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Adobe Blog Digital Asset Management MAM Technology

How and Why CHESA Became an Adobe Video Solution Partner

The primary purpose of a solution architect’s work is to help clients use technology to their advantage. Given the prevalence of Premiere Pro and After Effects in our industry, I was already very familiar with Adobe’s video editing software applications and regularly sought to stay informed regarding changes and advancements in their products. CHESA has been working closely with Adobe for years, and when the opportunity arose to learn more and help CHESA become certified as an Adobe Video Solution Partner (AVSP), I jumped at the chance.

The training Adobe put together to become an AVSP was explicitly designed for systems integrators who regularly help clients smoothly transition their creative content through the many software applications and platforms they use to do good work. A few quick examples include best practices for transitioning sequences between Premiere Pro and Black Magic Design’s Davinci Resolve. Or, transitioning audio tracks between Premiere Pro and Avid’s Pro Tools.

We also explored the best ways to fuse tools like Media Asset Management (MAM) and Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems with Adobe’s software to help companies organize and share their work. Always with the goal of keeping their creative teams focused on what they do best. Adobe’s mission in providing this training was to share the best of what they have learned working with their customers. This then allows Adobe Video Solution Partners to help more end users/creatives/editors/VFX artists, etc., to fully leverage their software’s capabilities. 

Adobe started us off with baseline training. I went through modules covering a wide range of Adobe’s best practices, including setting up project templates and custom workspaces in Premiere Pro, everyday working practices and common keyboard shortcuts, hardware performance guidelines, balancing sound in projects, and standard delivery methodologies, etc. Each class essentially made sure we understood the basics of the editorial process using Adobe’s software. 

When we progressed to the more complicated modules, which covered more advanced topics, such as proxy workflows, Adobe Team Projects, or Premiere Pro Productions, that baseline curriculum served as a solid foundation to build upon. Also, Adobe made sure there were no shortcuts to certification, by the way. Tests with proofs were all built-in, so Adobe knew “yes, they did the work”. And, because I’m a nerd, I created an Adobe knowledge base for our engineers at CHESA to utilize, organizing all of our notes from the certification training. Ultimately it is now a knowledge repository that will continue to grow, where our engineers can find information to support our customers readily.

As a solutions architect, part of my motivation to dive into the training, and a key part of Adobe’s plan, is to provide customers with more access to expert resources regarding the best ways to use and integrate their tools with other platforms. Now customers can work with certified Adobe Video Solution Partners who can provide a conduit for communication with Adobe’s experts and engineers to solve problems and create even better tools. Certified partners were a missing link between the brilliant teams at Adobe and the incredible creatives in our industry. But, not any longer. Now, teams like CHESA can act as a force multiplier for Adobe and continue to hone our workflow therapy skills. 

I think the industry as a whole is going to benefit markedly from this program as it leads to greater collaboration and innovation. Creatives, media IT, and engineers now have a partner to provide constant feedback directly to Adobe’s teams on what creatives want and need and help refine and fast-track better user experiences.

Adobe’s investment in our industry, via AVSPs like CHESA, shows the level of commitment on their part. It illustrates their awareness of their shortcomings and their desire to share their valuable experience and knowledge to bridge the gaps between them and their customers. They’ve done the work to find systems integrators they can entrust their customers’ workflows to, and have prepared these new partners to dig even deeper into the hard questions that inevitably will help the platforms become better. Adobe knows that sending a client to a consultant/system integrator without knowing how strong their knowledge of Adobe’s ecosystem is, is not helpful to the industry or the success of their platforms. This process has ensured Adobe can have confidence that their valued community is in good hands with partners who can help them get the most out of their software and put unique workflows together to refine and empower their work.

More on the Adobe Video Solution Partner Program:
How can CHESA help me with my Adobe workflow?
The Workflow Show podcast with Adobe regarding the program
CHESA’s Press Release
Adobe’s blog on the Adobe Video Solution Program

 

 

 

Categories
Coffee Talk with Women of CHESA Women in Media IT Women of CHESA

The Path of One Woman in Media IT, an Interview with Jessica Mantheiy

The CHESA of today exists because of our team of incredible individuals. I cannot think of anyone from the team who has contributed to more facets of the business than Jessica Mantheiy. This is the result of a CHESA core value she exemplifies: lifelong learning. Numerous women of CHESA have stated she is their mentor. She was kind enough to carve out some time to talk with me about her career and who has mentored her.

Q: How long have you been at CHESA and what was your initial role?

In August 2012, I started at CHESA as an assistant to the Director of Professional Services (Jason Paquin at the time) and started doing service coordination. I was the first Service Coordinator for the engineers.

Q: Can you tell me from there how you arrived at your current position?

When I started, CHESA was a much smaller organization. I started doing management of incoming service requests and installs. I did that for about a year. Sales started to need more day-to-day help and I was asked to support that too. I helped get pricing from vendors and putting quotes together. This was all in tandem with my service coordination work.

