Post-Production Independence:

How Hope Production Freed Its Workflows with Strawberry

Strategic foresight and a software-defined PAM eliminated vendor lock-in,

enabling seamless NLE flexibility across Avid, Resolve, and Premiere.

  • •Complete Hardware Independence: Deployed Strawberry on standard off-the-shelf Supermicro Linux servers, avoiding costly proprietary storage locks.
  • •Resilience Against Licensing Changes: Fully insulated from Avid’s recent enterprise storage restrictions, enabling seamless transitions to DaVinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere without replacing infrastructure.
  • •Managing Content at Scale: Strawberry deals with over 2.4 petabytes of valuable media assets every day.
  • •Archive Value: Easy management of large 4K, 6K, and 8K documentary archives for ongoing proxy reuse and commercial licensing.
  • •Proven Long-Term Performance: Consistent, reliable platform for the entire post production process over years.

Dedicated to Impact: About Hope Production

Hope Production was created in 2011 from the collaboration between director Yann Arthus-Bertrand and producer Jean-Yves Robin. The company is dedicated exclusively to producing ambitious, high-impact documentary films focused on major environmental and humanistic issues. Their visually striking productions have left a significant mark on both French and international audiences.

 

Technical operations at Hope Production have been managed for over 12 years by Post Production Supervisor Thomas Lavergne. Focusing on workflow design, stability, and long-term tech strategy, Lavergne oversees a post-production infrastructure tailored for demanding long-form documentary creation and multi-platform content distribution. We spoke with Thomas about how their technology choices, including the implementation of Strawberry for project and asset management, have paid off in the long run.

The Challenge: Media Retention, Multi-NLE Workflows, and Vendor Lock-in

Documentary filmmaking at Hope Production involves capturing high-resolution aerial and ground footage in 4K, 6K, and 8K. Because footage is regularly repurposed for trailers, social media campaigns, broadcasts, and stock licensing via aerialcollection.com, keeping high-quality broadcast proxies online indefinitely has been an essential operational requirement.

To manage these demanding workloads, Hope Production needed to address several key challenges:

  • •Avoiding Proprietary Hardware Lock-In: Traditional shared storage systems often force facilities into expensive, single-vendor hardware ecosystems that mandate rigid upgrade cycles.
  • •Multi-NLE Flexibility: Staff and visiting editors require flexibility across non-linear editing (NLE) tools, including Avid Media Composer for long-form edits, DaVinci Resolve for proxy creation and color conforming, and Adobe Premiere for visiting freelancers.
  • •Maintaining Cost Efficiency: Hope Production needed a software solution capable of running on standard commodity hardware rather than proprietary, inflated server infrastructure.

The Hope Production team leveraging Strawberry for their “Human” documentary, under the direction of Yann Arthus-Bertrand (first from the right).

The Solution: Open Hardware and Intelligent Production Asset Management

Hope Production chose to work with Projective, layering Strawberry on off-the-shelf Supermicro Linux servers. By decoupling management software from the underlying storage, Strawberry delivered an intelligent layer for multi-editor workflows across any platform, enabling seamless collaboration without the administrative overhead of complex systems like Avid NEXIS. 

This software-defined approach continues to deliver key benefits to Hope Production:

  • •Simplified Administration: Post-production supervisors can easily create project structures, manage user permissions, and mount workspaces without complex enterprise IT setups.
  • •Editor-Friendly Experience: Creative teams locate projects instantly and mount required volumes with zero technical friction.
  • •Storage Independence: Strawberry mounts standard storage volumes dynamically, allowing editors on Avid, Premiere, or Resolve to access shared project files simultaneously without requiring proprietary storage hardware. The platform enables users to easily access 2.4 petabytes of storage daily.

The Results: Strategic Freedom, Immunity to Licensing Shifts, and Proven Longevity

By choosing Strawberry and off-the-shelf standard hardware nearly a decade ago, Hope Production future-proofed its operations against market volatility and vendor policy changes.

Immunity to Avid’s Tiering Restrictions

When Avid recently announced enterprise-tier restrictions on third-party storage alongside forced subscription upgrades, many post-production houses faced major infrastructure disruptions. For Hope Production, this was a non-issue. Because Strawberry provides complete storage independence, they can comfortably freeze existing Avid Media Composer licenses on their current versions while seamlessly transitioning new projects to DaVinci Resolve or Adobe Premiere—all on the exact same storage infrastructure without paying for costly enterprise storage upgrades.

Decade-Long Hardware Value

Hope Production’s core production server has operated reliably for over nine years. By avoiding forced hardware upgrades tied to proprietary software licenses, the company saved substantial capital expenditure while maintaining top-tier performance for 3 to 7 concurrent editing suites.

Ideal Workflow Fit

Reflecting on over ten years of collaboration and operational success, Thomas praises Projective’s responsiveness and explains why Strawberry remains the ideal fit for Hope Production:

“Strawberry is the only solution that can work for a company like Hope. Other products are too expensive or too complicated to maintain. Smaller solutions like Mimiq or Tiger don’t have enough capabilities for big projects with six or seven people working at the same time, so Strawberry is perfect for us.“

Thomas Lavergne

Host Production Supervisor, Hope Production

By delivering the perfect balance of multi-platform collaboration, administrative simplicity, and hardware independence, Strawberry continues to provide Hope Production with a future-proof foundation for impactful documentary filmmaking.

Moving Forward Without Fear

As Hope Production prepares to move into new facilities, the team is evaluating next-generation storage architectures. Leveraging their existing indexed stockshot database, older raw media will be archived to LTO libraries to optimize storage costs. 

For new productions, Hope Production is conducting test drives of cloud storage solutions alongside Projective to maintain maximum operational agility while staying true to their environmental commitments. 

The beauty of their current setup means that, no matter which storage and editing solutions they choose to implement in the future, Strawberry will continue to support their vision, managing storage and projects while delivering the editorial freedom that has always defined Hope Production.

Published: 8 November 2026