# Overview
Modular Cloud Studio (MCS) on AWS is a solution that helps studios and production teams to build secure, scalable, and highly customizable content production studios in the AWS Cloud. You can build a tailored, cloud-based production environment within hours without extensive cloud expertise or costly upfront investments. MCS simplifies the setup by providing you with integration choices and automating deployment. Its modular framework presents options to launch remote workstations, storage, and other modules with Amazon Web Services (AWS) services and AWS Partner production systems. You can securely expand studio access to global talent, scale resources to meet project demands, and add capabilities with additional modules from the AWS Marketplace, where you can find software that runs on AWS. This way, your teams can focus on creative innovation, not technical logistics.
Media companies and entertainment studios face the growing need to become more flexible, responsive businesses that can pursue creative opportunities as they arise. Using the cloud can help these companies to:
+ Accommodate new projects without complex planning and capital expenditure
+ Access remote talent and vendors globally using distributed workflows
Some organizations might have concerns about migrating to the [cloud](https://aws.amazon.com/what-is-cloud-computing/). MCS helps mitigate many of these concerns:
+ MCS automates and simplifies the process of setting up, integrating, and configuring regional environments for geographically diverse teams.
+ MCS provides the capability to use Third-Party Modules and custom modules, so that you can keep using the products you’re already familiar with.
+ MCS deploys within 5-10 minutes, and you can then deploy the modules within hours.
This guide will help you build and configure a cloud studio on AWS with MCS. Read this guide for the reference architecture, components, planning considerations, and steps involved in deploying and configuring your cloud studio.
The intended audience for using this solution’s features and capabilities in their environment includes system administrators, solution architects, and cloud professionals who are responsible for content production workloads and studio technology.
Use this navigation table to quickly find answers to these questions:
| **If you want to …** | **Read …** |
| --- | --- |
| Know the cost for running this solution. The estimated cost for running this solution varies based on your deployment configuration and use. For example, the estimated cost in the US East (N. Virginia) Region is USD \$1591.55 per month for AWS resources when deploying internal MCS modules in the hub Region. This cost doesn’t include modules containing AWS Independent Software Vendor (ISV) software. | [Cost](cost.md) |
| Understand the security considerations for this solution. The solution deploys AWS resources within a virtual private cloud (VPC) with limited access. The solution automatically creates a default administrator user in an [Amazon Cognito user pool](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cognito/latest/developerguide/cognito-user-pools.html), which is a user directory for web and mobile app authentication and authorization. | [Security](aws-well-architected-design-considerations.md#security) |
| Know how to plan for quotas for this solution. Make sure you have sufficient [quotas](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/aws_service_limits.html) for each of the services implemented in this solution, including [AWS CloudFormation](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/) quotas that you should be aware when launching the stack. CloudFormation launches this solution from a template and takes care of provisioning and configuring the necessary AWS resources for you. | [Quotas](quotas.md) |
| Know which AWS Regions support this solution. Individual MCS modules might be available in different AWS Regions. An [AWS Region](https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/regions_az/) is a physical location in the world where AWS has clustered data centers. Each group of logical data centers is called an Availability Zone. Each AWS Region consists of a minimum of three, isolated, and physically separate Availability Zones within a geographic area. | [Supported AWS Regions](plan-your-deployment.md#supported-aws-regions) |
| View or download the CloudFormation template included in this solution to automatically deploy the infrastructure resources (the "stack") for this solution. [Templates](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/template-guide.html) are declarative configuration files that specify the resources you want to provision in your CloudFormation stacks. | [AWS CloudFormation template](aws-cloudformation-template.md) |
# Features and benefits
The solution provides the following features:
**Launch a production-ready studio in hours**
With automated deployment, you can deploy a fully configurable virtual studio tailored to your project needs in a few hours, eliminating lengthy setup delays and becoming accessible to remote talent.
**Assemble and customize your ideal toolset**
Avoid vendor lock-in by incorporating your choice of leading AWS Partner and Third-Party integrations into collaborative pipelines personalized to your requirements, ensuring flexibility for each new production—or whenever your needs evolve.
**Improve integration for smoother workflows**
Each incremental module recognizes other active modules, and orchestration of each infrastructure component is automatic. This way, you can reduce manual integration and focus your engineering resources on creative innovation.
