The Goal

It might be useful in setting up a new DAM system to know what it will look like when it's finished.
Well the truth is it will never be finished. However, the structure of the system can be developed to a point where it is sound enough to work with and that is as close to finished as it will ever be.

There are a couple of terms thrown around in Digital Asset Management: ODBC (Open Database Compliance) and Extensibility. These both are important to any sound DAM system and are both good reasons a DAM system is never finished. One always needs to be planning for obselesence and growth in scope within a project.

I used to have a manager who when talking about the interminable road repairs and renovations in the City of Ottawa would say: "It'll be a nice place, when it's finished". I thought it was hilarious, because it will never happen. The best we can do is enjoy it for what it is while accomodating plans for the future.

The lesson for us in DAM is not to be content with what is satisfying our needs at the moment but to stay in touch with our users and discuss future needs and plan to deal with them.

ODBC and Extensibility will be addressed more directly later, but for now it is sufficient to know the basic definitions.

Open Database Compliance is as the name suggests a state a file system or existing database is in which will permit it to be read, and modified by other databases which share the same ODBC characteristics.

Extensibility is the nature of any structure which permits it to be added to. For example the XMP initiative by Adobe which allows one to attach metadata to files whose formats don't permit the storage of metadata within the file. XMP actually is an acronym for Extensible Metadata Platform. When metadata is embedded in a RAW image file using software capable of doing such a thing, like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, a sidecar file is created which will reside next to the image file in its directory and contains the metadata as well as links to the original image file.

An excellent real world example of extensibility is a bridge such as the Bloor Viaduct in Toronto, Ontario. Most people will know that the Bloor subway line runs along this bridge, but will not necessarily know that when the bridge was built the subway was a far off project. The engineers built the viaduct with space and support for a rail line to run below the road. By planning to be able to extend the utility of the bridge they were creating an object with extensibility.

Well, this blog entry is about the goal and what the DAM system might look like for you when it's ready to use.

Essentially a DAM system is a database. It need not be an elaborate relational database and it need not even include image storing capability, although that would be a bad idea. What the database must include is fields which correspond to basic components of the files you are managing.

Now a field is a constituent component of a database which stores information about the individual items which the database is concerned with. One or more fields of information about any single item are considered a record.

Some of the fields we are concerned with are:

• filenames
• file formats
• creation dates
• keywords
• categories
• exif metadata
• iptc metadata
• xmp metadata

We will discuss the definitions of all these and the many other data fields available to us later.

Much of this data is provided for us by our capture devices. Whether they be a digital camera or scanner or a pencil & paper or typewriter in the case of analog media.

So, what does a database look like?

This part, like ultimately every part of DAM is up to you.
There are many software programs available expressly for Digital Asset Management. Which one you choose should depend on all the considered factors we will discuss in this blog. Probably the most important of these are; how many assets you will want to control and how many users you want to distribute them to. Also how you intend to distribute the assets and how much access & control you wish to give to others with an interest in the DAM system.

You may build a DAM system for one user or One Client to use the vernacular of the technologically prepossessed, using a single computer and a database. You may also build a DAM system for groups from two users to the whole world, using networks, servers and web access.

We'll discuss them all.

The first thing you have to know is ...

It's been a while since I started this blog and longer even since I adopted digital asset management in my own work. The paralysis I experienced in starting the blog is analogous to the hesitation many of you might be experiencing in trying to get started with a DAM system. Where does one start?

Well, I've discovered there is no one place to start for everyone because everyone's demands on a DAM system will be different.

However, I've also discovered that there are many things we all have in common. Where I will start is with those elements. Also, if one identifies one's priorities then a course can be designed and implemented based on what is most important.

I will make recommendations for getting under way assuming a few things.

1. The reader is a photographer or a librarian
2. The reader has a collection of old images to catalog
3. The reader will need to add new images on a continual basis to this collection
4. The reader will want to share the images with others

We will learn about digitizing images which are not presently in digital format. We will discuss ways of relating existing analog (film, print, video, text, audio) pieces with digital files which are produced in order to permit their inclusion is a DAM system.

We will learn the terminology of DAM. It's not hard, just different.

We will learn about the ways of marking files (for files are what the digtal assets are) so that they can be searched for. Basically this is the addition of metadata.

There it is.

The first term which actually is pretty discipline specific.

Rarely would you make reference to metadata outside of a discussion of file management or file creation. Metadata is basically data or information about other data or information. Metadata is what enables one to do an internet search for example. What you type into the search engine are basically keywords. A distinct type of metadata. Keyword is an easily understood word with a universal meaning which can be known by understanding the roots it is made up of. I know this is an extremely elementary thing to point out, but it is the distinction between more or less universally understood words and phrases and the discipline specific jargon that is key to developing a working vocabulary for a student. Jargon and acronyms are largely created by engineers who typically are unconcerned with anyone's understanding of their work but other engineers. So they make up contextually relevant terms which are sometimes a puzzle to everyone else. A bit of a pet peeve of mine.

There really are a lot of catch phrases and methodologies involved in DAM which are thrown about by people in the industry. This drove me nuts before I got up to my elbows in them and came to know what they meant. I will build a comprehensive glossary which will help the student of DAM to quickly interpret these so as not to be frustrated by the barrier of meaningless acronyms and "made up" words which have no universal relevance. Things such as JBOD. Which is a technical term for a storage system in a computer network which consists of "Just a Bunch Of Discs". On many hard drive racks which permit one to interchange discs connected to a network, the term JBOD is actually printed on the exterior of the housing next to the appropriate interface socket for just this kind of network. (More about networks later).

We will learn about file storage; digital and analog. We will discuss protocols for storage and distribution. We will discuss something which could be a subject of study and a discipline unto itself "Workflow".

There is a distinction between workflow and digital asset management. Workflow incorporates digital asset management as a key component. Workflow involves a few things that can be left out of a conversation about digital asset management, but it is important to have a workflow in order to make digital asset management work for you.

So ...

A bit of an introduction "fleshed out" for you. A feel for how I will write this blog and an indication of where I'm going.

Don't hesitate to identify areas you feel I may be ignoring as I go along.

I know what I know, and I use what I know. I hope you can see things you can relate to and that if I am missing something you would like comments on that you will contact me and let me know.

More coming soon. Much sooner than the time between this posting and the previous one.

Thanks for the push ... you know who you are.

Introduction to Tom Evans and Digital Asset Management (DAM)

My name is Tom Evans and I impose order on collections of digital images.

In a nutshell, that's what Digital Asset Management is. The discipline of ordering one's digital assets (image files in my case) and enabling people to store and distribute them. Easily.

Wow, that looks boring in print. Doesn't it?

Well frankly it is a pretty dry subject apart from the material one is called upon to work with in this trade. The results however can be exciting. Particularly if you have had experience in trying to locate images you need and need fast. This can involve sorting through recycling bins full of jewel cases below a desk, or combing through directories on a server reading the ubiquitous filenames generated by various digital cameras and scanners. Very frustrating, time consuming and EXPENSIVE.

What I hope to accomplish in this blog is to relate my experiences in the field to you and present advice and techniques which will hopefully save you grief in your adventures with Digital Asset Management. Perhaps I'll not capitalize the term digital asset management. There, it's less daunting already!