Top 8 Applications and Productivity Tools
Today, it seems like there’s a tool or web app designed to help you with just about anything. Rather than spending endless hours evaluating and comparing various tools, look to the productivity tools others have found helpful. While considering the unlimited options out there for so many different uses, here’s a list of 8 applications and productivity tools that have proven to be helpful in the workplace. At Splicer Films, these tools are part of our daily workflows when collaborating across teams working on a documentary project remotely.
As one of the simplest productivity tools out there, Asana is an application that allows users to keep track of their own tasks, as well as see what everyone else is up to. Users can make and contribute to the folders relevant to them. Anyone can add a task, assign a due date, and tag the relevant individual. Once a task is completed, it stays on the list, but becomes greyed out with a green check mark to indicate another finished task. This way, it’s easy to see what has already been assigned and completed and use the completed tasks as a form of a status report.
Asana also has a calendar feature. While users can use the feature in many ways, one way we have found useful is to use the calendar as a way to track social media posts. Any team member can see what types of posts are coming up and what kind of themes will be represented each week.
2. Slack
Slack is a communication and organization tool all in one. Members are added to the company or organization workspace and have access to any channels within that workspace. For example, channels include #general, #research, #editing, and anything else that might be a relevant branch of the company.
Members can post whatever update, question, or content they have to any channel and other members will be alerted. Slack also has the option of direct messaging where a user can chat with one or multiple other users, making it a great hub for team communication and productivity. Slack has become a popular internal communication tool reducing the number of emails that can easily get lost in your inbox.
Adobe Creative Cloud allows for smooth and efficient design collaboration. Individuals can easily upload files from Adobe software programs, like Photoshop or Illustrator. Team members who have a Creative Cloud account and are given permissions to the shared cloud account can gain access to creative assets and begin collaborating. The ease of sharing allows for a smooth project transition when tasks started by one person are handed off to another. For example, at Splicer Films, our Brand Strategist designs logos and brand assets then simply adds team members to the shared Creative Cloud project so we maintain brand consistency across all digital platforms. Tip: College Students who set up their Creative Cloud account using their college (.edu) email address are able to use the same account for internships across multiple organizations as long as they are given permissions to the project’s shared Creative Cloud account.
4. Pinpoint
Pinpoint lives up to its name and is essential for anyone who needs to explore and analyze large collections of documents. This tool is especially helpful for journalists and documentarians since it easily converts audio files (MP3s) to text and simplifies searching for keywords. Pinpoint allows users to jump from selected text to the corresponding place in an audio track. At Splicer Films, our script writers and editors use Pinpoint when searching for specific quotes and time stamps helping to “pinpoint” the exact quote in the script for ease and efficiency in the editing process. Tip: Documentary filmmakers and Journalists who typically pay for transcription services of their video and audio files can save time and money by signing up for this free tool by Google Journalist Studio.
5. Buffer
When posting on social media, it can be a pain to have to log onto each platform you plan to post on, craft the post, and then actually post it at the time you want it available to be seen. Luckily, there’s another option. Buffer is a social media management and engagement tool that allows you to plan social media posts/campaigns and pick exactly the time and date you want the content to be posted. Tags, hashtags, and chosen thumbnails for videos are all available options within Buffer that allow for thoughtful post creation. Buffer also has an analyze feature that gives insight into how a post or campaign (series of posts) did across each platform.
6. Google Workspace (Formerly G Suite)/ Google Photos and the Cloud
While there’s lots of jokes out there about the mystery of the “cloud”, it really is an important tool when collaborating among team members. Sharing documents, spreadsheets, pictures, and videos gets complicated when more and more team members become involved. Google Drive allows users to organize that chaos and make sure people only have access to what they need and can share and collaborate on documents together.
Google Workspace has many tools included in what was formerly called G Suite. Tools like Sheets, Docs, Slides and Calendar are used daily for our team’s productivity. When creating project plans and drafts, Google Docs and Sheets simplifies collaboration with the tagging feature by notifying team members of comments or edits within a document or assigning them a follow up task all within a shared document.
The Splicer Films production team also creates Google drive folders for each of our documentary interview subjects to upload their pictures and videos B-roll so our editors have what they need all in one place. Google Drive and folder owners can choose permission levels to allow anyone to view only or edit certain files.If an employee only needs access to music or editing materials, they will only be added to those select folders or documents. This makes it easy on the employee’s side, because they know exactly where to find what they are looking for, as well as eliminates the risk of someone accidentally moving or deleting an item in an unrelated folder.
7. 1Password
Keeping track of passwords on sticky notes is so passé and definitely not a best practice. With 1Password you can keep all of your usernames and password in a secure place and all you need to remember is only one password. Ideally team members will have their own passwords to manage, so using 1Password is a simple and secure way to keep their logins all in one place. When it comes to team collaborations there is sometimes a need to share a password to access a shared online account and setting up a team vault in 1Password is simple and secure. The 1Password administrator can quickly add new team members and revoke access if needed. No more emailing, Slacking or texting passwords! Tip: 1Password vault feature allows you to securely share passwords and categorize by department or team so passwords relevant to marketing are only shared with that particular team.
8. Zoom and Google Meet
The year 2020 has made Zoom and Google Meet household names with the increase in virtual teams and temporary remote work requiring online meetings. Both tools provide for virtual meetings and screen share collaboration, but use cases expand beyond the typical virtual office meeting.
At Splicer Films, we use both Zoom and Google Meet to conduct team meetings and documentary interviews across multiple time zones. Zoom Pro is essential to conduct and record hours of interviews with our subjects around the world for our documentary project, Unmasked. The Pro version enables extended meeting times and 1GB cloud recordings per license, which we use to save interviews for our writers and video editors to review Tip: If the user’s internet connection is unstable or slow, turning off the camera can help minimize voice over IP interruptions.