In 2014, I was approached to either do sales support or service engineering full time — I chose sales. Jason Paquin offered me the position of Sales Operations Manager, a brand new role for the organization. I stayed in that role for 6 years. I handled sales quoting and worked with Solutions Architects closely and evolved into an unofficial junior solutions architect. In that role, I took the lead to develop fresh processes for sales operations and quoting to help streamline the day-to-day work. That included adding checks and balances for best accuracy that then would flow into procurement properly. 

My role continued to grow as CHESA evolved but it was just me for a long time. In January 2019, we were able to hire Sierra O’Connor as an intern. We soon realized we wanted her to stay on full-time and she did. I couldn’t be happier with Sierra — she is an amazing asset to the CHESA team.

In March 2020, I was offered to move over to the Operations and Finance team as Senior Operations Manager. I currently manage the procurement, purchasing, contracts, shipping & receiving processes, assist with finance day-to-day needs, and manage the CRM (Customer Relationship Management software) for our entire company. Concerning our CRM, I had gotten my admin certification for our CRM in 2019 and had already become the primary admin for the Sales department. With our CRM, I implement workflows and automation, having an understanding of our current business needs and processes. I also run point on any support the internal teams need with our CRM. 

Q: What has made working at CHESA a place you have not only stayed at but grown?

When I took the position at CHESA, originally, I had been the video editor, production manager, project manager, and in-house IT at a different company. I was recommended by someone who had previously worked at CHESA but had worked together at the same company before CHESA, to apply for an open position. What has made me stay? Although I have a video editing background and was an end-user, I always found IT fascinating. My dad was a satellite engineer and I was exposed early to that. To me, the complexities behind Media IT are captivating. It’s a very different way of looking at video vs being an end-user. Watching the landscape in video change over the past decade, I’m not sure I would have gotten such a front-row view of the revolution at this deep level. Being keenly engaged mentally has kept me here. 

Another factor is that over time, the company has allowed me to grow not only my career but as a person by attaining new skills I find I enjoy, and have an actual knack for. For instance, overseeing contracts: I didn’t realize I have a real skill for this. CHESA has allowed things to fail and see what works and what doesn’t so I have been allowed to try new things. Many work and some do not but without having the opportunity to fail, I would not have enjoyed the satisfaction of successes. I’ve also been exposed to what different positions have to offer and grow my interests as a result. 

CHESA’s culture is preferable to me for all these reasons over more of a corporate structure at a very large company. I can’t fathom being at a place where my voice is not heard. I get to work with a great bunch of people. I’ve made great friends. The people are a big factor for me. 

Q: Who are your mentors? 

My parents. They never said I couldn’t do something. As a woman going into video and tech, my dad, growing into a VP at a tech company, has been a great sounding board.

Also, my aunt. She is a very strong independent woman who doesn’t suffer fools as a mentor. She is the “cool” aunt who has been unstoppable in her career. I can tell her what I’m working on or want to work on and she’s always all ears and engaged. 

Working alongside Jason Paquin, our CEO, as we have both grown into our roles, seeing his successes, has given me the ability to be inspired and mentored.

Q: I’ve heard 3 separate women say you are a mentor here at CHESA. Why do you think people feel you are a mentor? 

Maybe for being very hands-on? I think in my personal career growth, I’ve had to see my errors, enabling me to understand where others are coming from better. I try to apply those experiences in my approach. This helps me advise others on being diplomatic, while also standing up for themselves. I’ve supported others on ways to prepare and also to be heard.

Q: You are a cinema history buff on a deeper level than most. What drew you to this and what do you enjoy about this unique part of history? 

I like learning about the history of cinema from the introduction in the late 1800s into the 1940s and the technical capabilities as well as the cultural impact. Also the idea of hundreds of production companies churning out anything to make a profit and how that has evolved to today. A lot of bad movies were bundled into contracts as part of the movie theater package for many decades. The technological evolution as well as having to be creative in the workarounds regarding lighting, for instance, during that time period is fascinating. In a dream job, I would love to be a film archivist.

Q: What are you currently reading?

Not for the faint of heart, but I’m reading The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine by Lindsey Fitzharris. Victorian surgery was quite, literally, theater. Brutal, dirty, no anesthesia, and the risks were, of course, great. People could come and watch your surgery at a theater in London. Joseph Lister came on this scene and presented antiseptic into medicine, as one example. It is gruesome but also a very interesting read on how the practice of medicine changed significantly in this era. 

 

About the Author: Jessica Mantheiy is Senior Operations Manager at CHESA.

Coffee Talk with the Women of CHESA: This Women of CHESA blog series is where we discuss mentorship, what inspires us, our professional journeys, and the challenges we face. Follow us for more stories on Instagram and Twitter @womenofchesa

Have a suggestion for a blog topic? Contact us at womenofchesa@chesa.com