Tag: Media Asset Management

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Digital Asset Management

Work Smarter with a Video Asset Management System

A video asset management system can help creative teams work smarter and gain efficiency. These systems can shorten the time to distribution without sacrificing quality. There is increasing pressure to deliver high-quality video on tight timelines across the industry—but success isn’t about working harder and grinding away at mundane tasks; it’s about working smarter.

Video editors can harness the power of video asset management systems to organize their assets and streamline their workflows. These systems address key pain points in the video production and postproduction process by providing a centralized location for all assets, ensuring they are readily available, and enabling collaboration with other team members. These systems often allow editors to automate repetitive tasks.

But getting more done in less time isn’t the only goal. The right system will also support high-quality creative work. Certain types of stress hurt creativity and the ability to initiate action. A video production project’s sheer volume of assets is a form of mental clutter that can stall progress and push editors out of the creative zone. The relationship between stress and creativity is an interesting one. Challenge stressors fuel innovation, while hindrance stressors thwart creativity. Poor organization and ineffective workflows are a form of operational “red tape” that forces editors to spend excess time searching and retrieving assets and to focus on seemingly repetitive tasks. Other hindrance stressors include a lack of clarity about roles. The right video asset management system not only brings efficiency to the management of assets but also eliminates hindrance stressors to ensure that editors remain in the creative zone.

How can Video Editors Optimize their Time?

There’s a lot that video editors can do to optimize their time. Here are ten practices to increase your productivity and enhance your creativity.

  1. Manage assets well. Staying organized ensures editors can access approved assets and are ready to work unimpeded. Video asset management systems and carefully designed and practical workflows cut through the chaos and help creators jump into their work.
  2. Ensure that your technology is properly configured. Correctly setting up the video management system is essential. The last thing that video editors want to do is spend lots of time troubleshooting technology. When properly configured, your video asset management software can help editors optimize their workflows, but poorly integrated solutions can cause delays.
  3. Ensure that everyone who touches assets throughout the process knows how to get the most out of your media asset management solution. It’s the key to ensuring everyone has access to the assets they need, and it is a big win for all team members.
  4. Editors should know their editing style and their strengths. Professional self-awareness helps editors optimize their time.
  5. Another way video editors can optimize their time is to increase their proficiency with their video editing software. The software that is available on the market is compelling. Most creatives only take advantage of a fraction of the power of their tools, many times leaning on manual and time-consuming processes. The pressure to be efficient can make editors feel like they don’t have time to invest in mastering the advanced features of their video editing software. For instance, keyboard shortcuts have a dramatic impact on productivity. Learning the software’s advanced features offers a fantastic ROI, allowing editors to work more efficiently.
  6. Adopt effective project management practices. Project management streamlines video production operations. Define roles, responsibilities, and timelines. Keep other team members informed of delays and obstacles to optimize their time.
  7. Effective communication and collaboration are essential. Use your MAM’s embedded review, approval, and commenting functions to ensure the crucial information is linked to the assets and in-process files rather than in a separate, disjointed system like email or messaging.
  8. Use automation. Simplify the nonessential so that editors can focus on the creative aspect of their work. Nothing puts creativity to a screeching halt, like being overwhelmed by numerous repetitive tasks. A good media asset management system will automate these tasks. This efficiency clears the mental space and will position editors for their most creative work.
  9. Integrate. One system rarely meets all your needs. Integration is a powerful way to design a system for efficiency and creativity. Connecting tools like your media asset management solution directly to your editing software through panel extensions allows for greater efficiency.
  10. Don’t wing it. Working with professionals who can advise your team on the best solutions and workflows gives a great return on investment. When editors are free to edit, they do their absolute best work.

Contact Us Today

CHESA partners with best-of-breed technology providers in the creative IT industry. We continually evaluate and test our solutions offerings, with CHESA engineers and Solutions Architects validating every technology we place into real-world integrations. No one system fits everyone. We take a comprehensive approach and recommend the best fit for each client’s situation.

