THL Toolbox > Audio-Video > Technical Processing of Audio-Video - Log, Edit and Compress > Processing the Source Media
Processing the Source Media Manual
Contributor(s): Eric Woelfel.
A. The Physical Media Database
The first step in processing media for THL is to enter the source tape’s data into the Physical Media Database. Navigate to THL's AV Database home page and log into your account. If you do not have an account, please contact tibetanlanguage@virginia.edu for an account with full editing privileges. After logging in, find “Edit Options > Add other content:” on the home page and select “ Physical Media”. Input all relevant information for the tape in the entry fields and press “Submit”.
TIP: Please take note of the THL ID number assigned to your media. You can see this four-digit number at the top of the new physical media entry screen after “ID Number:”.
IMPORTANT: Please submit a copy of the tape to THL at the University of Virginia for archiving purposes. Label back up copies clearly as there will be timecode differences between the original and the copy.
B. Evaluate and catalog your project in the context of the Audio-Video Database
Before proceeding to the actual processing of the media, it is important to determine the direction of your project. Projects usually fall into two broad categories; existing THL projects, or new projects. Existing THL audio/video projects will usually have at least a rough outline in the AVDB and will be collected into existing collections, series and sub-series. You may elect to use the existing collection structure and title entries, or your vision of the project may change during the media development process. It is important to change the title, collection, series, and sub-series entries in the AVDB to match the changes to your project.
C. Make a new entry in the AVDB
In the event you have an audio/video project that is completely new to THL, you will build the collection, series, sub-series and title structure yourself while consulting with THL staff. If you have a clear picture of your project before processing the source media, you may choose to create your collection or titles in the AVDB before you begin media processing. In some cases you may develop the structure of your project while you process the media or even after you have finished editing.
The order of the workflow will change depending on the conditions of a particular project but it is very important to solidify the titles before you begin the compression process. Please see Generating Titles & Credits for Recordings for detailed instructions on title creation.
Enter the tape into the Cold Storage MMS
Backing up your tape onto the Cold Storage system will have several benefits. Primarily, it serves as a more permanent, non-degrading archive of the tape itself, since physical tapes lose quality over time and develop breaks in the timecode which make recapturing with existing logging files difficult. Secondarily, this prevents a backlog of unnecessary files on the hard drive, as once they are saved to the Cold Storage system they will not have to be recaptured and will not have to be saved on the computer for future use. A more detailed overview of this process will follow.
