Q: How do I upload my productions media to Netflix?
A: To upload your productions media from set, you will need the Netflix Footage Ingest application. You will want to upload no more than 1 day at a time. Once installed and running you can click on the Upload button on the bottom right of the interface. Select a specific folder to upload. When selecting a folder, choose the top folder on your day of media or upload the entire drive. Choose the project you would like to upload to. Update the shoot day and unit information at the top of the screen. Confirm all camera and sound rolls are showing up and no checksums are missing. Click Upload.
Q: Is there a restriction on how much media or files I can upload at a time?
A: Within the Netflix Ingest application you should not be uploading more than one day at a time. You will notice at the top of the interface the metadata is meant to reflect the specific day of shooting you're uploading.
Q: Do I need to use a folder template to upload?
A: Using the Netflix folder template will automate certain pieces of metadata into the upload application. Things like the Shooting Block, Unit and Day Number are each tags as an example in the root folder name we can extract and utilize. However, using the folder structure is not a hard requirement. You can upload an entire day in one upload, or you can upload in chunks. It's up to you.
Q: Where can I access the installer for the Netflix Ingest application?
A: You can find the installer here.
Q: What are the hardware requirements for the Netflix Ingest application?
A: MacStudio, or Mac Mini with 10-core CPU, 24-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, 64GB unified memory, 1TB SSD storage, Minimum 1Gbps Network Card. We strongly recommend that this computer is only used for Netflix Footage Ingest uploads.
Q: What are the operating system requirements for the Netflix Ingest application?
A: OSX Monterey - 12.6 for further
Q: Can I upload files that are not original camera files or original sound files?
A: The Netflix Footage Ingest tool is meant for anything shot by production on the day of shooting. If you have original camera files, original sound files, look files, framing files, reports, reference media from the DIT; these are all meant to be uploaded. Essentially, whatever would have traditionally been given to the dailies lab; upload that! This tool, however, is not meant to be used for uploading final VFX shots, or other final elements created throughout post-production.
Q: Should I upload my mezzanine / new master files?
A: Yes. Any mezzanine / new master files created by a DIT or dailies lab should be uploaded so they are made accessible to everyone downstream and archived.
Q: Where are files being uploaded to?
A: Your media is first uploaded to a Netflix Data Center and then Netflix Cloud Storage for long term archive.
Q: I don't see my project in the upload tool?
A: Users are only able to see the projects they have been granted access to. Therefore, if you're trying to upload to a project you cannot see, you will need to contact your Netflix representative and request access.
Q: How does this upload affect Netflix's 3:2:1 policy?
A: The Netflix 3:2:1 policy is still in effect up until the media has been archived. Therefore: When media has been captured on a camera card you will back it up to multiple backups on-set. One of those copies will travel to wherever the media will be uploaded. Once uploaded you will now have your 3 copies (2 on set and one in our Netflix storage), with 2 different storage types and 1 offsite. Once the media is then verified in our archival storage, any additional copies on set can be cleared. We consider this archival storage as secure and redundant as having multiple LTO copies.
Q: When can I clear my camera cards in this workflow?
A: Once the copy to our Netflix storage has completed and you receive a verification in the Netflix Footage Upload application that everything has completed: Camera/Sound cards can be wiped, as well as any rotation drives. However, additional RAID on set should not be.
Q: When can I clear my on-set Raids?
A: The Netflix Footage Ingest application will show you the upload and verification to our 1st tier of storage. This is not considered our archival storage however. Media will be uploaded to a second cloud storage and once verified there, media can be deleted from any on-set RAID. To monitor this second copy you will need to log into Content Hub and go into the Footage Ingest tab.
Q: Will this media uploaded be accessible for my production and post team?
A: Once media has been uploaded, our Content Hub online web portal will add this media into its database making it available within the Asset Library. To monitor the progress on this, you would need to log into Content Hub and go into the Footage Ingest tab. Within here you can see the upload progress for any upload, along with the status for the media being available in the Asset Library.
Q: How long will it take for my upload to finish?
A: Uploading to Netflix will mainly depend on your bandwidth wherever you're uploading from. There are apps you can use that will calculate how long files should take to upload that will let you type in the size of your folder and the speed of your bandwidth and tell you how long it will take to upload.
Q: How long until my media has been backed up into the Netflix Archival storage?
A: Backing up media to the Netflix archival tier of storage could take upwards of 48 hours. To monitor this progress you can use the Footage Ingest tab within Content Hub.
Q: Does the Netflix Footage Ingest application require a specific type of checksum?
A: We request that the Data Manager/DIT on set utilize xxHash64BE MHL checksums.
Q: What kind of checksum is required?
A: The Netflix Footage Ingest application requires an MHL checksum.
Q: Do I still need to make LTO backups?
A: Please consult your Netflix representative.