CHESA has a passion for the nuances of media workflow integration. We take a holistic approach in recommending solutions that bring real value and benefits to your organization rather than selling technology for technology’s sake. Our team comes to the table ready to address the demands and requirements of your environment and advance your business goals. Contact us today to find out more about how your editors can optimize their time with powerful workflows and effective asset management.

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Digital Asset Management

DAM vs. MAM vs. the Coexistence of Both

Digital asset management applies to files and media stored in a digital format. Digital assets include raw and original video and audio files, in-process project files, and finished files ready for distribution. The assets include branding elements, graphics, slide decks, text, music, and marketing files.

Digital assets for a single project can easily number in the thousands in any video production. Many of these files have multiple versions. Content is also coming in from many sources: production teams may upload raw footage, and your team may create new assets. Sometimes content is even produced by fans and customers.

There can be confusion between Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Media Asset Management (MAM). They both manage digital assets, but what differentiates them is where they are in the process and who uses them. An easy way to remember the distinction is that MAMs are upstream during the editing process, and DAMs are more downstream to share finished content with other creative teams, like marketing. MAM versus DAM is not an either/or. They should coexist in the asset management strategy for any production.

Without an effective Media Asset Management system, chaos can bog down production. An effective media asset management solution will handle the many formats used in video production, including video files, audio files, graphics files, text files, project files, color correction, VFX files, and audio mixing files. Your MAM software should be built for collaboration, allowing you to share with team members securely with permissions. It should feature enhanced metadata automation to maximize search capabilities with minimal downtime.

When the two systems coexist effectively, your DAM solution brings assets to the teams responsible for marketing and distribution. Your DAM solution should integrate well with marketing asset creation tools. There are many benefits when your MAMs and DAMs integrate effectively, including:

  • Better asset sharing. With a central location for all assets, team members can find, retrieve, and share assets from any location.
  • Improved efficiency. Team members can quickly get their hands on the assets they need; they can automate mundane, repetitive, yet essential tasks like asset tagging and metadata extraction so team members can focus on the creative and more rewarding parts of their work.
  • Better control of branding with the most up-to-date assets readily available.
  • Security. Access control and encryption features safeguard media assets.
  • Improved communication and collaboration.
  • Effective integration with various software applications allows creatives to find, retrieve, and edit without leaving their pane.

Fostering Collaboration with the Right Asset Management Tools

Video production can be a collaborative process that brings together the talents of many creatives. Often these team members work from different geographic locations. Media Asset Management Systems and Digital Asset Management Systems support collaboration with team members wherever they are. The benefits to production team members extend beyond the file storage capabilities, including:

  • MAMs help streamline ingesting and tagging. This efficiency can make a significant difference when on-demand production is essential, such as during news or sports events, where delays impact getting the video out on a tight timeline.
  • Nonlinear editing is supported.
  • The MAM enhances review and approval processes. Reviewers can comment, request changes, and approve assets. And nothing falls through the cracks because review and approval processes are managed within the MAM system rather than through other methods such as email.
  • Workflows are optimized and automated, allowing users to move through the process efficiently.

While we often think of video collaboration at the production team level, there is much to gain from choosing a digital asset management platform that allows collaboration with various team members outside the production team.

Increasingly, organizations are looking to feature teasers on social media channels and engage with influencers to get customers excited. Your marketing team members are using digital assets, creating new content, and sharing them with stakeholders through blog posts and videos for TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and other social media platforms.

Contemporary marketing requires a steady stream of high-value creative assets to excite people about your project. Visuals are essential to getting the message out and ensuring memorable campaigns. When your marketing team has access to high-quality assets for marketing campaigns, excitement builds.

A DAM system also benefits your campaigns by facilitating internal collaboration in this area:

  • When your marketing and sales teams can access brand assets and clips through your DAM platform, marketing can get to work early in production. This readiness shortens the timeline for the launch of campaigns.
  • A powerful DAM will help ensure brand consistency and allow other departments to access the suitable library of assets for slide decks, internal presentations, and external marketing campaigns. Consistent branding builds trust.
  • The marketing team can use the DAM platform to quickly find video assets created for a specific product or campaign. An effective digital asset management system will identify high-performance assets and allow teams to repurpose these assets for existing or future campaigns. Since there is less generation of new assets, there is better branding control.

