creators to immediately get their images out to fans, marketing partners, and even athletes.

Fujifilm has also created a program designed to get the C2C workflow into the hands of college sports-content creators, and, for Victor Ha, VP, Electronic Imaging and Optical Devices Divisions, Fujifilm, and the rest of the Fujifilm team, it has been a year of learning how to make the C2C environment even better.

“Schools like Tulane, for example, are proving that technology like Frame.io Camera to Cloud has a place in situations where the timing of the deliverables is critical,” he says. “It’s fun to see how they’re using the technology, and they took to it like a fish to water.”

The FT-XH transmitter grip allows photos and videos to be sent directly from the Fujifilm camera to the Adobe Frame.io production environment.

The C2C workflow is currently available for Fujifilm X-H2, X-H2S, and GFX100 II. GFX100 II has the C2C transmission technology built into it; both the X-H2 and the X-H2S require an FT-XH File Transmitter grip. A paid Frame.io account with C2C is also required for all cameras.

“You turn the camera on, connect to a Wi-Fi network, authenticate to a Frame.io project, share the project with the people who need access, and then you’re off to the races,” says Ha. “When the clip is recorded to the memory card, the camera can begin uploading it.”

Director, Creative Video Services, Caleb Thornton joined Tulane last March, and, when he heard that Fujifilm was looking for schools to test out the C2C workflow, he jumped at the chance to move beyond having to take a storage card out of a camera, insert it into a card reader, and wait to transfer the file.

“That [card-to-adapter] transfer workflow was the only process we had available to us,” notes Thornton. “When I saw C2C, I realized it could help us immensely. C2C has touched every sport on the video side, with the exception of football, where we use it for stills. It has been everything I’ve wanted it to be.”

Tulane had two Fujifilm X-H2S cameras, as well as an array of Fujinon lenses (Thornton’s favorite is the XF200mmF2 with 1.4X teleconverter), and he says the learning curve was very easy, especially for those familiar with the Frame.io system and workflow.

“We rely heavily on mobile hotspots that can fit in your pocket,” Thornton explains. “Once you get it connected, it is seamless because the camera remembers the hotspot. After that, you just shoot like normal. We have a function button mapped so that, after you capture an image, you can hit that button and send it. On the other side, we set up galleries and teams, and the user hits the three little dots to download the full-res file or choose what size they want. People who aren’t at the event could pull [media] down and put in graphics and score updates.”

He adds that the system allows the content-creation team to fulfill what he sees as a key mission: to get content to fans as quickly as possible. “Some places might put an over-emphasis on speed rather than quality, but, when we were working with Fujifilm, we didn’t have that issue. We knew that the quality and speed were both going to be there. And, while you always have FTP as an option, this method is definitely easier.”

Tulane’s athletic department has used the Fujifilm/Adobe C2C solution to transmit photos directly from events to content creators working remotely.

The quick turnaround even came in handy with recruiting. When prospects showed up for photos, Thornton could share images from the shoot with them immediately.

“We had about eight people in our athletic department use the cameras,” he says. “I was proud of the buy-in. Everybody likes the shiny new toy, but it has to work and be reliable, which it certainly was here.”

Ha says the Fujifilm team’s commitment with Adobe to the project has been a wonderful technology partnership.

“It’s very clear to us,” he says. “Frame.io Camera to Cloud is a collaborative opportunity with Adobe and our creatives that is at the top of our priority list when we look at new products and new opportunities. Driving workflows to the cloud is exciting for us, and Adobe gives us access to some of the best minds and technology when it comes to cloud services. I don’t think we could have picked a better partner.”