Scenios unveils an affordable way for video teams to collaborate

Anumber of companies have used cloud computing to substantially reduce the cost of some application or service. Joining their ranks is a startup called Scenios, which helps teams share and collaborate on videos.

New York City-based Scenios doesn’t offer video editing tools, but rather “digital asset management,” which is basically the storage and management of media like videos, audio recordings, and digital photographs. There’s a range of such asset-management services out there already, such as BT Mosaic and Synergistic. But president and cofounder Mark Davis said even the “low-end” services end up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, making it unaffordable to smaller businesses and production companies, especially if they only need the tools for a specific project.

To make things cheaper and more accessible, Scenios uses the Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) to store and share the footage. Davis said he’s not attached to Amazon in particular — he’s hoping to add other online storage services, but Amazon seemed like an obvious place to start.

As an example of how this opens up new opportunities for video collaboration, Davis offered the example of a startup making promotional videos for their product. The team might just spend one day filming, but then people can upload the footage onto Scenios and work together even if they’re not in the same office. Tools include a “shot log” where you can annotate a specific moment in the footage with your comments, the ability for teams to design their own workflow with tasks and due dates, and a feature to share your completed project directly on video sites like Vimeo.

There’s even a free version, though it’s mainly just for checking out the service before signing up for a paid version. Those paid plans start at $79 a month, with unlimited storage and file uploads of up to five gigabytes.

The company is has been seeded funded by its founders, who both have experience in the field — Davis worked on BT Mosaic, while chief evangelist Jeff Wurtz founded Synergistic and was also a producer and director at the TV show Inside the Actor’s Studio, which is Scenios’ first announced customer.

Scenios is now raising its first institutional round of funding.

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