![]() However, to best describe a production asset management system would be a software that focuses on handling the editing process in a media file lifecycle. A confusing set of abbreviations for anyone who’s new to the expressions. To step up from our existing Trac site, we might first consider Trac-like alternatives for managing the project, such as Redmine, which would add several new project management tools, including search, workflow, and scheduling features in addition to handling multiple projects.Production asset management systems (PAM) are most often tightly connected with MAM (media asset management), DAM (digital asset management) and VAM (video asset management). We've considered using videoconferencing and digital whiteboard package Big Blue Button (on GitHub) for team communications, but it's probably overkill for our project. Blender contains its own internal markup system, called Grease Pencil, although it isn't much faster to use than sketching over a screen capture (although it does work better in 3D, and in fact, it's so sophisticated people have produced short animated films using it artistically). Much of the time spent on communications involves communicating the context of the conversation-what project, asset, or task are we talking about? We've done that using GIMP or Inkscape to produce quick markup images that we share by chat, email, or a phpBB forum. CommunicationsĪ key problem to solve for a team mediated by the internet is how to maintain context for conversations: you need everyone involved to know what you are talking about. Until now, we've handled most of these tasks through simple text files or LibreOffice Calc spreadsheets, in some cases shared through a MediaWiki site. You also may need to identify specific times when you can meet to discuss the project, and-depending on the terms of collaboration-you may need to keep track of the time spent by collaborators on the project. You want to be able to tell people when you will be finished, and you want to finish first things first. ![]() If you mess up and produce two parallel, out-of-sync versions of the file, you'll probably have to ditch one of them and repeat the other work. Since asset formats (such as our Blender files) often can't be merged if two people try to work on a file at once, it's important to keep track of each asset's phase and who has control of it. Each step might be done by a different person with specialized skills, so the asset will have to move from person to person. Once you have broken down the film into its individual assets, each asset will have to go through key phases of production-for example, a 3D model will need to be designed, modeled, textured, rigged, and animated. At its simplest, it can be done in a text editor, but more streamlined solutions can speed things up. This is called the breakdown.īreakdown can be done by reviewing the script and identifying and listing the elements needed to produce each scene. Project management starts with breaking down the big goal into lots of smaller goals-ideally down to the individual assets needed. Defining what we need to manage Breakdown ![]() But even more important are the people working on the project and how they apply their time and resources to it, so we have to define what we need for that. My previous article dealt with the first and most concrete aspect of this problem: digital asset management. And for that, we need to think more carefully about what we want from it. But it quickly becomes unmanageable for larger teams and tighter schedules.įortunately, there are plenty of open source project management software packages, which can provide structural guidance and hold a lot more information about your project than you can comfortably keep in your own head, freeing you to apply yourself more creatively. The challenge is choosing the right package. So, when the time comes when we actually need project management, it comes as a painful growing experience.įor the Lunatics! animated open movie project, we started by using basic tools popular with open source software projects, like a version control system ( Subversion), a wiki ( MediaWiki), and a bug-tracker and online browser for the source code ( Trac). This is viable for a team of a half-dozen people and an unhurried schedule on a volunteer project. One thing artists, engineers, and hackers share in common is their antipathy for management.
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