{"id":14194,"date":"2024-05-21T17:07:24","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T17:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movielabs.com\/?p=14194"},"modified":"2024-05-21T17:07:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T17:07:25","slug":"part-2-core-concepts-for-the-2030-archive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movielabs.com\/part-2-core-concepts-for-the-2030-archive\/","title":{"rendered":"Part 2 \u2013 Core Concepts for The 2030 Archive"},"content":{"rendered":"
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” pac_dcm_carousel_specific_module_num=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]In Part 2 of this 3-part blog series, we\u2019ll look at some key concepts behind MovieLabs’ approach to a \u201c2030 Archive\u201d \u2013 a new technology and workflow approach to archiving professional media assets. If you haven\u2019t read Part 1<\/a> then it may be worth going back and looking at the archiving use cases and benefits of this new approach.<\/p>\n So, let\u2019s dig in with a look at the foundational thinking behind our approach to the 2030 Archive.[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n In the 2030 Vision we assume all media is created in the cloud, therefore archiving it in the cloud actually simplifies ingestion because the content doesn\u2019t need<\/em> to be moved to be \u201carchived\u201d in the cloud as it\u2019s already present1<\/sup><\/a>. However, the 2030 Archive requires a new way of looking at the role of archiving media as we no longer view the archive as the \u201cend of the road\u201d and the last step in the process where media is placed in a secured vault in perpetuity. Instead, we can view the archive as part of the overall content lifecycle<\/em>. We view assets in the archive as in a place of secure stasis until they are needed again and then can be quickly accessed \u2013 the concept we discussed in the vision as making the archive an active \u201clibrary\u201d2<\/sup><\/a> so assets are not locked away but readily accessible by teams that may need them, all managed via the preservation roles and policies that define the 2030 Archive (see below for more details).<\/p>\n In fact, the archiving lifecycle in the 2030 Archive can start as soon as productions create new assets (from the first concepts to the final masters), those assets can be automatically tagged as archival candidates, eliminating the crush as production wraps to find and source all the assets the studio decides it wants to archive.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”bullet-list” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Some assets created during production are transient and can be readily deleted, others however could be \u201ctagged\u201d for long term preservation, as soon as they are created, if the content owner knows they\u2019ll likely want to keep them. The key to enabling this future vision of archiving is a \u201cPreservation Policy\u201d that defines how each production asset should be treated for long term preservation and tagging of each asset with this policy as soon as they are created or ingested into the cloud. This Preservation Policy could define, for example:<\/p>\n This preservation policy would likely not be a material part of the file but stored in a database or metadata file alongside other information such as the provenance of the file, its relationships to other files etc. The management of those assets can then be automated at enormous scale by changing the Preservation Policies and allowing underlying systems to then enforce those policies. If those Preservation Policies were expressed in a common way across the industry, they could be implemented regardless of which cloud they are stored on, which studio owns the asset, or which application created it.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at an example of how this Preservation Policy could be used in a workflow scenario, for example with an Edit Decision List or EDL. The studio may set a policy that the final version of the Edit Decision List (EDL) should be retained in perpetuity. During production it can be hard to define which version is \u201cfinal\u201d as the file is being constantly iterated, sometimes by multiple teams, so it\u2019s left until production wraps to define what was the final version and where it is stored. However, with an automated preservation policy we can see a different approach:<\/p>\n It is this efficiency in enabling automation that will allow the studio to realize many of the benefits of the 2030 Archive – assets or asset types can be automatically tagged with a policy and then systems are empowered to enforce that policy without humans needing to manually manage each asset.[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”bullet-list” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n MovieLabs has been advocating for production systems that are independent of any single cloud (public, private or hybrid) and are inherently multi-cloud where all applications can store, find and retrieve assets regardless of the infrastructure they are operating on. By enabling this multi-cloud infrastructure, we provide long term choice in where media should be stored and reduce barriers to that choice \u2013 so if a new or more efficient storage solution is offered the archival assets can be seamlessly moved to it. Today there are many differences between cloud storage providers and the capabilities of their storage and data management tools, service, policies, buckets, file level permissions and so on. The preservation policy we are proposing here would allow storage service providers to manage data across this myriad of potential infrastructures to ensure that the preservation policies are being correctly managed over and above the choice of storage.