Netflix: Giving creators smarter tools

Keynoting IBC, Mallett said the decision reflects Netflix’s ambition to “clear the pathway for creativity” by integrating external tools directly into its cloud‑based production ecosystem. “We’re now opening the door to existing tools – perhaps some of them built by folks in this room today – and bringing them into our Netflix ecosystem through our tool library,” she said. “We’re not telling our partners which tools to use. We’re making it safe and easy for people to explore.” 

The announcement followed Netflix’s technology roadmap briefing in Amsterdam earlier this week, where the company met over 140 manufacturers to outline how MPS is evolving to meet real production needs. 

Mallett said there are “hundreds of incredible people” whose work is often slowed by legacy workflows. “Production used to run like a relay race,” she said. “Editorial, then VFX, then sound, then colour. Each team waiting on the last before it could get started.” 

Netflix began developing MPS in 2020 while producing the final season of La Casa de Papel (Money Heist). The challenge, Mallett said, was simple: “What if instead of bringing media to people, we could bring people to their media – wherever they are?” 

The system was built in just three months and proved capable of moving nearly a petabyte of data to the cloud, enabling editorial and VFX teams to work in parallel for the first time. By 2023, MPS was supporting productions across multiple countries, including Society of the Snow, where 60 VFX studios worked simultaneously across three nations. 

The next chapter for MPS involves integrating AI‑driven tools that automate time‑consuming tasks. “Tools that can identify errors like equipment in shot, generate transcripts at the end of each take, attribute dialogue to characters, and make characters searchable within footage,” Mallett said. 

On F1: Drive to Survive, footage is now tagged and transcribed as soon as it hits the cloud. “Every second counts,” she said. “The team can now focus on keeping pace with what’s happening on the track.” 

The biggest shift, however, is Netflix’s decision to open MPS to external vendors. Tools for costume design, lighting pre‑visualisation, and virtual set planning are already being integrated. On the Polish drama Anestezja, concept art for operating theatres and ICUs was generated using third‑party tools before being refined by hand. 

“It’s about giving creators smarter tools,” Mallett said. “Some we’re building ourselves, others we will license and integrate from across the industry.” 

Mallett emphasised that none of this works without partnership. “We don’t tuck innovation away after we’ve wrapped,” she said. “We build solutions together.”