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Less time chasing confirmations.
More time telling stories.

An intelligent workflow layer that handles the repetitive coordination your team shouldn't have to think about — so every hour goes toward the creative work that makes V+A exceptional.

What this is — and what it isn't

This is not about replacing anyone. It's about removing the friction between the work your team does and the tools they already use.

Protect the Craft

The edit bay is sacred. Story decisions, color, pacing, music choices — those stay human. AI handles the admin so your artists can be artists.

Work With What Exists

Monday.com, Frame.io, Google Drive, DaVinci Resolve — your tools stay. We connect them intelligently instead of replacing them with something new to learn.

Invisible When Working

The best system is one nobody thinks about. It just works — reminders go out, documents sync, status updates happen, and your team never had to do it manually.

We studied how V+A works

Your process is thorough and well-documented. Here's what we see across the four phases:

Phase 1 — Pre-Production

Planning & Setup

  • Client request → discovery call → Monday.com project creation
  • SOW creation in PandaDocs → approval routing → signature
  • Google Drive folder + Google Space setup
  • Production Worksheet coordination (crew, rates, locations, talent)
  • Call sheet preparation and distribution
Phase 2 — Production

Shoot Day & Handoff

  • Execute production, secure releases
  • Media transfer via MASV or hard drive
  • Handover document from producer to editor
  • Transition from Production to Post in Monday.com
Phase 3 — Post-Production

Edit, Review, Repeat

  • Media offload via ShotPut → organize in DaVinci Resolve
  • Transcription via Reduct (AI + human transcripts purchased)
  • Radio edit → internal review → client review via Frame.io
  • Consolidate client notes → feedback to editor → revise
  • Repeat for every version, cutdown, and aspect ratio
  • Music search and licensing — often the hidden time sink
Phase 4 — Wrap & Archive

Delivery & Cleanup

  • Export final deliverables per SOW specs
  • Deliver via Google Drive or Frame.io
  • Rename, archive, update Monday.com status

Time recovered, not people replaced

Every opportunity below targets coordination overhead — the work between the work. None of it touches creative decisions.

The Follow-Up Problem

Your workflow documents say "follow up until confirmed" dozens of times — crew, talent, locations, clients, vendors. That's someone's entire day, every day. An intelligent system can track what's pending, send reminders on schedule, escalate when deadlines approach, and flag what's actually confirmed vs. still waiting.

High Impact

Eliminate Duplicate Documents

The Production Worksheet and Handover Doc both duplicate information that lives in Monday.com. Your team already identified this — "It would be great to get rid of this doc." We can make Monday.com the single source of truth and auto-generate these views when needed, rather than maintaining separate spreadsheets.

High Impact

Review Cycle Streamlining

Every version goes through the same loop: upload to Frame.io → internal review → revise → client review → consolidate notes → feedback to editor. Multiply that by versions, cutdowns, and aspect ratios. Automating note consolidation and status tracking could save hours per project.

High Impact

Discovery Call → Creative Brief

Otter.ai already records your discovery calls. Those notes could automatically generate a first-draft creative brief — project vision, key messages, deliverables, tone — ready for James or Emily to review rather than write from scratch.

Medium Impact

Project Status at a Glance

Instead of checking Monday.com, Frame.io, Google Drive, and the Roll-Up separately, a unified dashboard shows every active project's real status — who's waiting on what, what's overdue, what's on track — updated automatically from your existing tools.

Medium Impact

Intelligent Project Setup

New project comes in: auto-create the Google Drive folder (correct naming), the Google Space, the Monday.com entry, the calendar holds — all from a single intake form or confirmed SOW. Minutes instead of an hour of manual setup.

Medium Impact

The craft stays human

"The best technology disappears. It doesn't ask for attention — it gives attention back to the people who need it most."

🎬

Story & Narrative

How interviews are structured, what emotional arc to build, which moments matter — that's your team's expertise and your competitive advantage.

🎨

Color & Visual Identity

Color grading, visual style, the look and feel that makes a V+A piece recognizable — entirely human, entirely protected.

🎵

Music & Sound Design

Music sets the emotional foundation of every piece. The ear that chooses the right track is irreplaceable.

💬

Client Relationships

Nike, Microsoft, Autodesk trust V+A because of the people. Client communication stays personal, never automated.

✏️

Creative Direction

James' vision and the team's creative instincts are what clients are paying for. AI can accelerate the process, but the creative decisions always stay with your team.

📚

Financial Controls

The Roll-Up stays exactly as it is. Financial visibility and budgeting remain under direct human control — no automation, no AI access.