<\/p>\n MovieLabs has also proposed abstracting the physical storage location of an asset away from each application by using a unique identifier for each file which can then be resolved to find the actual location(s) of it<\/a>. Using this model of resolvable identifiers means each application does not need to know where every particular file is stored across any of a number of clouds and frees systems from being tied to legacy file systems and file paths. For archive, this enables future proofing the archive for potential changes in future storage platforms and provides a more durable reference when used for inter-asset references.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”bullet-list” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n The multi-cloud and policy driven approach to managing the 2030 Archive also enables a new opportunity to \u2018virtualize\u2019 archives by treating the same assets as different archives by applying different policies. This separation of policies enables characteristics of separate departmental archives and their specific use cases and yet still delivers on the single source of truth model with efficiencies in file management and storage costs \u2013 store a file once but allow it to appear differently depending on the policies of each department.<\/p>\n We recognize this is a different approach and will come with change management challenges to explain, design and deploy such systems and processes but it provides potentially enormous efficiency and resiliency benefits that will outweigh the short-term complexities.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”bullet-list” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n We believe the Common Security Architecture for Production (CSAP)<\/a> with its zero-trust approach to security provides the most robust way to protect assets in the 2030 Archive. CSAP ensures that every asset, and every action on that asset, must be both authenticated and authorized, every time. By integrating CSAP\u2019s approach into workflow managers and archival management systems the archivist can define security policies that control which roles or individual people\/systems can access which assets with robust protection from rogue actors or systems. In addition, we believe that the encryption keys for assets secured in the archive must be subject to the same, or even higher level, of diligence and protection as the files they unlock \u2013 because an active threat vector for highly valuable files is to ransom the keys or release them to the internet. Any long-term cloud archive therefore needs a plan for asset protection, metadata integrity, and encryption key(s) resilience.<\/p>\n A full discussion of CSAP and how it can be paired with Preservation Policy maybe the subject of a future blog, as it\u2019s beyond the scope of what we can cover here.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”bullet-list” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Another core tenet from the MovieLabs approach to implementing Software-Defined Workflows<\/a> is to treat metadata as a first-class citizen and store it separately from the assets, but in such a way that it is broadly available. The metadata can then be protected in the long run and also accessible, without pulling the media assets at all \u2013 as there are many use cases for the archive (searching for references, catalog management, changing permissions and policy, etc.) that do not necessitate the inherent (if small) risk and cost of pulling media assets out of the archive. Metadata should also be expressed in open formats (such as the extensible Ontology for Media Creation<\/a>) so that all systems, both now and in the future, can address the archive in a common way and accessing the archive is not hobbled by proprietary data formats or legacy asset management systems.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”bullet-list” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Now we\u2019ve covered the core concepts behind the 2030 Archive, in Part 3 of this series we\u2019ll coalesce these concepts down into eight core 2030 Archiving Principles which can help those implementing archival systems or processes to be aligned to the concepts.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”rgba(86,97,108,0.1)” divider_position=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”80px||||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”||||false|false” custom_margin_phone=”30px||||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Of course, there may be a change in storage tier class or an intentional<\/em> move from one cloud to another (for example from private cloud to hyperscale cloud provider, or vice versa, but we\u2019re addressing here that the media would already be in a \u201dcloud\u201d defined as storage\/compute services connected to the public internet.<\/p>\n [2] <\/a>Skywalker Keeps the Humanity in Automated Soundtrack Mastering – MovieLabs<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Note \u2013 we\u2019re calling these Preservation Policies to differentiate from security access policies and other elements of authorization and authentication policy enforcement. Security policies are important for protecting these assets and are discussed in great detail in the Common Security Architecture for Production (CSAP)<\/a>. In an archive implementation security policies need to be created and enforced to protect the assets, in conjunction with these specific Preservation Policies that define how the asset should be managed for long term archiving.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In Part 2 of this 3-part blog series, we\u2019ll look at some key concepts behind MovieLabs’ approach to a \u201c2030 Archive\u201d \u2013 a new technology and workflow approach to archiving professional media assets. If you haven\u2019t read Part 1 then it may be worth going back and looking at the archiving use cases and benefits […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":14182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[48],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nArchive as part of the Content Lifecycle<\/h2>\n
The Importance of Policy<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
Storage Systems and Multi-Cloud<\/h2>\n
\u201cVirtualizing\u201d the Archive<\/h2>\n
Securing the 2030 Archive<\/h2>\n
Separating Assets from Metadata<\/h2>\n
What\u2019s Next?<\/h2>\n