LAS VEGAS, MARCH 31, 2015 —Pronology, a developer of cutting-edge media-centric workflow solutions, highlights its ability to support rich metadata within its complete digital media asset management (MAM) system at NAB 2015 (Booth SL12517). Pronology’s MAM software places a large emphasis on organizational metadata for clear categorization of assets throughout the entire production cycle.
“The tools within the Pronology platform, including its ability to contribute metadata to assets at any point in the production process, enable a production to be as efficient and organized as possible,” says Mike Shore, co-founder of Pronology. “These tools are easy to use, allowing for the opportunity to catalog assets even before they have been captured. This ensures that everything gets categorized before it enters the production workflow. This is especially important when dealing with large amounts of incoming footage, as is the case with reality shows, season-long television productions or special events.”
The Pronology system is a comprehensive, all-inclusive, collaborative digital asset management solution that delivers acquisition, management, distribution and archive capabilities for live–to-air and video productions. By managing all processes from ingest to archive within a user-friendly interface, Pronology offers a truly end-to-end solution. The software’s advanced metadata features provide users with the tools to categorize assets in a way that fits specific production requirements. Its web-browser interface gives producers, executives and any authorized personnel the ability to securely view content from anywhere in the world.
Asset organization begins with Pronology’s customizable folder tree. This basic structure can be established even before a production begins, and then added to or modified on the fly. The folder tree supports folders and subfolders for clear and simple organization. This serves as a universal guide as to where specific assets have been recorded and imported. As the folder tree is consistent throughout the user experience, it serves as a communication tool that all members of a production can understand at a glance.
Pronology automatically manages multiple resolutions of each asset – including high, off-line and proxy resolutions. Metadata is automatically applied to all resolutions and can be added or changed at any point. Pronology’s web-browser interface updates all users in real-time to ensure that information is always in sync. The system also offers a comprehensive Asset Viewer, which allows users to view the specifics of an asset in much greater detail – even as it is recording.
The Pronology platform allows for both folder-based metadata, which is a broad identifier that can be applied to all assets within a given folder (e.g. multi-camera grouping), as well as asset specific metadata. Metadata categories and values can be pre-defined in the system, significantly reducing human-error and speeding up the entry process. The user can add time specific annotations in the form of timecode notes, offering more detail about a single point in time. This enables the production crew to search for, recall and pinpoint a particular portion of a clip with complete accuracy. Timecode notes can include colors and stars (one through five) for even further clarity.
As an additional tool, the system includes a “Live” logger specifically designed for the rapid entry of metadata and notes while in the midst of a live production. Predetermined TAGS can be established prior to or during a shoot to minimize human-error. These TAGS can be set to “stick,” allowing for notes to continually be added without having to re-assign the TAGS for each specific metadata entry, simplifying the transcription of an interview, for example.
To take full advantage of the metadata that is entered at the beginning of the process, Pronology offers an advanced search function that allows users to locate content using a wide variety of criteria including: simple text, timeframe or TAG, to name just a few. Once the ideal shots are identified and selected, these specific clips can then be organized into customizable bins. Selected clips from these bins can then be dropped into a “storyboard” and sent as a sequence to an editor. Since these sequences can be associated to any resolution, the editor can load the Pronology storyboard into their NLE and automatically link to the appropriate resolution for on-line or off-line work. Pronology supports a range of NLE systems including Avid, Adobe and Apple.
Pronology also includes a complete archive solution. Imported and/or recorded content and its associated metadata can be preserved to both LTO data tape as well as to the “cloud.” Users have the option to control a single LTO tape drive or a multi-drive robot to create an open-standard LTFS formatted backup manually or automatically. These archive copies allows users to create full or partial restores of media directly from their browser. Included in the complete Pronology offering is the ability to extend all of the archive functionality to a cloud-based option.
About Pronology
Pronology’s digital asset management tools simplify the tasks of content creation and distribution for today’s file-based workflows by offering a single platform that unifies the production process from acquisition to archive. Pronology allows a limitless number of users to simultaneously and remotely acquire, manage, approve, log, distribute, transcode and archive content using a standard web browser. Its user-friendly interface has been designed by users, for users, to accommodate a wide range of possible workflows. For more information, please contact us at 212-660-1600/ info@pronology.com or visit us online at www.pronology.com.
