In any Media Asset Management (MAM) system, managing a vast array of media files efficiently is crucial for ensuring seamless workflow processes. As media libraries grow in size and complexity, so too do the workflows associated with organizing, reviewing, and distributing these assets. One feature to ensure the flexibility and customisability of these processes, is the concept of a custom status or configurable status.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- What Is a Custom or Configurable Status?
- What is the Purpose of Custom Statuses?
- Where can you find Custom Statuses
- How to Set Up a Custom Status
What Is a Custom or Configurable Status?
A custom status a user-defined status label, dynamically updated based on process or metadata state changes, which allows you to create your own stages or conditions to categorise and track the lifecycle of a media item. Unlike predefined statuses, which are rigid and may not suit specific business workflow, custom statuses give you the freedom to align the system with your specific organisational needs.
For example, while traditional MAM systems may come with basic statuses like "In Progress," "Under Review," or "Published," a custom status allows you to define more specific or niche stages like "Awaiting Legal Approval," "Needs Color Grading," "Embargo", or "Ready for Social Media."
By using custom statuses, you create a workflow that mirrors the exact stages of your media production, review, distribution, and archiving processes. This can drastically improve efficiency and communication, as all stakeholders involved in the media lifecycle clearly sees at which stage each asset is in, or search for items in a specific stage. By incorporating custom statuses into your workflow, teams operate more effectively and it gives you the flexibility to adapt as your future business requirements may evolve.
What is the Purpose of Custom Statuses?
Here are a few examples of how you can use custom statuses in a media asset management environment:
- Tailored Review and Approval Workflows: Each producer or post-production facility has its own media production and approval workflows. Some might have multiple rounds of review, others might need to approve media content across various departments. Custom statuses allow you to support these specific workflows in your workspace. For instance, an agency might set up statuses like "Pending Client Approval" or "Ready for Final Edits" to better reflect their process.
- Improved Tracking: When managing thousands of media assets, knowing exactly where each one stands is critical. Custom statuses give you a clear way to track each media item’s progress in real-time with a single button click, preventing any confusion, delays, or quality problems.
- Enhanced Collaboration: In larger projects, multiple teams or departments often collaborate. Custom statuses make it easier to communicate across teams by giving clear, standardised indicators of a media item’s stage in the process. For example, a status like "Needs Marketing Review" can indicate that a piece of media is ready for the marketing team to step in, making workflows smoother and more transparent.
- Flexibility for Future Changes: As your business evolves, so do your workflow requirements. With custom statuses, you don’t have to worry about being locked into a rigid system. You can adjust and redefine statuses as appropriate, keeping pace with new processes or business needs.
Where can you find Custom Statuses
Once set up, custom statuses will surface in different areas of your workspace, allowing you to quickly and efficiently scan and search for specific media files.
1. The item detail
You can check the custom status value in the clip metadata section of the item detail, which is accessible via the info icon ("ℹ") in the navigation bar or the library view.
2. Visualisation in the Thumbnail View of the Library
In case one or more custom statuses are activated, they will be shown with their proper icon in the thumbnail view of the library.
3. Visualisation in the List View of the Library
In case one or more custom statuses are activated, they can be shown with icon and text in the list view of the library. Please refer to this article to learn how to manipulate the list view. By clicking on the column header, you can sort the items according to specific statuses.
4. Searching for Specific Content using Custom Statuses
Assuming one or more custom statuses are activated, they will be shown on top of the filters when you start searching for media.
How to Set Up a Custom Status
Assuming you have sufficient permissions to manage the settings of your workspace, setting up custom statuses is accessible via the clip metadata. Please refer to this article on how to set up custom status fields for more info.
