A surprising bit of news came across the internet today as Adobe announced it has “entered into an agreement to acquire Frame.io”.
I say it’s surprising in that one of Frame.io’s biggest assets has always been that it’s very platform agnostic in providing support for all the major NLEs. They have deep integration into DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro X and (of course) Adobe Premiere Pro. Beyond the review and approval products that Frame.io started with they have pushed beyond that to offer much more collaboration among filmmakers and media production entities. That seemed to culminate with the camera-to-cloud product that went live this year. They’ve also been on a hiring spree as of late as several friends and colleagues have gone to work for Frame.io.
I wish them all a hearty congratulations!
It seems like only yesterday I wrote the article Review and Approval Options for Video Pros around the time that Frame.io was born but that was way back in 2014. That’s a lot of work between then and now and the $1.275 billion transaction is huge and amazing for the owners who were just folks working in post-production and saw a need for a better product.
You can read over the Adobe announcement or skim the press release, pasted below.
Also read over the Frame.io article on this announcement as it might be more important for editors and post-production pros. Frame.io CEO Emery Wells says this about those non-Adobe products that while we can expect deeper integration with Adobe Premiere Pro “we will also continue our commitment to invest in other partner integrations including Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and AVID Media Composer.” That’s good to hear. Hopefully the Adobe corporate overloads won’t scuttle that plan as I know a lot of non-Adobe folks who use Frame.io.
SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Frame.io, a leading cloud-based video collaboration platform. With over a million users across media and entertainment companies, agencies, and global brands, Frame.io streamlines the video production process by enabling video editors and key project stakeholders to seamlessly collaborate using cloud-first workflows. The combination of Adobe’s industry-leading creative software, including Premiere Pro and After Effects video editing products, and Frame.io’s review and approval functionality, will deliver a collaboration platform that powers the video editing process.
Whether it’s the latest binge-worthy streaming series, a social media video that sparks a movement, or a corporate video that connects thousands of remote workers, video creation and consumption is experiencing tremendous growth. Video teams must produce an ever-increasing volume of content, and each video project requires various stakeholders, including video editors, producers, agencies, and clients. Today’s video workflows are disjointed with multiple tools and communication channels being used to solicit stakeholder feedback. Frame.io eliminates the inefficiencies of video workflows by enabling real-time footage upload, access, and in-line stakeholder collaboration in a secure and elegant experience across surfaces.
- Collaboration is the next wave of creativity: Digital collaboration is now the foundation of all creative endeavors. Adobe’s acquisition of Frame.io brings Adobe Creative Cloud’s collaboration services to video and builds on recent innovations for creative collaboration including Adobe Creative Cloud Libraries, Cloud Documents, Design Systems in Adobe XD, Adobe Stock, and Adobe Fonts, all of which together with Frame.io, will make it easy for teams to collaborate across Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and other Adobe Creative Cloud applications.
- Video workflows must empower all stakeholders: With the combination of Frame.io and Adobe, Creative Cloud customers, from video editors, to producers, to marketers, will benefit from seamless collaboration on video projects with Frame.io workflow functionality built natively in Adobe Creative Cloud applications like Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Photoshop.
- Innovation benefits the video ecosystem: Frame.io customers and partners will benefit from the company’s robust plug-ins and third-party application support along with the innovation generated by the combined Adobe Creative Cloud and Frame.io teams. With the addition of Frame.io, Adobe Creative Cloud’s commitment to enabling collaboration across all stakeholders of creativity extends beyond Adobe’s applications to the growing number of third-party applications across the creative ecosystem.
“We’ve entered a new era of connected creativity that is deeply collaborative, and we imagine a world where everyone can participate in the creative process,” said Scott Belsky, Chief Product Officer and Executive Vice President, Creative Cloud. “With this acquisition, we’re welcoming an incredible customer-oriented team and adding Frame.io’s cloud-native workflow capabilities to make the creative process more collaborative, productive, and efficient to further unleash creativity for all.”
“Frame.io and Adobe share a vision for the future of video creation and collaboration that brings together Adobe’s strength in video creation and production and Frame.io’s cloud-native platform,” said Emery Wells, Frame.io co-founder and CEO. “We’re excited to join Adobe to continue to drive video innovation for the world’s leading media and entertainment companies, agencies, and brands.”
Upon close, Frame.io co-founder and CEO Emery Wells and co-founder John Traver will join Adobe. Wells will continue to lead the Frame.io team, reporting to Scott Belsky. The transaction, valued at $1.275 billion, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, is expected to close during the fourth quarter of Adobe’s 2021 fiscal year and is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Until the transaction closes, each company will continue to operate independently.