INNER SPACE CENTER MEDIA PRODUCTION: Continuing the Evolution of Creative Science Communication in the Cloud

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a corresponding shift to work-from-home activities, the Inner Space Center (ISC) media and production team took time to reflect on best practices and evolve workflows to better suit remote media creation methods. The team has since fully embraced an apparent paradigm shift in ocean exploration media production and science communication, migrating systems and processes to cloud-based environments. The team has also renewed its commitment to prioritizing patience, flexibility, and consistent communications. During the 2021 exploration season, the ISC team continued to refine its virtual production workflows and dialogues. The "collaborative planning document," developed in 2020, formed a common-ground foundation for all production efforts, providing efficient and consistent inputs at the start of each project. In a deliberate transparent process, we brought more members from partner institutions into pre-production efforts. Involving partners early in the production process encourages open and collaborative information exchange, with all participants learning from one another. This exchange allows individuals to approach the process from an engaged perspective--as well as to have fun producing the media.