Selecting the most effective MAM and DAM solutions for your organization requires understanding your organization’s specific needs and requirements. Consider the size of your studio, the types of videos you produce, and the needs of your creative team, your sales and marketing teams, and your customers.

When your MAM and DAM platforms coexist effectively, your creative team can work efficiently without losing focus. These conditions enhance communication and collaboration for all stakeholders.

Contact Us Today

CHESA has a passion for the nuances of media workflow integration. We take a holistic approach in recommending solutions that bring real value and benefits to your organization rather than selling technology for technology’s sake. Our team comes to the table with deep knowledge of the tools and vendors and is ready to address the demands and requirements of your environment and advance your business goals.

Contact us today to learn more about how a Digital Asset Management or Media Asset Management Platform can foster collaboration at your organization.

Categories
MAM

Unlocking Workflow Efficiency through Media Asset Management

professional using a laptop at his workstation

With a media asset management solution, you are poised to harness the power of that system for enhanced workflows. Media asset management (MAM) focuses on the in-process files to create finished video projects. The management of media assets has the potential to be a pinch point in video production. Tagging and organizing files are often time-consuming processes, but taking shortcuts on the front end can dramatically reduce efficiencies downstream in production and postproduction.

Finding the right media asset management platform can transform workflows, saving time and money. Optimized workflows are a win for everyone. Creatives spend more time in the zone doing the work they love, production studios benefit from improved efficiency and reduced costs, and clients benefit from getting high-quality video in a shorter time to market.

These tools help teams realize efficiencies throughout the entire process.

  • Ingesting assets is a time-consuming process. Media asset management solutions can automate the ingest process, saving time, reducing errors, and improving consistency. File transfer, format conversion, metadata extraction, tagging, and distribution can all be automated. Many systems support camera-to-cloud capabilities.
  • Many media asset management systems feature Artificial Intelligence and machine learning and can look inside and add tags and keywords. Automating metadata tagging reduces time-consuming manual entry and improves the consistency of tagging.
  • MAM systems hypercharge search and retrieval. Creatives can quickly find current, approved assets. Creatives won’t waste time recreating misplaced assets or reworking because the wrong version was used.
  • Multiple creatives can access project files and assets with all media stored in a centralized location.
  • Automation streamlines workflows and allows team members to focus on creative aspects of the project, enhancing quality.
  • Remote editing and proxy-based workflows allow true cloud operations.
  • Review and approval workflows enhance communication and reduce errors. Notes, feedback, suggested revisions, and approvals are not lost in emails or secondary communication channels.

Paving the Way for Organizations to do Media Operations in the Cloud

There was a first wave of migrating to the Cloud during the COVID pandemic, and the innovations that many firms implemented have become the new norm.

There are many benefits to moving towards cloud-based production. It’s scalable, allowing studios to scale up or down to meet demand. Instead of costly investments in infrastructure and information technology, your studio has access to some of the most powerful systems in the world. Talent from all over the world can collaborate in real time.

The innovations are here to stay, and more and more organizations are implementing media operations in the Cloud. If you think cloud-based media operations are suitable for your team, here are a few things to consider:

  1. Organized assets pave the way to implement cloud-based operations.
  2. Migrating media operations to the Cloud can be daunting. There are many options out there. Finding the right level of service is essential. Some may be too powerful and costly, while others won’t deliver your organization’s desired outcomes. The most cost-effective system will meet your needs without overdelivering.
  3. Bringing decision-makers to the table is essential but consider casting a wider net. Including employees early in the process will enhance the success of your migration to cloud media services.
  4. Innovations are always in the pipeline. Finding the right partner will allow you to collaborate and innovate workflows as new features become available.

