Content Metadata is fundamentally important for project organization and as a start to editing. Content Metadata keeps common ideas organized together. These common ideas are the starting points for the stories that come from our media.
Content Metadata is tells us what is in the media files. Content Metadata breaks the content of a media file into selections that correspond to one major theme (keyword).
Classically Content Metadata derived from a script, and was embodies in Scene, Shot and Take. As technology has evolved from film to digital the type of content being shot, and the advent of longer takes, meant that Content Metadata had to evolved. You might be interested in The Evolution of Content Metadata.
A common alternate name for Content Metadata would be log notes. Originally notes written on paper associated with a timecode on the tape, logging migrated to the NLE, and now to on-the-shoot options. I prefer the more-modern “keywording” or Content Metadata, to logging, even though my own business – Lumberjack System – is built on the pun between ‘logging media’ and ‘logging trees’.
The primary distinction between logging and keywording is the focus on organizing and pre-editing that we get with Content Metadata via keywording media ranges. Verbosely logging content certainly has its uses, but having keyworded ranges for Content Metadata allows us to use this metadata for automating all sorts of pre-creative processes, like stringing out clips based on Content Metadata.
Continue to What is a Keyword…