With what seems to be an inevitable shift from videocentric to datacentric workflows on the horizon, the area of Digital Asset Management (DAM)–a terms broadly used to describe a system of storing, managing and distributing “assets” (in the advertising industy, read “elements of, and finished, commercials”)–is evolving into one element in the larger challenge of developing a complete digital workflow.
Other pieces of this increasingly complex puzzle include networks, storage, ingest and playout systems. “It’s no longer just a DAM issue, it’s a workflow issue,” summed up Doug Cheek, CEO/owner of GTN, Oak Park, Mich.
In fact, expect “workflow” to be the buzzword of the 2005 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), April 16-21 in Las Vegas. Sources interviewed by SHOOT say that when they are examining new technologies, the most important concern is how they fit into a complete production and post workflow. That includes sources ranging from cinematographers, who are examining the latest digital cinematography cameras, to post professionals, examining applications such as color correction tools, and to ad execs, who seek more efficient ways to manage their work.
What makes this particularly challenging is that you can’t directly compare options, and there is no “one size fits all” product. Needs and applications are dramatically different if you compare a post house building a datacentric workflow for production to an ad agency looking to archive and manage its spot work. Therefore, keep in mind that this article uses the term asset management in broad and varying ways.
Cheek explained that understanding of an individual organization’s needs–including size, information flow, and client needs and services–is the key to implementing the appropriate workflow option.
The need for workflow efficiencies is also about staying profitable. “Postproduction costs are still going up, and because of competition, rates are staying the same,” pointed out consultant and industry veteran Herb Dow, ACE. “To make more per hour, you need to do more per hour. The only way to do that is with workflow.”
While it is impossible to highlight all of the elements and options in this complex space, here are some that are generating pre-NAB buzz is the commercial community.
MTI
In Southern California, a new dailies workflow model based on Control Dailies from Mathematical Technologies Inc. (MTI), Providence R.I.–currently employed at Encore Hollywood (sister company to Company 3 and R!OT and a part of Santa Monica-headquartered parent company Ascent Media Group)–is generating tremendous attention in postproduction circles and the technology is already considered one to watch at NAB.
Control Dailies is a software-based system that serves as the backbone of the dailies process, handling tasks such as collecting metadata (all the information about a job including shoot dates, credits and copyrights) as well as organizing material, archiving and outputting tape.
“The idea was to lay a foundation for transitioning a videocentric facility to being a datacentric facility, and in doing so create efficiencies in the process,” says MTI board member Larry Chernoff, who has been working closely with the development team. (Chernoff also operates his Beverly Hills-based Chernoff Touber Associates consulting firm and continues to hold the title of chairman of Ascent Media Creatives Services, Santa Monica.)
The system’s first application is designed to make the dailies process faster and more efficient–in other words, more profitable, as a facility that charges by the foot can accommodate a heavier volume of work. Chernoff estimates that the industry average for dailies is that for every four hours of work in a telecine, one hour gets recorded. He asserts that Control Dailies can get a facility down to a 2:1 ratio. MTI expects to have the product further developed by NAB, with 2k support.
Also for NAB, MTI aims to introduce Convey, an application that would work in tandem with Control Dailies, handling file-based deliverables. Chernoff explained that Convey would grab frames and transcode them into various file formats for delivery, including Avid files, Window Media 9, MPEG2 for DVD, MXF for Apple’s Final Cut Pro. (For further details on MTI, see SHOOT, 1/28, p. 1).
DAM TASKS
Numerous systems focused on DAM tasks will be on display at the NAB’s Digital Asset Management Pavillion and Theater, produced in partnership with the Global Society for Asset Management (G-SAM). G-SAM will also present a series of educational panels for those wishing to learn more about this complex subject. In this area, some companies are adopting third-party systems–many of which will be on display at NAB–while others are developing their own systems that meet their individual needs.
“Change is a very big issue; we are as much change agents as technologists,” said Cheek, whose GTN has developed and implemented an advanced DAM system designed for commercialmaking. Services include management, transport and storage of assets. It is already used at Detroit-based agency clients such as BBDO, Young & Rubicam, and J. Walter Thompson.
Of the systems that will be on display at NAB, one to watch will be DAX, from L.A.-based DAX Solutions. DAX is already deployed at such entertainment clients as Lions Gate. Now the system’s makers are targeting the advertising community. At NAB, attendees can check out DAX’s production asset management and creative collaboration tools, including Rough Cut Manager, which offers instant viewing of rough-cuts and finished commercials. With EDL, ALE and Flex File support, Rough Cut Manager enables users to create play lists, add comments linked to time code, freeze each frame, scrub frame by frame, go full screen or playback to a TV monitor at the click of a button. Agencies can access the system online via a password-protected Web site.
As well, DAX will be introducing a commercial clearance service for ad agencies and brand marketers. This application is currently being tested in a pilot program with GTN and J Walter Thompson, Detroit.
MAX-T
Montreal-based Maximum Throughput will demo the Sledgehammer storage system, which is designed to help post facilities “streamline digital content creation by consolidating storage, bridging the video-data divide, and managing their content more efficiently,” said VP of marketing John Miller.
“Data has advantages for spot work,” he said. “[The clips] are brought in once and shared by multiple artists, colorists, editors. [Post houses] have plenty of applications, now they want to make them more productive, that’s what a product like our does.”
At NAB, attendees can see Sledgehammer’s storage and media management capabilities in a newly available version 2.0, which was designed with the understanding that folders full of files can be images, graphics, video, and audio sequences. Users can pictorially browse, move, rename, copy, and delete individual files, groups of files, or the entire folder. It also has a built-in timeline capability that can be used to sequence material for playout and enhanced sharing capabilities.
Miller’s intent is to have Sledgehammer viewed as more than just storage–it can be used as a billable workstation, freeing up other key resources for the tasks they were designed to accomplish.
To further enhance media management capabilities, Max-T’s Xstoner software–which will be available on Linux by the time of NAB–enables connectivity with other operating environments such as Discreet, SGI, Windows, and Macintosh. Therefore, Xstoner could integrate Sledgehammer (as facility server) with the rest of the post house.
Max-T will also debut InfinArray, a file system that would cluster NAS (network attached storage) systems. It is scheduled to ship in Q3.
SGI
Of course, there will be many storage options on display at NAB, including longtime industry supplier SGI in Mountain View, Calif., which will demonstrate its storage system enabling post workflow from SD and HD, up to 4k data.
Among its technologies is Prism, an open architecture platform that can handle data requirements up to 4k. Starting at under $30,000, Prizm combines its graphics technology with standards-based 64-bit Intel Titanium 2 processors, the Linux operating system, and ATI graphics processors.
Another option is SGI InfiniteStorage RM660 storage, which is specifically designed for tasks in production environments, including high-resolution capture from scanner, digital cinema cameras and telecines, resolution-independent editing and compositing, as well as applications for color correction and digital intermediate work.
Final Note: Miami-based startup Assimilate is building a datacentric workflow based on its Scratch version 1.0 color correction/management software. Assimilate and other related developments will be detailed in an upcoming Road to NAB installment on color correction.