We are incredibly pleased to announce that today, Cospective has joined forces with ftrack – creator of the excellent project management, production tracking, and media review platform used by creatives worldwide!

ftrack creates project management, production tracking, and media review solutions that support collaboration across creative teams. Its tools have helped organize and schedule productions such as Spider-Man: Far From Home and Rocketman. 

We have enjoyed a close working relationship with ftrack since 2015. During that time, we’ve developed a deep integration that links cineSync with ftrack Studio, and a working relationship with the ftrack team that has grown over the years. We’ve partnered with ftrack at industry events, shared many meals, and grown as both friends and colleagues.

When they asked if we would like to work together as one, it felt like a natural fit.

It’s always been imperative to us that, if we were to ever join forces with another company, that the company truly valued our products, our customers, and our team. Having collaborated with ftrack over many years, we know the company absolutely shares our passion for the product. ftrack is 100% committed to offering the same service that our customers have come to expect from Cospective. More than that, ftrack shares our vision for the future, and is as excited as we are to add new features, to develop review solutions, and to capitalize on the technology we’ve built over the past 14 years in a way that brings the most benefit to our users. We’re extremely proud to be a part of the team. 

What’s next?

This acquisition will enable ftrack and Cospective to work even more closely in pursuit of better, faster, and simpler creative workflows. Rest assured that we are working on some very cool things and you should expect to hear about them soon!

In the short term, the acquisition will enable us to offer around-the-clock support across our products via the support network and increased resources of the global ftrack organization. In the longer-term, this acquisition will supply Cospective with additional resources to further develop features and workflow solutions with a clear focus on our domain expertise of media review and approval. 

For ftrack, direct access to the Cospective team will drive new technologies and innovation, strengthen the review capabilities directly within the ftrack product suite, and further develop the broader ftrack ecosystem. 

The Cospective engineering team at the 2018 Emmy Awards

What impact will this acquisition have?

As part of our commitment to our customers, we can guarantee that the people you’ve been used to talking to at Cospective will not change. cineSync and Frankie will both still be available, and won’t be bundled with ftrack software. You won’t be forced to pay for anything you don’t need. Integrations we’ve built with other platforms, including Shotgun, NIM and Aspera, will still be supported – and enhanced. 

Basically, you should expect the same great service, delivered by the same people. 

What this new development does give us however, is the tools and resources to build new and improved solutions, to offer 24-hour support and to ensure we can deliver what our customers need in the future.

Cospective will remain based in Adelaide, Australia, with increased investment in development and support of cineSync, including maintenance of integrations with third-party software vendors. We will expand all areas of the team in Adelaide, from development to support, sales, and marketing. (ftrack is also looking to hire across the global organization in US, Europe, and China in 2020.)

The future holds a great deal of promise. We look forward to delivering on that promise and taking both companies into new and exciting places!

You can find an FAQ with more information at the end of this post.

About ftrack

ftrack creates project management, production tracking, and media review solutions that support collaboration across creative teams. ftrack Studio and ftrack Review are designed to connect people, simplify workflows and increase studio efficiency. ftrack has proved an indispensible solution at such creative facilities as MPC, The Mill, Luma Pictures, Cinesite, Trixter, Electric Theatre Collective, Blue Zoo Animation, Saddington Baynes, and Ubisoft. ftrack Studio’s asset tracking toolset has proven pivotal on film projects such as Avengers: Endgame and Infinity War, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Rocketman, and Robin Hood, and a host of commercial and animated projects around the globe.

Introducing ftrack from ftrack on Vimeo.

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.”

L-R: Rory McGregor, CEO Cospective, Fredrik Limsäter, CEO ftrack, Neil Wilson, CTO Cospective

FAQ

• 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.
• 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!