Lawrence Kerr asked a really good question:
I’m about to start a very big project. Where should I import my media first: Into a media asset manager or, for example, Premiere Pro?
Larry replies: This is a fascinating question because, the more I looked into it, the more options appeared. So, let’s tackle this and see which workflow works best for you.
OTHER SOFTWARE
BACKGROUND
A Media Asset Manager (MAM) is software which catalogs your media, allowing you to search for it using a variety of criteria, then transfer a link to that media from the MAM to your video editor (an “NLE,” such as Premiere Pro).
MAMs don’t store your media. Instead, think of them, ah, if you’re old enough, like the card catalog in a library or, if you’re younger, like a Google search. Neither of these stores the information it references, it simply points to where it is located.
This assumes that both Axle and the editing computer are on the same local area network and the media being shared resides in a location accessible to both. If they aren’t, then Axle will download the files to the editing computer. The process is similar, but downloading takes longer and requires more local storage space.
NOTE: Local storage, however, is often faster than a server connection.
There are a variety of MAMs available today. I’ll illustrate this tutorial using Axle.AI because I own it. I first bought Axle eleven years ago and there are several reasons why I like Axle:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Axle is independent software that runs on a server, generally connected to your local area network, which automatically indexes all media stored on all drives to which Axel has access. This means that you don’t “import” media into Axle, it just shows up. The key effort you need to make is in organizing that media within Axle, adding custom metadata (like location, scene, actor, costume, etc.) to help you find the clip you need when you need it. (Axle also provides AI tools that can help automate this process.)
Because Axle works in the background, you can start editing immediately. Axle will find and index all your media automatically, even if it is not yet added to your project. Then, as time permits or after the project, switch back to Axle and revise any custom metadata for the media files that were indexed by it while they are still fresh in your mind.
A wild card – and it’s a big one – is that metadata; this is text that describes some aspect of your media. Most metadata is derived automatically from the media: Frame size, frame rate, date shot, codec, etc.) But, often, more critical metadata is entered manually by you or via an AI assistant: Location, scene number, actor, costumes, weather, or anything else that can’t be determined simply by reading the technical specs of the file.
As we will see, while auto-generated metadata transfers automatically, custom metadata does not.
TWO EXAMPLES
To illustrate these options, let’s work with some grizzly bear video I shot recently in Canada. (No grizzly bears, or videographers, were injured during this shoot.)
These clips are all stored in a “Grizzly Bear” folder on a server shared by Axle and my Premiere computer. Since both systems have access to the same server with the same media, all that needs to be shared between them is a link to the media. No media files need to be copied from one system to another.
NOTE: The Axle server is running on an M4 Pro Mac mini in my office. The shared server is a Synology system, also in my office. Both are connected to my local area network, as is my editing computer.
TRANSFER MEDIA FROM AXLE AI TO PREMIERE PRO USING THE AXLE PANEL
Axle has created a Panel for Premiere Pro that integrates search and import into an easy- to-use interface. Once media is catalogued into Axle and, optionally, a transfer bin is created, importing media into Premiere is exceptionally simple.
NOTE: You can get this free Panel by clicking Window > Find Extensions on Exchange inside Premiere.
Open the Axle Panel by selecting Window > Extensions > Axle AI.
Enter text to search on. This could be a file name, metadata or both. In the screen shot above, I’m searching on both the file name (“Grizzly”) and custom metadata (“Walking”, left red arrow). I’m also limiting the results to videos only (right red arrow).
Check the boxes for the clips you want to import, then, at the bottom, click Import Selected. The clips show up inside Premiere within seconds. This is faster and easier than working with Axle directly.
NOTE: If you want to search on text generated by speech-to-text transcription, check the Enable contextual search checkbox.
TRANSFER MEDIA FROM AXLE AI TO PREMIERE PRO VIA XML
NOTE: The fastest way to transfer media is via the Premiere Pro Axle Panel. Working directly in the Axle interface provides additional options like creating bins to organize media before importing it. Once created, bins can be opened directly by the Axle Panel in Premiere.
Click to see larger image.
This is the basic Axle interface. Sources and destinations are shown in the sidebar on the left, with media displayed in the middle.
The bins, on the left, were created by me and are used to transfer files between Axle and an NLE. Since I use FCP, Premiere and Resolve, I have a transfer bin for each.
You can also use bins to organize common footage, the same way you use events in FCP or bins in Premiere or Resolve. They allow you to group media in any way that makes sense to you.
Bins are created using the Gear menu in the top right corner: Gear > New Bin. There is no limit to the number of bins you can create.
Click to see larger image.
To add files to a bin, select the files you want to transfer, then right-click inside a selected clip and pick the bin you want to use.
Click to see larger image.
Click the name of the bin (red arrow) to see the files stored inside it.
NOTE: Remember, these are not the actual media files. These are only links to the media files. The media files have not moved or changed.
To send these files to Premiere, open the bin then, from the Gear menu, choose Create Premiere XML. This builds an XML file containing links to all the media in the bin. Bin clips do not need to be selected.
NOTE: To remove a file from a bin, select it, then click 3 dots > Delete Subclip.
The XML file is named after the bin and stored in the Downloads folder on your Mac.
NOTE: You cannot change this XML file name. If you export another batch of clips from the same bin, the new file will overwrite the old file. It is a good idea to rename the XML export file in the Downloads folder of your Mac as soon as it is created to prevent confusion – or overwrites – in the future.
Open Premiere. If you want to add the media to an existing project, open that project. If you want to add the media to a new project, create that project.
Then, in Premiere, choose File > Import. Navigate to the Downloads folder where the XML file is stored, select it, then click Import.
All media from the Axle bin is imported and ready for editing.
TRANSFER MEDIA FROM PREMIERE PRO TO AXLE
Click to see larger image.
We never actually need to “import” media into Axle. As long as the media is stored on a storage device, like a server, that Axle can access, Axle will automatically find that media, link to it, catalog all automatic metadata, generate previews and have it ready for us the next time we need it.
For instance, in the screen shot above, Axle automatically found the grizzly bear media on the server and indexed it.
To help with future searches, I added custom metadata to specify location and subject (red box). This custom metadata is where the search looked when I entered “walking.” When searching, the Axle Panel in Premiere will find any custom metadata text stored with the file.
CAUTION ON KEYWORDS AND CUSTOM METADATA
The wild card is custom metadata, these are labels you add to your media in editing or when organizing media in Axle.
Because Premiere does not store media in its projects, when that media is accessed by Axle, Premiere metadata is not added to the Axle database.
Working in the opposite direction, when custom metadata is added to a clip in Axle, that metadata is not transferred to Premiere, regardless of whether you use the Panel or direct XML transfer.
SUMMARY
In terms of workflow, for larger, more complex projects, I lean toward importing media into the MAM first, organizing it, then transferring to Premiere for editing using the Axle Panel. This allows me to leverage any custom metadata added in Axle when searching using the Axle Panel. However, there’s nothing wrong with importing media directly into Premiere first, then organizing it later in Axle. Use the workflow that works best for you.
Keep in mind that metadata is not shared, so plan on spending time after the media is linked into Axle for assigning custom metadata to your clips. This is a good reason to use AI tools to help organize your media, because entering labels manually into lots of media is a wearisome task.
