ftrack acquires Cospective, developer of the Academy Award-winning cineSync

ftrack acquires Cospective, developer of the Academy Award-winning cineSync

Stockholm, 6 November 2019 – ftrack, creator of the production tracking and media review platform for creatives, today announces the acquisition of Cospective, creator of the Academy Award and Emmy-winning synchronized remote review tool cineSync.

ftrack and Cospective have enjoyed a close working relationship since 2015, and have already developed a deep integration that links ftrack with cineSync. This acquisition enables Cospective and ftrack to work even more closely in the pursuit of better, faster, and simpler workflows. Together, the companies will bring new innovations to market, strengthen the review capabilities of the ftrack ecosystem, and capitalize on the industry-leading technology that Cospective has built over the past 14 years.

Fredrik Limsäter, CEO at ftrack, comments: “We respect Cospective not only as a creator of highly regarded products but also as a group of collaborators and individuals. We have worked with Cospective and their review solution cineSync for many years and have come to esteem the team’s professionalism and creativity. We’re excited to welcome such accomplished media experts to the global ftrack organization. Cospective shares ftrack’s aspirations in creating better workflows for creatives; together, we can complement one another’s work and build even better, more efficient products for the industry.”

Rory McGregor, CEO at Cospective, comments: “Having collaborated with ftrack over many years, we know the company values our products, our customers, and the way we work. ftrack is committed to cineSync’s continued growth and to offering the same service that our customers have come to expect. ftrack also presents new opportunities to add features, to grow the Adelaide team, and to develop review solutions for modern workflows. We’re proud to be a part of ftrack, and we’re excited to work on great things together.”

Cospective will remain based in Adelaide, Australia and will continue to develop and support cineSync and Frankie, including maintenance of integrations with third-party software vendors.

In the short term, this acquisition will enable Cospective to offer around-the-clock, 24-hour product support via the global ftrack organization. In the longer-term, the acquisition will supply Cospective with additional resources to further develop features and workflow solutions with a clear focus on media review and approval. For ftrack, access to the cineSync team will drive new technologies and innovation, strengthen the review capabilities within the ftrack product suite, and further develop the broader ftrack ecosystem.

Cospective has made a name for itself as an indispensable synchronized media review solution for film studios, TV networks and VFX houses, including Disney, Warner Bros, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Sony, Technicolor, Deluxe, Netflix, HBO, MPC, Framestore, ILM, and Double Negative. cineSync’s media review platform has proven pivotal on notable projects such as Game of Thrones, Inception, Interstellar, Ready Player One, The Walking Dead, Justice League, Jurassic World, the Fast and the Furious films, multiple Bond films, and every entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

ftrack – where creatives collaborate

ftrack is the project management, production tracking and media review platform that teams in the creative industries use to collaborate. ftrack connects people, simplifies workflows and increases studio efficiency. For more info, visit at ftrack.

Cospective – keeping teams connected

Cospective develops cineSync and Frankie – visual communication tools for synchronized review of creative projects. Cospective clarifies feedback, shortens iteration cycles, and keeps teams in sync. For more info, visit at Cospective.

FAQ – ftrack acquires Cospective

What’s changing in the short term?

Cospective will continue to support cineSync with the same level of service as customers have come to expect, as will ftrack with its own products. The only immediate change will be in Cospective’s support availability, which will increase to 24-hour, around-the-clock support thanks to the larger resources and capability of the global ftrack organization.

What’s changing in the long term?

We will work to improve both ftrack’s and Cospective’s products across the board. The extended team will share expertise to build technology with the core goal of improving and enhancing the workflows of creatives around the world.

What new “technologies and innovations” can we expect?

At this stage it is too early to comment, but rest assured that we are working on some very cool things and you should expect to hear about them soon!

What are the plans for the Cospective team?

The Cospective team will remain in Adelaide, Australia and will grow to better support the development and growth of the media review and approval suite. The global ftrack organization will expand all areas of the team in Adelaide, from development to support, sales, and marketing, and is also looking to hire in the US, Europe, and China in 2020. Keep an eye on ftrack’s careers page!

Will there be any redundancies?

There will be no redundancies. Although Cospective’s products were a core driver of this acquisition, the most critical factor was the team itself: Cospective is more than a product – it’s the group of people who made that product. Cospective and ftrack have built a strong and robust working relationship over the years. We both respect one another’s work ethic and talent and share the same end goals and aspirations. As such, we are very excited to welcome all of the Cospective team to the ftrack family and will invest in growing that team further in Adelaide.

What does this mean for cineSync customers?

cineSync customers will experience no disruption or change to their cineSync experience. cineSync will continue to be supported now and in the future.

What does this mean for Frankie customers?

Frankie will, for the foreseeable future, be supported and developed by the Cospective team. At the same time, Cospective will contribute to ftrack Review, a web-based review platform that will expand on the feature set of Frankie, while offering similar functionality.

What does this mean for ftrack customers?

ftrack customers will experience no disruption or change to their ftrack experience. Over time you can expect only positive improvements thanks to the new media review and approval expertise added to the ftrack team.

How will support be affected?

Cospective will soon be able to offer 24-hour, around-the-clock support, while the core support team will remain unchanged.

How will pricing be affected?

There will be no changes to pricing.

Can I still buy cineSync or ftrack as separate products, or will they only be available as a bundle?

cineSync and ftrack will continue to be offered as separate products and you can purchase them individually, or both if you so desire. We will continually review our service with customers over the coming months and years. If new options make sense and add value to the customer, then we will consider adding them to our portfolio. What we won’t do is force our customers to buy a bundle. If you just want cineSync, or you just want ftrack, then you can have either. We think all of our products work well together, but it’s entirely up to our customers what they want to use.

Where can I buy cineSync from?

Cospective.com/cinesync

How much crossover will there be in terms of development between ftrack and Cospective?

Cospective will remain focused on its domain expertise of media review and approval. The Cospective team will continue to improve that functionality in its own product suite, as well as across the ftrack ecosystem.

Beyond that, Cospective and ftrack’s products possess a great deal of mutually beneficial features. We will look very closely at the opportunities these synergies present. Wherever we see scope to create a better user experience that empowers our end-users to collaborate even more closely, we will seek to expand our offering.

This won’t be solely an internal effort; we will continue to work closely with our customers to understand their needs and add further capabilities that increase interactivity between artists, directors, producers, and everyone else making creative projects. This will be our core aim for any developments tackled in the future.

What will this mean for the product integration with cineSync and ftrack?

The cineSync and ftrack integration will continue to improve and become more robust than ever before.

Will cineSync continue to support integrations with Shotgun, NIM and other production tracking applications?

Yes. Cospective will continue to maintain all existing integrations with third-party software vendors, with new integrations to come. Onwards and upwards!

Will I now be running “ftrack” sessions instead of “cineSync” sessions?

No, the cineSync branding will remain the same. The cineSync brand has built up a respected and worthy position in the industry. We intend for things to stay that way!