Read-only by default. Your data stays yours.

🔒

No Delete Permissions

The system reads your tools and creates new items — it never modifies or deletes existing data. It can post a reminder, generate a document, or update a status. It cannot remove a file, overwrite a project, or alter your footage.

📦

Runs on Your Hardware

Everything runs on your QNAP server — inside your building, on your network. Client footage, project data, and internal documents never leave your infrastructure. No third-party cloud storage, no external databases.

🔄

Your QNAP Backs Itself Up

Your server already has built-in snapshot and backup capabilities. The automation layer is a lightweight container — if anything goes wrong, stop it. Your data and tools are exactly where they were before. Nothing is irreversible.

Built on your tools, not instead of them

A lightweight intelligence layer that connects what you already use. No new software to learn. No migration. No disruption.

Your Team
Producers Editors Creative Director Operations
Your Tools
Monday.com Frame.io Google Workspace PandaDocs Otter.ai QuickBooks Calendly Zoom
Intelligence
Layer
Workflow Orchestration Status Monitoring Follow-up Automation Document Generation Note Consolidation
Infrastructure
QNAP Server (your hardware) Secure & Local Remotely Managed

Runs on Your Server

Your QNAP TVS-H1688X supports containerized applications. The intelligence layer runs locally on hardware you already own — your data never leaves your building.

Remotely Maintained

System updates, new integrations, and improvements happen remotely — no need to schedule onsite visits for routine maintenance or changes.

Grows With You

Start with the highest-impact automations. Add capabilities over time as the team gets comfortable and new opportunities emerge. No big-bang rollout.

Let's start with what matters most

Today's conversation is about understanding where your time goes and where it should go instead. From there, I'll build a working prototype targeting your highest-impact opportunity — and you'll evaluate it on results, not promises.

Automation Workflow Diagrams

Each diagram shows exactly what gets automated, what tools are involved, and where notifications go. Mark up anything that should work differently for your team.

Trigger (what starts it)
Process (automated action)
Decision (logic check)
Output (file/data created)
Notification (human sees this)
Auto Project Setup

New project created in Monday.com triggers automatic setup of all supporting infrastructure. Replaces ~30-60 minutes of manual work per project.

New Item in Monday.com

Someone creates a new project on the Master Board

Monday.com

Read Project Details

Pull job name, number, client, producer, dates

Monday.com API

Create Drive Folder

Named: XXXX_1234 Project Name (your standard format)

Google Drive
Path A — Files

Share Folder

Grant write access to visualaid.com team

Google Drive
Path B — Comms

Create Google Space

Project-specific team channel

Google Chat

Post Drive Link in Space

Team sees folder link immediately

Google Chat

Update Monday.com

Write Drive folder link + Space link back to the project item

Monday.com

Questions for your team

  • Should calendar holds be auto-created when a production date is set?
  • Who should the Google Space include by default? All staff or project-specific?
  • Should sub-folders be created inside the project folder (Media, Post, Deliverables)?
  • Should the Roll-Up get a line item automatically, or does that stay manual?
  • Any other tools that need setup per project (Frame.io project, Todoist list)?
Daily Follow-Up Reminder Engine

Every morning, scans all active projects and generates a priority-sorted digest of everything that needs follow-up. No more manually tracking what's pending.

Daily at 8:30 AM

Automatic — runs every weekday morning before the team arrives

Scheduled

Scan All Active Projects

Pull every project not marked "Done" from Master Board

Monday.com

Analyze Each Project

Check dates, statuses, and pending items against rules

Logic Engine

What's Overdue or Approaching?

🔴 SOW unsigned > 2 days
🔴 Crew/talent not confirmed < 7 days to shoot
🔴 Call sheet not sent < 2 days to shoot
🟠 Delivery date < 5 days away
🟠 Client review pending > 3 days
🟡 Any status stuck without update

Build Priority Digest

Group by priority: Critical → High → Medium. Each item shows project name, what's pending, who's responsible, and how urgent.

Formatter
Primary

Post to Operations Space

Full digest visible to the whole team every morning

Google Space
Critical Only

Direct Message to Assignee

If critical items exist, DM the responsible person directly

Google Chat / Email

Questions for your team

  • Should the digest go to one Space or per-project Spaces?
  • Who should receive critical-item direct messages? Producers only, or also James/Emily?
  • Are there other statuses we should track? (vendor forms, permits, COI, media delivery)
  • Should weekend days count toward "days overdue" or only business days?
  • Do you want a weekly summary in addition to the daily digest?
  • Should clients ever see automated follow-ups, or is this internal only?
On-Demand Document Generation

Generates Production Worksheets and Handover Documents from Monday.com data on demand. Eliminates the duplicate spreadsheets your team maintains manually.

