New ‘creative first’ tools launch for scripts, music cues and international subtitles.
Deep Fusion, the production and technology specialist, has appointed Sam Hodgkinson to the newly created role of head of software within its 18-month-old technology division. He joins creative lead Christian Darkin and Emmanuel Obi-Akwari, UI/UX developer and reports to Deep Fusion founder Benjamin Field.
Sam’s appointment coincides with the launch of four new tools within its ‘creative first’ suite of production and workflow products. ScriptedPlannR™ MusicQ™ BabbL™ and BabbLPro™, designed to eliminate tedious manual data entry and prevent operational bottlenecks.
Hodgkinson started his career in the military, serving in the British Army for seven years before transitioning into tech as a freelance full-stack developer progressing to senior full-stack engineer and gaining extensive experience in building scalable web platforms throughout his career. He also leads technology transformation and infrastructure management for multiple charitable organisations in a voluntary capacity.
John Gore, Executive Chairman of John Gore Studios said, "By combining technological capability with human expertise and oversight, Deep Fusion is helping to build a more agile, scalable and sustainable future for production, one that protects the quality of the finished work while opening up new possibilities for the industry. Crucially, this innovation is built around people, not in place of them - allowing us to unlock greater efficiency and give production teams more capacity to focus on the creative work that matters."
Hodgkinson said: ‘I have taken this exciting opportunity at Deep Fusion to be part of a company pushing the boundaries of AI-powered software in the creative production and development sector. The company’s approach to empowering people with AI reflects a belief that, while AI can be incredibly valuable, the best results come when it’s guided by human creativity, judgement and ideas. That philosophy runs through everything we’re building, whether it’s turning a week-long, mundane task into a fraction of the work, or giving people more freedom to focus on the creative projects that really matter.’
The four new tools — ScriptedPlannR™, MusicQ™, BabbL™ and BabbLPro™ — have now been added to the existing product range which was first launched a year ago. Their design significantly reduces the time and labour required for crucial aspects of the traditional production process. The benefits built into these systems adopt a ‘human-in-the-loop’ framework that enables scalable workflows, significantly increasing capacity whilst decreasing time-to-market, and maintaining standards of final output quality.
ScriptedPlannR™ turns scripts into shoot plans with structured production breakdowns, extracting the practical information teams need to start planning a shoot. Traditionally this process is done manually by working through a script scene-by-scene, transferring information into a production plan. ScriptedPlannR™ automates the first stage, giving a clear starting point in minutes. The information remains editable in Movie Magic Scheduling as the production develops, helping teams move from script breakdown into an established scheduling workflow in much less time.
MusicQ™ automatically identifies the music used in the final delivery of film and television content and creates a clear record of where each cue appears, the composer, publisher and how the music is used within the content. It generates a cue sheet in minutes, giving post-production teams an accurate record without manually logging cues which can be exported as part of final delivery paperwork.
BabbL™ and BabbLPro™ automatically generate timed subtitles and closed captions for film and television content, giving production and post-production teams a fast starting point for review and refinement.
BabbL™ takes care of the initial version, generating the subtitle content and matching it to the timing of the programme. Alongside the dialogue, BabbL™ detects non-dialogue sounds such as music and effects for accessible captions.
BabbLPro™ extends the functionality to include translation into an initial 13 languages, with more coming soon, offering contextual multilingual translation for teams taking content to global audiences. It brings the same fast first pass to localisation, helping content move more easily across markets while leaving teams to review and refine the final language.
Benjamin Field said: ‘Sam is both an excellent find in terms of technical track record, and a thoroughly decent human being. It is this combination that is the secret sauce at the heart of everything we create. As producers, we know that automating media processing tools significantly speeds up post-production workflows by tackling the most time-consuming aspects. With Sam at the helm, our Creative Toolkit will go further in terms of freeing up teams to focus on the high-value creative work in storytelling and innovation so needed in our sector.’
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