WGCU Public Media
& Coordinated Metadata Exchanges within TV Production and Distribution Activities

Context
PBCore Integration
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Like most other public television and radio stations, the WGCU Southwest Florida Public Broadcasting organization faces several dilemmas as they migrate into a digital, tapeless production and distribution facility...

• Gaining control of their analog tape archives, conducting inventories and digitization priorities
• Building asset management capabilities within the station
• Sharing and re-purposing digital media assets for production and e-commerce opportunities
• Pushing metadata from internal information systems to public-facing Internet distribution channels
• Integrating the flow of metadata across as many operations as is reasonable and supported

The chief database administrator for the television side of WGCU's Television Production Deparment recognizes a full integration across station operations is an ultimate goal. At this time, WGCU is focusing on the ability to capture and log field clips, pushing the assets and the metadata to production and post-production activities, while building the ability to migrate raw source clips or finished programs to Internet-based e-commerce opportunities.

Regarding their existing archive of footage, WGCU has inventoried 100 hours (approximately half) of their analog source tapes and clips. This effort is in anticipation of "going digital and tapeless" for all production activities in the near future.

At the present time, capturing and logging new materials and field clips is accomplished with Imagine Products HD Log and TEP HD software. Metadata exports from these utilities move directly into WGCU's Final Cut Pro edit stations for post-production. Through media servers at the station, the Production Department has access to 6 Terabytes of storage for production-related activity. Approximately 250 Gigabytes of full-bandwidth video is now available for retrieval. Lower bandwidth renditions are also stored for web distribution.

As part of their production integration plans, WGCU is examining the Canto Cumulus Digital Asset Management solution, especially for its web access features, media download options, and e-commerce package. Digital video clips, VOD full programs, and packaged media, such as DVDs, can be marketed through the WGCU web presence, using metadata descriptions generated at the beginning of the production processes (logging at original ingestion by producers and production staff).

Evolving workflows ask producers to catalog media clips on original ingest, using the Imagine Products logging tools with XML import and export functions. Metadata is pushed to production and post-production using Final Cut Pro XML exchange documents. Clips and finished programs are to be managed by the Canto Cumulus DAM system with web integration utilities for media download and e-commerce. Media files are stored and retrieved from multi-terabyte sized media servers.

PBCore's metadata dictionary was converted into a data-entry template within the Imagine Products logging tools. At this time, the focus is on metadata elements related to "moving images." It is apparent that PBCore compliant metadata records are generated at the very beginning of the media asset management process--creation and cataloging. As this data is exchanged with other information systems within WGCU, it is possible to recognize the source "DNA" of the media descriptions as being PBCore. Depending on need and request, it is entirely possible that these information systems can export PBCore compliant XML documents for sharing with other parties and organizations, including the WGCU Public Radio station that is tied into the NPR Content Depot system. Michael Gulnac indicates that in the near future after further testing, he is willing to share the PBCore compliant template built within the Imagine Products logging utilities.

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