Button Click in Monday.com

Producer clicks "Generate Worksheet" or "Generate Handover" on any project

Monday.com

Pull All Project Data

Every field from Monday.com — crew, talent, dates, locations, equipment, notes

Monday.com API

Which Document?

Route to the correct template

Production Worksheet

Generate Worksheet

Project info, crew list, talent, locations, equipment, travel, pre-shoot checklist — all from Monday.com

Handover Document

Generate Handover

Project overview, deliverables, editor assignment, footage location, creative direction, production notes

Save as Google Doc

Created in the project's Drive folder with correct naming

Google Drive

Notify in Space

"Production Worksheet generated for [Project]" with link

Google Space

Questions for your team

  • Should these auto-generate when project status changes (e.g., "move to Post" triggers Handover)?
  • Are there fields on the current Production Worksheet that aren't in Monday.com yet?
  • Should the generated doc be editable (Google Doc) or read-only (PDF)?
  • Who should be notified — just the producer, or the editor too (for Handover)?
  • Should the Call Sheet also be generated this way?
Review Cycle Streamlining

Consolidates client feedback from Frame.io, structures it for the editor, and tracks revision status automatically. Requires deeper exploration of your Frame.io setup.

New Comments on Frame.io

Client or internal reviewer leaves feedback on a video version

Frame.io API

Collect All Comments

Pull every comment, annotation, and timestamp from the review

Frame.io API

AI: Structure Feedback

Organize by timecode, categorize (content, pacing, audio, visual), flag conflicts

Claude AI
Editor Gets

Structured Edit Notes

Clean, organized feedback doc — no more wading through scattered Frame.io comments

Google Doc
Producer Gets

Review Summary

High-level: X comments, Y conflicts flagged, estimated revision scope

Google Space
Monday.com

Status Update

Automatically move project to "In Revision" with revision count

Monday.com

Questions for your team

  • How does feedback currently flow from Frame.io to the editor? Email? Meeting? Space?
  • Does anyone consolidate or filter client feedback before the editor sees it?
  • Do clients ever leave contradictory notes? How is that resolved now?
  • Should the AI summarize feedback or just organize it? (Summarizing adds interpretation risk)
  • How do you track which revision round you're on for a given deliverable?
  • Would the editor prefer notes in a Google Doc, a DaVinci Resolve marker file, or something else?
Discovery Call → Creative Brief

Transforms Otter.ai meeting transcripts into a structured first-draft creative brief. Producers review and refine instead of writing from scratch.

Discovery Call Ends

Otter.ai finishes recording and generates transcript + summary

Otter.ai

Extract Transcript

Pull the full transcript and AI-generated summary from Otter.ai

Otter.ai API

AI: Draft Creative Brief

Extract project vision, key messages, tone, deliverables, audience, and references from the conversation

Claude AI

Generate Brief Document

Structured creative brief with sections: Project Overview, Audience, Key Messages, Tone & Style, Deliverables, References, Open Questions

Template Engine
Storage

Save to Project Folder

Creative brief saved as Google Doc in the project's Drive folder

Google Drive
Monday.com

Link in Project Item

Creative brief link added to the Monday.com project entry

Monday.com
Notification

Notify Producer + CD

"Draft creative brief ready for review — [Project Name]"

Google Space

Questions for your team

  • What does your creative brief template look like? What sections are standard?
  • Does Otter.ai export reliably to an API, or does someone manually copy the transcript?
  • Who reviews and finalizes the creative brief — James, Emily, or the assigned producer?
  • Should the AI flag things the client mentioned but didn't fully define (open questions)?
  • Do you have a standard set of tone/style categories, or is it freeform per project?
  • Should this also attempt to estimate project scope based on what was discussed?
Unified Project Status Dashboard

A single view showing every active project's real status — pulled automatically from Monday.com, Frame.io, and Google Drive. No more checking three tools to answer "where are we?"

