2

Over time, as I've taken on more and more work (as a theatrical AV designer), I've built up a large collection of stock clips from a wide variety of sources, which always come in handy for smaller designs.

So far, I've been keeping track of the clips by building a non-relational database that allows me to record the details of each clip - such as the title, source, licence, owner, description and so on. However, the collection has come to such a size now that adding more clips or searching through the library for something specific has become a bit of a chore. So, I'm wondering if anybody has any ideas regarding library management/archiving.

I'm reluctant to use file metadata due to the fact that the fields available vary with each codec and I'd like to keep track of some custom data (licence, etc.)

Is there any software available, maybe a video equivalent of Soundminer? Or do you have a recommended database schema that works for you?

Thanks in advance!

P.S. When using archive reels, do you prefer to save the whole reel or split into individual clips?

Improve this question
2
  • Mac or PC? If you're on a mac, I'd suggest looking into openmeta. The metadata gets stored in the spotlight database, not with the files, so codec doesn't matter. Not sure what the windows equivalent is.
    – Jason Conrad
    Commented Jan 13, 2014 at 18:31
  • Just to be awkward, I tend to stick with Linux, and use Windows when I have to ;)
    – Cal McLean
    Commented Jan 13, 2014 at 19:14

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

I'm not sure that it would be ideal, but Lightroom is able to provide keyword and cataloging support for a variety of video clip types. It isn't expressly designed for it, but it's a relatively cheap option that may be able to handle your needs.

As stib was nice enough to point out, Adobe Bridge also can do similar cataloging if you have the broader Adobe suite or you can try using Darktable which is an open source package similar to Lightroom, though I have no direct experience with Darktable's ability to catalog video.

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    Adobe Bridge does a similar job, and is designed for video as well as other multimedia types. Also, if you don't want to shell out for Lightroom or you like FOSS, darktable is an open-source alternative: sourceforge.net/projects/darktable
    – stib
    Commented Jan 15, 2014 at 12:25
  • Lightroom will store the keyword/caption information in the Lightroom Database, but won't write out xml sidecar files for anything but image formats. It's not ideal. Bridge will not write sidecar files for mp4 format either.
    – Chris
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 19:06

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.