"I really like MM as well. I'm always curious though when people say Avid's media management is so much better. What exactly does it do that we can't do in Vegas?"

I've never seen it or used it myself apart from the rack it ran in. It seems to be multiuser with the "server" part running on a backend that the clients connect to. I also suspect that the Avid system is just that, an integrated storage and management system. With MM because it only runs in Vegas if you move an asset using Windows, MM doesn't know you've moved it or where you've moved it to, best it can do is discover that the file isn't where it was before.
MM could / should have been a killer feature for Vegas. While it'd be unlikely to ever replace the big asset management systems much more could be done with it.

Bob.

Avid's Media Management is completely different from Vegas' MM, or FCP Server for that matter.

Avid's MM doesn't deal with file system "files" and "folders," but with media and projects.

Everything in Avid is about working in a very structured way to prevent huge problems caused by confusing underlying structures.

Inevitably some people don't like this impingement on their total freedom to work with "a computer at a low level," rather than being a user of a "video editing machine with only high level structures and commands."

I've never quite "got" what the MM is useful for. Is it assumed that the user has some kind of large permanent "stock footage library" storage attached, or some finite set of storage media each identified by a separate letter? Or maybe MM is only to be used in a "disposable" way, during the course of constructing a large movie-like project?

I instead have a bunch of external USB drives, all initially called "F:" or "G:", only one or two plugged in at a time. I say "initially" because sometimes XP (on given PC or some other PC where the disks have been) relabels them, e.g. when two "F:"'s plugged in. Housekeeping sometimes means part-done projects get moved from one drive to another and ultimately will get deleted. In that case I can imagine having to spend more time house-keeping the MM than it was worth.

Stock footage is only maintained on tapes, there is no library on hard disk. If it were, I imagine it would take the form of small-size offlines such as Wmv or Mpeg4. Is such an arrangement necessary before MM can be of serious advantage?

So I wonder, what sort of situation is Vegas MM intended for and is my sort of situation more suited to an Avid-type arrangement or something else altogether?

"Is it assumed that the user has some kind of large permanent "stock footage library" storage attached, or some finite set of storage media each identified by a separate letter? Or maybe MM is only to be used in a "disposable" way, during the course of constructing a large movie-like project?"

All of the above . .and some .. why does it HAVE to be one or tuther? Why?

I've been here before, I'll be back to do it again and again . .and again . .

I use MM to "audition" a multitude of shot work to get a sense of flow and narrative; I use it to grab directly FROM captured work INTO trimmer and scoop/dig/trim out what I want; I treat MM as a global Clip/Media Bin!; I can SEE all my clips for a selected criteria - ooh wouldn't it be good to see all captured footage for a project that has a RED colour-way? or . . . etc etc . .

The more I have experimented with MM the more options and my own creativity can explore can even more options.

Why is it when a function is made available it has to be pigeon-holed into a certain way of using it? - Don't bother, I think I know why ..

MM+Vegas+Trimmer = an explosive creative cocktail!!

Grazie

Does MM only work on a clip level?

To simplify housekeeping I tend to capture all my media as single large clips and then preview and manually log the contents. If I could create sub-clips in MM it would suit my workflow greatly.

e.g. tape 1 - 05:00:23.00 - 09:00:16.00 -- dance item #1
tape 2 - 09:01:10 - 12:15:45.00 -- dance item #2
....

Thx,

marks

marks27,
I wonder this too. I've never really used subclips in a serious way, but I just captured a long file that has a bunch of really great smaller things in it.

This would be a cool feature, I'll check for it next time I'm at the editing PC.

What do I use MM for?

Much like Grazie, I do have a large 'stock fotage' collection that has tons of tags; but I've also started using it project specific too, and that works really well. I also find MM+Trimmer to be the bomb.

Bob, what do you find missing?

Matt

Marks,
I can't seem to make it work, maybe someone else knows how. I tried creating a subclip and dragging it over from the project media pane to the MM pane, but it didn't add in.
I thought it would, because my cursor went from the little no symbol (black circle with a line through it) to a yes symbol (pointer with a square and a plus sign). But its not there. Bummer.

Also, the MM help says nothing about it, but maybe there's a way.....

kairosmatt

<<I've never quite "got" what the MM is useful for. Is it assumed that the user has some kind of large permanent "stock footage library">>

I didn't get MM either. I work on short projects with relatively few clips, and since I name and organize files in a structured manner, why do I need MM? Besides, trying to use it in a small window on a single-monitor system was painful.

But what I've found is that with a little work, MM makes it soooo easy to find what I'm looking for really, really fast.

I figure that since I'm going to have to look at my clips anyway, I might as well tag them, rate them, and type in comments. It's far better than written notes!

<erasure icon is selected>

Doh!

I use MM for large projects - specifically maintaining large numbers of video clips (2500 or more per project) capture from sporting events during a season.

I have an "empty" template database that I copy and rename before each project. This database contains a complete custom tag-set suitable for the type of project I'm doing. For instance, for sports I have tags like "Varsity" "JV", Jersey numbers(00 - 99), Home, Away, etc.

I load all of my clips into the new (i.e. copied) database. I preview the clips and drag the appropriate tags onto the clip. (e.g. Varsity, Boys, Away, Player 1, Player 2, Shot-on-goal..) [Yes, this is time consuming]

Once this is done, I have a very rich database of clips specific to this project. So, when I need a clip of Player #15 from Girls Varsity, I can quickly do a filter on these tags and instantly have the handful of clips (out of the 2500 total) with which to work.

I maintain a separate "Library" database of all of my music, digital juice assets, etc. that I use on every project. It is very easy in MM to switch from one database to another.