Scheduled Refresh

Runs every hour during business hours, or on-demand

Scheduled

Pull from All Sources

Aggregate project data from Monday.com, Frame.io review status, and Google Drive file activity

Multiple APIs

Normalize & Merge

Combine into unified project records — one row per project with status from every tool

Logic Engine

Identify Issues

🔴 Blocked — waiting on something overdue
🟠 At risk — deadline approaching, not on track
🟢 On track — no issues detected
⚫ Wrapped — complete and archived

Dashboard

Web Dashboard

Clean visual overview — every active project with health status, phase, owner, and days until deadline

Internal Web Page
Leadership View

Weekly Summary to James

End-of-week digest: projects completed, projects at risk, capacity outlook

Email / Space

Questions for your team

  • Who needs to see this? Everyone, or just James/Emily/producers?
  • Is there already a view in Monday.com that serves this purpose, even partially?
  • What's the single most important thing James wants to know at a glance?
  • Should this include financial data from the Roll-Up, or is that strictly separate?
  • How many projects are typically active simultaneously?
  • Would a mobile-friendly view matter, or is this primarily for the office?
Plug-In Module — Convention Events

70 shoots. 4 days. Zero chaos.

This is what it looks like when the automation pipeline handles a real-world scenario — managing the Autodesk convention schedule end-to-end, from booking through wrap.

The scenario: Autodesk University 2026 — September in Las Vegas. 70+ one-hour video production appointments across 4 days, multiple locations across the city, 4 concurrent crew teams travelling between venues. Last year's Calendly setup caused significant confusion: time zone errors led to mis-bookings, and managing four crews on a single calendar was unworkable. For 2026, this module replaces the patchwork with a centralized, time-zone-aware scheduling system that handles the entire event lifecycle — from booking through post-event delivery.

Last Year (Manual)

  • 70 bookings managed through Calendly — no sync to Google Calendar or Monday.com
  • Time zone errors caused mis-bookings — clients in different zones saw wrong availability
  • Single calendar couldn't manage 4 concurrent crews across 4 days
  • Confirmation emails sent manually for each booking
  • Rescheduling required checking every other appointment for conflicts by hand
  • No awareness of travel time between venues — back-to-back bookings across the city
  • Crew assignment tracked on a spreadsheet, updated in-person or via text
  • Day-of: "Who's next? Where do they go? Are they confirmed?" answered by checking three tools
  • No-shows discovered when crew stood around waiting
  • Follow-ups after the event done manually or not at all

This Year (Automated)

  • All bookings time-zone-normalized — clients always see correct local availability
  • 4 crew calendars managed independently, synced to one master view
  • Bookings sync instantly to Google Calendar, Monday.com, and crew schedules
  • Auto-confirmation emails with time, location, and what to prepare
  • Rescheduling auto-checks crew availability, location conflicts, and travel time between venues
  • Crew sees their personal schedule with travel buffers built in
  • Day-of dashboard: now/next/coming, who's where, who confirmed, who's late
  • No-shows flagged at 10 minutes — slot opened for walk-ins
  • Post-event follow-up sent automatically with delivery timeline
Trigger
Process
Decision
Output
Notification
Convention module boundary
Event Activation
A Monday.com project tagged "Convention" triggers the event module. Booking infrastructure spins up automatically.

Project Tagged "Convention"

New project in Monday.com with event type = Convention

Monday.com

Read Event Details

Dates, venues + locations, 4 crew teams, slot duration, available time blocks per crew

Monday.com API

Generate Time Slots

Create per-crew availability across event days. ~18 slots/crew/day x 4 crews x 4 days. Travel buffers between distant venues.

Logic Engine
Calendar

Block Event on Google Calendar

Convention days blocked, individual slots created as bookable

Google Calendar
Booking

Publish Booking Page

Time-zone-aware booking page showing real availability across all 4 crews. Clients see slots in their local time. Can be embedded in the AU landing page alongside the playbook video.

Booking Form
Tracking

Create Event Board

Dedicated Monday.com sub-board: every slot as an item with status, crew, location, client

Monday.com
Scheduling & Confirmation
Clients book slots. Every booking triggers instant confirmation and updates across all systems.

Client Books a Slot

Selects date, time, and location — sees availability in their local time zone, only genuinely open slots shown

Booking Page

Check Availability + Travel

Normalize to Pacific/Vegas time. Check all 4 crew calendars. Ensure travel buffer if crew's previous booking is at a distant venue.

Logic Engine

Assign Crew

Auto-assign based on location proximity (minimize travel), workload balance, or manual override

Logic Engine
Client Gets

Confirmation Email

Date, time, location, what to prepare, who to ask for on arrival. Calendar invite attached.

Email + Calendar
Crew Gets

Schedule Update

New appointment added to their personal crew calendar with client name and location

Google Calendar
Monday.com

Slot Status → Booked

Event board updated with client info, crew assignment, confirmation status

Monday.com
Reminder Chain & Rescheduling
Automated reminders go out. Rescheduling is self-service and conflict-checked automatically.