At CHESA, successful migrations require a client-focused discovery process. In discovery, we seek to understand your company’s and your team’s goals. Ideally, your goals are specific and measurable and tied to addressing your company’s challenges. We’ll help you articulate the “why” behind your vision. You may be seeking to grow without a brick-and-mortar investment. Perhaps you need access to global talent.

A shared understanding of your company’s unique goals is essential to the process. Still, there are other considerations, including the scope of your plan and your organization’s capacity and readiness. We will look at your workflows, your tech, and your people. We will collaborate with you to engage your team and plan for change management.

Your team won’t be squeezed into a poor-fitting solution. Our cloud-based operation services are designed around your needs, whether fully remote or hybrid. We’ll also be there after the migration because a well-trained and supported team is critical in unlocking workflow efficiency.

Contact Us Today

From capture through delivery, CHESA designs, builds, integrates, and supports media workflow solutions with industry-leading technologies to create highly efficient systems that achieve our client’s business objectives. We are strategic partners and take a consultative approach.

Contact us today to find out more about cloud-based media operations.

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Acorn Blog

AWS SaaS Factory Announces Support for CHESA’s Acorn Cloud

AWS SaaS Factory Announces Support for CHESA’s Acorn Cloud

Below is an excerpt from the AWS’ interview with CHESA’s Lance Hukill, CCO and Jason Paquin, CEO. Click here to read the entire interview.

By Oded Rosenmann, Global Practice Lead, SaaS Partners – AWS
By Anubhav Sharma, Sr. Partner Solutions Architect – AWS

Systems integrator CHESA supports media supply chain environments to help media companies build and manage operations in the cloud.

Dozens of years of consulting experience with creative teams and video editors helped CHESA identify a need for media asset management (MAM) collaboration tools for remote creative teams. Many of these teams have very limited media IT support.

As a result CHESA recently launched its MAM platform, Acorn Cloud – a cloud-based media workflow and management platform for creative teams to collaborate. Editors now have the ability to ingest, search, find, enrich, and retain their assets within a remote work-in-progress full stack solution.

With support from AWS SaaS Factory, CHESA built and launched the Acorn Cloud SaaS solution on Amazon Web Services (AWS). This allows small to mid-size creative teams to create, edit, and deliver video content with a lowered barrier to entry and as a fully managed service.

Read the entire interview here. 

Watch Acorn Cloud Ingest, Organize, Edit, and Find your Video Assets

Book your Demo of Acorn Cloud today!

 

#65 Automation in an Adobe Workflow with David Merzenich of MoovIt

On this episode of The Workflow Show, Jason and Ben chat with David Merzenich of MoovIt, a German-based systems integrator and the first Adobe Video Solution Partner in the program. David Merzenich discusses Helmut, a suite of workflow orchestration tools designed from the ground up, to bring consistency and flexibility to any Adobe post-production environment. Ben and Jason ask about the development, goals, and benefits of using Helmut within the Adobe ecosystem and discuss certain challenges of an Adobe-centric workflow. Listen in for some workflow therapy!

Categories
Adobe Blog Digital Asset Management MAM Technology

How and Why CHESA Became an Adobe Video Solution Partner

The primary purpose of a solution architect’s work is to help clients use technology to their advantage. Given the prevalence of Premiere Pro and After Effects in our industry, I was already very familiar with Adobe’s video editing software applications and regularly sought to stay informed regarding changes and advancements in their products. CHESA has been working closely with Adobe for years, and when the opportunity arose to learn more and help CHESA become certified as an Adobe Video Solution Partner (AVSP), I jumped at the chance.

The training Adobe put together to become an AVSP was explicitly designed for systems integrators who regularly help clients smoothly transition their creative content through the many software applications and platforms they use to do good work. A few quick examples include best practices for transitioning sequences between Premiere Pro and Black Magic Design’s Davinci Resolve. Or, transitioning audio tracks between Premiere Pro and Avid’s Pro Tools.

We also explored the best ways to fuse tools like Media Asset Management (MAM) and Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems with Adobe’s software to help companies organize and share their work. Always with the goal of keeping their creative teams focused on what they do best. Adobe’s mission in providing this training was to share the best of what they have learned working with their customers. This then allows Adobe Video Solution Partners to help more end users/creatives/editors/VFX artists, etc., to fully leverage their software’s capabilities. 

