Consistent use of collections, collection types and collection structures is an essential capability to efficiently manage large numbers of media and thus a key feature of any Media Asset Management system. Limecraft allows you to create and manage different types of collections. Depending on the collection type, different metadata and custom workflows can be attributed to the collections of a particular type. This article is about how to work with collections. Setting up and configuring collection types is described in the chapter on Library Management.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 1. Creating collections
- 2. Adding Clips to a Collection
- 3. Collection-level Workflows
- 4. Using the Collection Builder as a Story Board
- 5. Ordering the Subcollections
- 6. Removing an Item from a Collection
- 7. Subclips
1. Creating collections
The sidebar on the left of the screen lists all collections and categories in your production. The categories are managed via the workspace setting as discussed in this article.
Initially, there are no collections. Move your mouse to the section titled ‘COLLECTIONS’ and a button with a plus icon is shown. Click this button:
A dialog titled ‘Create a new collection’ appears:
You will have to fill in two fields:
- Collection group – In Limecraft Flow, all collections belong to a collection group.
- Collection – The title of your collection
Fill in both fields, like in the example below. Press ‘Save’ to create the collection.
To create more collections, you simply repeat the above process. The collections you make will appear in the sidebar on the left of the library:
Clicking the collection will activate a filter showing only the clips in this collection. No clips are in our collection yet, so no results will be shown if you click it. So how do you get clips in a collection?
2. Adding Clips to a Collection
themYou can manually assign clips to a collection or drag and drop the using the drag icon with four arrows.
Assign clips to a Collection
Note: a clip can be in multiple collections at the same time.
3. Collection-level Workflows
If you hover the collection title in the sidebar, a button with a gear icon is shown. Clicking the button reveals a menu with actions you can perform on the collection. The standard collection-level workflows can be extended by custom workflows.
4. Using the Collection Builder as a Story Board
The Collection Builder gives you fine-grained control over the contents of a collection. Open the Collection Builder by clicking the button with the gear icon next to the collection name, and choose ‘Open in Collection Builder’ from the menu.
The top part of the screen will now show the collection contents. The bottom part still shows the library as it did before opening the Collection Builder.
5. Ordering the Subcollections
The subcollections can be sorted and ordered as preferred by clicking on the sort icon next to the collection.
Similarly, the order of clips in a collection can be adapted with the options revealed with the sort icon.
The sort order you specified will be used in your exports of the collection. When exporting to an NLE, the items will be arranged in the same order on a timeline.
6. Removing an Item from a Collection
Select one or more items and click the red button with the broken chain icon.
Note: If you click on the trashbin the clip will be irreversible deleted from the entire library.
7. Subclips
Note that subclips, like comments, can also be assigned to a collection. Multiple subclips of the same clip can also be assigned to the same collection.