**Deploy and scale studios to propel business growth**
Create content production studios aligned to project demands. Dynamically scale your infrastructure rapidly, or gradually adopt additional cloud resources at a pace that meets your specific needs. Realize returns faster while avoiding major upfront expenditures. By using automation, decrease the time to learn configuration details and reduce the risk of misconfiguration.
**Integration with AWS Service Catalog AppRegistry, myApplications, and Application Manager, a capability of AWS Systems Manager**
This solution includes a [Service Catalog AppRegistry](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/servicecatalog/latest/arguide/intro-app-registry.html) resource to register the solution’s CloudFormation template and its underlying resources as an application in both Service Catalog AppRegistry and [Application Manager](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/application-manager.html). It also includes an application registered with [myApplications](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsconsolehelpdocs/latest/gsg/aws-myApplications.html). With this integration, centrally manage the solution’s resources and enable application search, reporting, and management actions.
# Use cases
**Expand physical facility capabilities**
Accommodate multiple productions by building a different virtual studio for each project you need, and outfit each one with the right tools for the job.
**Grow beyond geographic boundaries**
Help production teams to scale and access talent anywhere in the world to align with project needs, without accumulating excess infrastructure.
**Onboard vendors securely**
Create an environment that allows external vendors to do creative work in a single, centralized hub on your systems, instead of sending data back and forth and risking confidential IP.
**Accelerate cloud migration**
Automate the deployment of scalable, secure, global content production environments, while aligning to MovieLabs [2030 Vision](https://movielabs.com/production-technology/the-2030-vision/) and its guidance for infrastructure interoperability.
# Concepts and definitions
This section describes key concepts and defines terminology specific to MCS:
**module**
A CloudFormation deployment launched by Service Catalog through the MCS web console or API. Service Catalog provisions the module stack, and CloudFormation takes care of provisioning and configuring the necessary AWS resources for you.
**enable module**
Enabling means activating a module such that its resources are included in the MCS content production studio. In other words, deploying the CloudFormation stack that represents the module.
**register module**
Registering makes an external module known to MCS and available for an MCS administrator to enable. Registering does not enable the module.
**AWS developed MCS modules**
The set of modules developed by AWS that are included with MCS and available when MCS is deployed. When you deploy MCS, all of these modules are available without an explicit registration step. Additionally, these modules cannot be deregistered.
**Third-Party Modules**
Similar to AWS Partner storage modules, the MCS admin user must explicitly register third-party modules with MCS to make them available to users.
**Note**
Modular Cloud Studio on AWS allows you to deploy and manage a scalable, secure, and global content production infrastructure in the cloud. This includes custom modules, developed by AWS Partners or other third parties, that you can choose to use ("Third-Party Modules"). AWS does not own or otherwise have any control over Third-Party Modules.
Your use of the Third-Party Modules is governed by any terms provided to you by the Third-Party Module providers when you acquired your license to use them (for example, their terms of service, license agreement, acceptable use policy, and privacy policy). You are responsible for ensuring that your use of the Third-Party Modules comply with any terms governing them, and any laws, rules, regulations, policies, or standards that apply to you.
You are also responsible for making your own independent assessment of the Third-Party Modules that you use. AWS does not make any representations, warranties, or guarantees regarding the Third-Party Modules, which are "Third-Party Content" under your agreement with AWS. Modular Cloud Studio on AWS is offered to you as "AWS Content" under your agreement with AWS.
**AWS Partner storage modules**
A curated list of storage modules from AWS ISVs that are treated similar to Third-Party Modules or custom modules. MCS displays the AWS Partner storage modules, letting users know that these modules exist and can be registered with MCS.
**Note**
AWS Partner storage modules are easily discoverable. However, to make them available to users, the MCS admin user must review and register these modules with MCS.
**hub Region**
The Region from which you launch the solution.
**spoke Region**
Region from which you launch a module, different from the hub Region. You can optionally use spoke Regions to increase availability and reliability for geographically diverse teams.
**Note**
For a general reference of AWS terms, see the [AWS Glossary](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/glossary/latest/reference/glos-chap.html).