Records & Media Objects 📕

The record framework lies at the core of the Imagen system and is shaped by media and metadata. Imagen provides a set of robust tools for ingesting media and storing the media information into 'record metadata'.  

This guide will explain the relationship between record metadata and media objects.

Metadata is information that is used to describe and find your digital assets. A metadata standard or schema can include labelling, tagging, or coding to set up data elements and rules about their usage. Imagen stores record information in structured ‘Record schema’. As metadata is crucial to describing and organising your assets, Imagen gives you the most powerful tools in the business to generate and manage metadata accurately and efficiently. 

Classes 

Imagen uses a special set of record fields called ‘classes’ to consistently present record information on a record page. Imagen’s classes include title, summary, and date and apply to all records (e.g., setting the field ‘Film title’ as the ‘Title’ class prominently displays the ‘Film title’ field at the top of every record page). Classes can be changed at any point if needed.  

Media objects 

When a record is created, you have many options for uploading media. Before exploring these options, it is important to understand ‘media objects’. 

A media object is used to hold a piece of media. Although this diagram shows only one media object, a record can hold many media objects.  Each media object contains only one original file - we call this a 'media element' - but also contains media metadata and renditions.

Every cataloguing or archiving system in the world uses metadata systems of one type or another. Without effective media metadata, it would be virtually impossible to find specific items.  Media metadata can be used to set a name for the media, set a Timecode Mode, base-timecode, Clip Order Cost, or File download Cost.