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Looking Forward: Media Asset Management Software for Video Editors

By Lance Hukill
In the Creative Agency Beautiful Young Woman Videographer Works on Her Personal Computer, Editing Video and Audio Footage. In the Background Her Coworker and Chalkboard with Plans Drawn

It’s no secret that efficiency creates space for creativity. When you have the tools you need, it’s easy to build and collaborate successfully. Creative teams can allow for a more streamlined work-in-progress workflow when media asset management software tools work effectively together.

 

Keeping Editors in the Zen Zone: The Best Media Asset Management Software, an Interview with Adobe’s Dave Helmly

 

I sat down for an interview with David K Helmly Sr., Head of Strategic Development at Adobe Professional Video – Cloud, to ask him what the best digital asset management tools for the creative process are? Dave has been with Adobe for 26 years, working with image, audio, and video editors. He’s also incredibly approachable and engaging.

 

Question: What are the best digital asset management tools? 

Answer: Today’s best platforms take the best management tools and bring them all together to create solutions like Acorn Cloud. These tools all have to work together. Proprietary technology is a dirty word these days. Large and small businesses tried to develop their proprietary DAM software for media files but soon realized how expensive they are to build, develop, and manage. The future is open tools that are easy to customize. Clients should be able to switch out various components for their ideal content management workflow and quickly move things in and out of the Media Asset Management system. They should be able to easily add functions to the asset management system, like the ability to review and approve from a different location or the ability to build temporary remote working spaces. Systems integrators can support these non-proprietary tools to ensure all the components work together. These are the best tools available now.

 

David K Helmly Sr quote

 

Question: You talk about the creative Zen Zone. Can you explain the importance of a system that helps editors stay in the Zen Zone? 

Answer: Creative teams working with Adobe Creative Cloud are trying to create as fast as they can think, especially in Adobe Premiere. That’s a loaded statement because content creators use keyboard shortcuts when editing in Adobe Premiere like they’re playing the piano. They’re trying to maintain motion to keep up with their creative mind, which is many steps ahead of their keystrokes. A local working experience is essential for an editor to stay in this zone – more drag and drop scenarios feel local. Work is happening in the cloud, but the experience feels local. You’ve done your job if technology can keep editors in the zen zone. Yes, Cloud Storage is all metadata-driven and vital to keep things organized. But keep that aspect out of the equation on the front end so editors can stay in that zen zone.

 

David Helmly

 

Question: IT may know some of the best asset management tools, but these fail if the video and audio editors do not like them. What features should IT require when looking for the best platform? 

Answer: Require that the media asset appear “local” on an editor’s desktop in any platform under review. Even if it’s a cloud-based digital asset, that should be at the top of your requirements. Also, look at the drag and drop features. The workflow should feel “local” when a creative is editing. Does the platform maintain card structures within the digital asset management software? Lastly, does the User Interface keep editors engaged?

 

Learn More 

Stay tuned for part two of our interview with David Helmly, where we discuss the future of video and audio editors’ remote collaboration tools. Dave will share what tools editors need to collaborate on projects seamlessly in a remote scenario.

 

Are you searching for a cloud Media Asset Management solution for your team, department, or project? Let’s schedule a demo and show you and your team what Acorn Cloud can do for you.

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