Adobe started us off with baseline training. I went through modules covering a wide range of Adobe’s best practices, including setting up project templates and custom workspaces in Premiere Pro, everyday working practices and common keyboard shortcuts, hardware performance guidelines, balancing sound in projects, and standard delivery methodologies, etc. Each class essentially made sure we understood the basics of the editorial process using Adobe’s software. 

When we progressed to the more complicated modules, which covered more advanced topics, such as proxy workflows, Adobe Team Projects, or Premiere Pro Productions, that baseline curriculum served as a solid foundation to build upon. Also, Adobe made sure there were no shortcuts to certification, by the way. Tests with proofs were all built-in, so Adobe knew “yes, they did the work”. And, because I’m a nerd, I created an Adobe knowledge base for our engineers at CHESA to utilize, organizing all of our notes from the certification training. Ultimately it is now a knowledge repository that will continue to grow, where our engineers can find information to support our customers readily.

As a solutions architect, part of my motivation to dive into the training, and a key part of Adobe’s plan, is to provide customers with more access to expert resources regarding the best ways to use and integrate their tools with other platforms. Now customers can work with certified Adobe Video Solution Partners who can provide a conduit for communication with Adobe’s experts and engineers to solve problems and create even better tools. Certified partners were a missing link between the brilliant teams at Adobe and the incredible creatives in our industry. But, not any longer. Now, teams like CHESA can act as a force multiplier for Adobe and continue to hone our workflow therapy skills. 

I think the industry as a whole is going to benefit markedly from this program as it leads to greater collaboration and innovation. Creatives, media IT, and engineers now have a partner to provide constant feedback directly to Adobe’s teams on what creatives want and need and help refine and fast-track better user experiences.

Adobe’s investment in our industry, via AVSPs like CHESA, shows the level of commitment on their part. It illustrates their awareness of their shortcomings and their desire to share their valuable experience and knowledge to bridge the gaps between them and their customers. They’ve done the work to find systems integrators they can entrust their customers’ workflows to, and have prepared these new partners to dig even deeper into the hard questions that inevitably will help the platforms become better. Adobe knows that sending a client to a consultant/system integrator without knowing how strong their knowledge of Adobe’s ecosystem is, is not helpful to the industry or the success of their platforms. This process has ensured Adobe can have confidence that their valued community is in good hands with partners who can help them get the most out of their software and put unique workflows together to refine and empower their work.

More on the Adobe Video Solution Partner Program:
How can CHESA help me with my Adobe workflow?
The Workflow Show podcast with Adobe regarding the program
CHESA’s Press Release
Adobe’s blog on the Adobe Video Solution Program

 

 

 

#64 PART 2: CHESA Interviews Adobe on the Adobe Video Solution Partner Program for Video and Audio

This is Part Two of our discussion with Dave Helmly, Head of Strategic Development, Adobe Professional Video, and Michael Gamboeck, Senior Strategic Development Manager, Creative Cloud Video regarding the new Adobe Video Solution Partner Program. In this episode of The Workflow Show, Dave and Michael further outline the benefits and intricacies of working within the AVSP Program, including how it benefits Adobe users. They also discuss the challenges of choosing a media asset management workflow and how the AVSP program aims to remove those challenges with highly trained systems integrator partners. 

Episode Highlights:

  • Ben, Jason, and guests discuss the possible impact of new Macs on customer hardware and workflow needs
  • They discuss how traditional workflows with Adobe are changing with new and exciting tech, such as LucidLink 
  • Ben and Jason bring up the new standards of workflow, including work from home, and how that will affect the connections and media asset management of editing teams
  • Dave and Michael highlight how CHESA, an Adobe Certified Service Partner, works as an extension of the Adobe engineering team
  • Dave and Michael share the benefits of Adobe’s new speech to text feature for editors in Adobe Premiere

View a list of all The Workflow Show podcast episodes