The Un-Automated Workflow: Jeremy Shattuck's 'Post Assist' and the Return to Practical Tools
The Un-Automated Workflow: Jeremy Shattuck's 'Post Assist' and the Return to Practical Tools
The post-production landscape, particularly over the last two years, has been dominated by a singular narrative: artificial intelligence. Every vendor, every platform, every startup promises to “revolutionize” or “streamline” our workflows with machine learning. This constant hum of AI-driven solutions, while occasionally delivering genuinely useful tools, has also created a peculiar kind of tunnel vision. It is against this backdrop that Jeremy D. Shattuck, a veteran Visual Effects Editor (VFX Editor), has quietly unveiled a desktop application called 'Post Assist'. Its most salient, and perhaps most refreshing, characteristic is that it has "nothing to do with AI.”
Shattuck's project offers a necessary counter-narrative, presenting an innovation rooted not in algorithmic prediction but in practical problem-solving. It's a reminder that not every efficiency gain needs to emerge from neural networks, and that sometimes the most impactful tools come from deep, lived experience with the minutiae of editorial work. For professional editors, VFX Editors, and post-supervisors who have spent decades navigating fractured workflows and application-specific quirks, a tool designed by someone who precisely understands those pain points is far more compelling than another AI-powered black box.
The VFX Editor's Unique Vantage Point
VFX Editors occupy a crucial, often underappreciated, nexus in the post-production pipeline. They are translators more than anything else. They translate the director's vision into actionable tasks for VFX vendors, translate vendor shots into an editable sequence, and translate editorial changes back to the VFX teams. This requires an almost encyclopedic knowledge across disciplines: editorial software (Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve), VFX pipelines (asset management, review tools), color science, sound synchronization, and delivery specifications.
A key part of their daily grind involves manipulating vast amounts of data, file paths, version numbers, shot statuses, editorial notes, and often, those data points are scattered across disparate systems. Imagine tracking hundreds, sometimes thousands, of VFX shots across multiple vendors, each with various iterations, approval statuses, and unique file naming conventions. It’s a logistical nightmare managed not by elegant software, but often by elaborate spreadsheets, communication logs, and the VFX Editor's own memory and organizational fortitude.
Shattuck’s experience as a VFX Editor, particularly on major studio features, grounds 'Post Assist' in a practical reality. He speaks the language of `_v001`, `_v002_fix`, `_v002_approved`, and the headache of ensuring every single version is correctly referenced, linked, and ready for review. This isn't theoretical pain; it’s the daily fight against broken links, misnamed files, and the eternal quest for accurate metadata.
Deconstructing the "Nothing to Do with AI" Thesis
In an industry saturated with AI pitches, outright declaring a tool is not AI is a statement in itself. It signals a different philosophy. While AI tools often aim for automation and prediction (e.g., automatically generating rough cuts, transcribing dialogue, or even "de-aging" talent), 'Post Assist' seems focused on augmentation. It aims to make existing manual tasks more efficient and less error-prone, rather than replacing them entirely.
Consider the common tasks a VFX Editor performs:
Many of these tasks rely on strict adherence to established protocols and meticulous cross-referencing. While AI could potentially assist (e.g., by identifying misnamed files based on patterns), a bespoke tool offers predictable, deterministic results. If a filename is `shot001_v003_comp_final` and the data entry in 'Post Assist' correctly maps it, there's no "interpretation" or "inference" involved. It simply is. In high-stakes environments where hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars ride on precise execution, deterministic tools often outweigh the allure of "smart" but potentially fallible AI.
The Desktop Application Advantage
Focusing on a desktop application in an era of cloud-first solutions is another telling design choice. While cloud platforms offer collaboration and accessibility, they also introduce latency, security concerns (particularly for unreleased content), and dependence on internet connectivity. A dedicated desktop application offers:
* Local Processing Power: Leveraging the full computational capabilities of the workstation without sharing resources.
For many professional post-production facilities, especially those handling sensitive intellectual property, maintaining data and workflows on-premises or within tightly controlled environments is paramount. A desktop tool aligns with this security-first philosophy, providing greater control over the data lifecycle.
What 'Post Assist' Might Actually Do (Speculation from the Trenches)
Given the context of a VFX Editor's needs, and the "no AI" directive, 'Post Assist' is likely to be a highly specialized utility that tackles some pervasive, frustrating problems. Here are some informed guesses about its potential functionalities:
1. Advanced File Naming and Renaming Utilities: Not just batch renaming, but intelligent renaming based on parsed metadata, sequence in/out points, or custom project variables. This could be invaluable for standardizing disparate vendor deliveries.
Perhaps its core functionality revolves around intelligent parsing and visualization of filenames to provide rapid lookup and organization. For instance, if you have 500 ProRes 4444 files named in a chaotic mix of vendor-specific conventions, 'Post Assist' could analyze those names, extract common identifiers (shot numbers, version numbers), and present them in an organized interface. For any editor who has ever had to ingest a batch of footage named like `ABC_03_comp_final_vfx` alongside `shot_205_v004_approved_DL` and somehow reconcile them into a coherent timeline, the value here is immediately apparent.
The Broader Implications for Post-Production
Shattuck's development signifies a potential shift (or perhaps, a return) in post-production tool development. For too long, generic post-production software has provided universal tools that cover a wide range of needs but often fail to deeply address the niche, yet critical, requirements of specialized roles like VFX Editors.
Small, focused applications created by practitioners, for practitioners, often yield the most effective results. Think of tools like Matchbox (for EDL/XML comparisons) or specialized frame-io desktop clients. These aren't trying to be an entire NLE; they solve a very specific problem exceptionally well. This "micro-tool" approach directly combats the bloat of all-in-one solutions that try to be everything to everyone.
Furthermore, it speaks to the ongoing demand for operator-driven innovation. When someone spends years wrestling with the same workflow friction points, they develop unique insights into solutions. This is precisely the kind of development the industry needs more of, not just from large software houses, but from within the community itself. For more on how these smaller, specialized tools integrate into larger pipelines, refer to our discussion on VFX Integration for Independent Films. The ability to slot independent utilities into an existing pipeline, often orchestrated by scripting languages, is a hallmark of efficient modern facilities.
The challenge, of course, will be integration. How does 'Post Assist' speak to Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere, or DaVinci Resolve? Does it sit as a standalone utility, requiring manual data transfer, or will it offer API connections or plugin architectures? Given the context, it's likely to start as a powerful standalone tool, with potential for future integration.
In an industry currently obsessed with the next AI announcement, 'Post Assist' stands out precisely because it isn't revolutionary in a technological sense. It is revolutionary in its simplicity, its pragmatism, and its acknowledgment that sometimes, the best way forward is simply to build a better hammer for the nails we've been hitting manually for decades. This approach often leads to tools that become indispensable by quietly solving intractable problems, without the fanfare of deep learning or neural networks. It’s about making the human editor more efficient, not necessarily making the editor obsolete. This aligns with other trends we’ve observed, such as the increasing demand for specialized color management utilities, as discussed in The Complete Guide to Shooting for HDR and Dolby Vision.
Ultimately, 'Post Assist' by Jeremy D. Shattuck could prove to be one of those unassuming utilities that, over time, becomes an invisible but utterly critical component of professional post-production workflows. It reminds us that innovation doesn't always have to be about the flashiest new technology; sometimes it's about deeply understanding a problem and building a dedicated, robust solution.
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