Reminder Schedule

Automated: 1 week, 24 hours, and 2 hours before each appointment

Scheduled

Client Reminder

Email with appointment details + option to confirm, reschedule, or cancel via link

Email

Client Response?

🟢 Confirmed → mark confirmed
🟠 Reschedule → show available slots
🔴 Cancel → free the slot
⚫ No response → escalate

If Reschedule

Auto-Find New Slot

Show only open slots with available crew. Client picks new time. Old slot freed. All systems updated.

Logic Engine
If Cancel

Free Slot for Walk-Ins

Slot marked available. Crew schedule updated. Waitlist notified if one exists.

Logic Engine
If No Response

Escalate to Producer

"3 unconfirmed appointments for tomorrow — want to reach out directly?"

Google Space
Day-Of Operations Dashboard
Real-time visibility for the whole team. Everyone knows what's happening now, what's next, and where to be.

Live Refresh

Dashboard updates every 5 minutes during event hours

Scheduled

Aggregate Status

Pull current slot statuses, crew locations, completion flags from Monday.com + Calendar

Multiple APIs

Live Dashboard

NOW: Client X, Room 3, Crew A
NEXT: Client Y, Room 1, Crew B (in 20 min)
TODAY: 14/18 slots complete
ALERT: 2:00 PM no-show flagged

Web Dashboard
No-Show Detection

10 Minutes Late?

If client hasn't checked in 10 minutes past start → flag as potential no-show → notify producer → open slot for walk-in

Completion Tracking

Crew Marks Complete

Quick status update (button or form): complete, partial, rescheduled. Feeds into wrap report.

n8n Form
Post-Event & Follow-Up
Automated wrap-up: every client gets a follow-up, every shoot gets tracked into the normal post-production pipeline.

Event Ends

Final day completes — module shifts to wrap mode

Scheduled

Generate Event Report

Summary: X completed, Y rescheduled, Z no-shows, total footage hours, crew utilization

Logic Engine

Report to James + Emily

Full event debrief with stats and any flagged issues

Email / Space
Each Client

Thank-You + Timeline

Personalized email: "Thanks for your session — expect deliverables by [date]. Here's what happens next."

Email
Post Pipeline

Create Post Projects

Each completed shoot becomes a project in the normal V+A pipeline — Drive folder, Monday.com entry, editor assignment queue

Monday.com + Drive

Questions for your team

  • 4 concurrent crews confirmed — do all 4 run all 4 days, or does it vary?
  • How spread out are the venues? Same convention center, same block, or across the city?
  • How much travel time between the farthest locations?
  • Does equipment move with crew or stay set up at each venue?
  • Does each shoot become its own post project, or are they batched per client/per day?
  • Who manages the schedule day-of — a dedicated coordinator on the ground?
  • The new landing page with video + "Book a Consultation" / "Download the Playbook" — should the booking system be embedded directly in that page?
  • Is Davis at Autodesk distributing the booking link internally, or does V+A send it to each contact?
  • Do clients book through Autodesk internal channels or directly with V+A?
  • Do you want a client check-in system (QR code, text confirmation on arrival)?
  • Should the dashboard be accessible on phones for crew on the floor?
  • The "scale incentive" pricing (more bookings = lower cost) — does the booking system need to track and display that?
  • What's the timeline for having the booking page live? When does outreach start?
AU 2026 Landing Page
Your team is already redesigning the client funnel — replacing the multi-step PDF + booking page with a single high-impact landing page. The booking system can be built directly into it.

Single Landing Page

Hero: High-impact V+A sizzle reel
CTA 1: "Book a Consultation" → booking form (time-zone-aware, real availability)
CTA 2: "Download the Playbook" → captures lead info before download

Web Page

Lead Capture

Every visitor who books or downloads is tracked — name, company, contact, action taken. Fed into Monday.com as a lead.

n8n + Monday.com

Outreach Trigger

Downloaded but didn't book? Auto follow-up 48 hours later. Booked? Enters the confirmation chain. Davis at Autodesk shares the link internally — every click is tracked.

Email + Monday.com

Why this matters

  • Last year's funnel was "too high-friction for busy executives" — this simplifies to two clicks
  • The booking form IS the scheduling system — no Calendly, no separate tool, no time zone confusion
  • The "scale incentive" messaging (more bookings = lower costs) can be displayed dynamically based on how many slots a team has already booked
  • Every interaction is captured — no more "did they get the PDF? Did they see the booking link?"
Click any element to add a note