ASSET MANAGER

You can think of an asset as a piece of data stored in a file, like image or audio data. The assets used to build a show in WATCHOUT are handled by the Asset Manager. The purpose of the Asset Manager is to:

  • Prepare assets for being used in WATCHOUT shows.
  • Organize assets.
  • Share assets between projects and users.

The Asset Manager does not need to be located on the machine running Producer, it can be on any node available on your network. Since preparing assets can be a time-consuming and CPU and GPU intensive task, it can be beneficial to share a powerful machine among creators.

NOTE: You may organize your assets into folders just like any other file system.

To make use of assets they need to be added to the show. This is done by either dropping them to a Timeline or to the Stage window which creates a cue. This can be used to configure how the data stored in the asset is visualized/played.

  • Magnifying glass icon is used to open the search interface.
  • Name will show the name of the asset. This can be edited in the Asset Properties.
  • Image will show a thumbnail of the asset.
  • Dimensions shows the resolution for media and the size for 3D models.
  • Duration shows the time duration of the asset (available for videos and audio).
  • Date shows when the original file was created (this does not show when the asset was added to Producer).

NOTE: Not all assets have a thumbnail, dimension or duration.

CUSTOMIZING COLUMNS

Right-click any column header to show or hide columns. Click a column header to sort by that property; click again to reverse the sort order. These column settings apply throughout Producer's table views.

MISSING ASSETS

Assets that are missing or failed to optimize are shown with a warning indicator. This helps you quickly identify problems before showtime. Missing assets typically occur when the original source file has been moved, renamed, or deleted.

ASSET MANAGER MENU

New/Add

  • New Folder - Create a folder to organize assets.
  • Add Media File - Add an asset from your disk.
  • Add Image Sequence - Add an image sequence folder from your disk.
  • New Rectangle / Ellipse / Text - Create a shape asset.
  • New Art-Net Fixture - Create an Art-Net fixture asset.
  • Create Dynamic Asset - Create a new dynamic asset, or convert the selected asset to one.
  • Create Version - Clone the selected asset with a new name.

Select

  • Select Used Assets - Select all assets used in the show.
  • Select Unused Assets - Select all assets not used in the show.

Other

  • Delete - Delete selected assets.
  • Select Cues Using Asset - Find all cues that use the selected asset. See Select Cues Using Asset.
  • Collapse All Folders - Close all open folders.
  • Asset Manager Settings - Configure codec mappings and bandwidth limits.
  • Transfer Assets - Export, import, or download assets. See Transfer Assets.
  • Open Web UI - Open the Asset Manager web interface in a browser.

ADDING ASSETS

To add an asset to the Asset Manager you can either:

  • Go to the menu and select New Media File (or New Image Sequence).
    OR
  • Drag and drop a file from your file system to the Asset Manager.

Once the asset has been added, the Asset Manager will begin to prepare the asset for use in WATCHOUT shows. The asset goes through four steps:

  1. Uploading (only necessary if you are using a remote Asset Manager).
  2. Pending which means it is waiting to be optimized for WATCHOUT usage.
  3. Optimizing which means it is being optimized for WATCHOUT usage.
  4. New which means it is ready to be used in WATCHOUT shows.

PROGRESS INDICATORS

The following images show uploading.mp4 (grey progress bar, upload icon) and optimizing.mp4 (colored progress bar, cog icon) being processed simultaneously.

  1. When the window is not focused, a pulsing icon in the center indicates background activity.

Background activity

  1. When the Asset Manager window is focused, an activity indicator appears in the top right corner.

Activity indicator

  1. Click the chevron to expand the job queue and view progress details for each asset.

Job queue

SELECTING ASSETS

You select an asset by clicking on it. Producer also supports holding the Control/Shift-key to alter the select operation. You can also use Control+A to select all assets in the Asset Manager.

When an asset is selected, the Properties window is populated with asset information - Asset Properties.

REMOVING ASSETS

Select an asset(s) in the list and click the Delete key or select Delete in the Asset Manager menu.

FOLDERS

Producer supports importing complete folder structures which is very useful if you have already organized your assets in a specific way. To add a folder structure to the Asset Manager simply drag and drop it in the Asset Manager window.

You can also create or delete new folders from the Asset Manager menu. To move an asset to a specific folder you select and drag it to the folder of your choice.

Click on the magnifying glass icon at the top of the Asset Manager to open the asset search interface.

Enter text in the search field to start your search. You can further narrow down the search result by:

  • Selecting a specific asset type in the drop-down menu.
  • Showing newly created assets (assets marked with a star).
  • Showing assets based on which cues are currently selected on your Timeline(s).
  • Showing assets that are currently being prepared. Please see adding assets.

Hide the search functionality by clicking on the cross on the far right.

SELECT CUES USING ASSET

Sometimes it might be helpful to find cues that are using a specific asset. To do this you need to:

  1. Select the asset(s) of interest.
  2. Right-click in the Asset Manager window and select Select Cues Using Asset.
  3. The matching cues are selected in the Cues window.

TIP: Asset replacment, replace an asset across your entire show in seconds:

  1. Select the asset to replace in the Asset Manager.
  2. Right-click and select Select Cues Using Asset.
  3. All matching cues are now selected in the Cues window.
    If you have many cues, the Cues Window flter "Selected Cues Only" may come in handy
  4. Drag the new asset onto any selected cue—all update at once.

No need to manually find and update each cue individually.