Sony has been busy, lately, with its Creators’ Cloud platform. Now the company announced the next generation of its platform, opening a host of new cloud-based applications and features designed for individual content creators and small content teams. This expansion comes after the initial introduction of Creators’ Cloud in September 2022, intended for professional and enterprise users.
Sony started by the end of February to offer its Creators’ Cloud, as a service for individuals, after the platform was well received by professionals in the media industry. Now the company announces that the Creators’ App has been released. The application allows anytime, anywhere smartphone access to the Creators’ Cloud, a platform that provides powerful support for creators from shooting to production with Sony’s camera technology and cloud AI. By connecting this application to your camera, you can easily operate convenient functions such as photo and video transfer from your smartphone.
The Creators’ Cloud platform includes cloud storage, Ci Media Cloud for collaborative media workflows, and Discover, a platform to discover and connect with peers. Sony will roll out availability of Creators’ App, Cloud Storage, Master Cut (Beta), Ci Media Cloud and Discover progressively in the U.S. and the rest of the world, thus availability timing of services will vary by region and country.
“With Creators’ Cloud, we are building a unique space where content creators can blur the lines between hardware and software, online and offline,” says Yang Cheng, Vice President, Imaging Solutions, Sony Electronics Inc. “We know that content creators are looking for a one-stop shop, a place that integrates their content and creative tools, allows them to share and learn from other professionals and offers business opportunities and the expansion of Creators’ Cloud is the first step in Sony’s answer to this.”
As creators seek to view and share their content efficiently, Creators’ Cloud will enable the transfer of images and videos to the cloud for immediate viewing and sharing. Sony offers 5GB free for any Creators’ Cloud account user and 25GB for owners of select Sony cameras. According to the company, Creators’ App will be the successor of Imaging Edge Mobile Plus and will act as an extension of a camera to upload, view, and manage photo and video content shot on select Sony cameras and stored in the cloud. The Creators’ App now announced offers the following key features:
- Transfer content from select Sony camera to a smartphone (supported formats are JPG, MP4, ARW, AQW)
- Upload content from the smartphone to Creators’ Cloud
- View content on the smartphone and in the cloud using the Creators’ App viewer
- Connect to and control select Sony cameras remotely using the Creators’ App
- Update camera and settings using the Creators’ App
The cloud storage feature can be used with or without the Creators’ App. All users can upload photo and video to Creators’ Cloud via Creators’ Cloud website. While camera control and file transfer to Creators’ App will be available to limited compatible models at time of release, Alpha 7 IV and ZV-1F, all users will also be able to upload via Creators’ App upon application. Other compatibility options will be available in Spring 2023. Direct upload from select cameras to cloud will be available at a future date. With the launch of Creators’ App for individuals, “C3Portal App,” a cloud gateway application currently being provided for enterprises, will be renamed as “Creators’ App for enterprise.”
Ci Media Cloud, Sony’s well-established online creative collaboration and media management service, supports over 150,000 professionals worldwide. Ci has opened its tools with new pricing and subscription plans built for how individual creators work and create. With Ci Media Cloud, creators and creative teams can simplify collaboration on media files from anywhere on any device, with a simple, intuitive user interface. From an Adobe Premiere Pro panel integration to mobile applications and an Apple TV app now available, Ci continues to develop features and integrations to empower creative professionals to work simpler and smarter.
Discover is a portfolio for global networking and collaboration opportunities and it is another stand-out feature of Creators’ Cloud. In Discover, images and videos will include detailed information including the camera operator’s location, camera and lens models, settings, and genre. Creators’ Cloud will continue to expand in the future with new services and features added regularly based on user feedback.