Vocabulary Design 3: Metadata Schema

LIBR 247May 4, 2007

Jeanette BraunHeather Fucinari

Freda Lin

I wrote all my comments in this document, so I’m not emailing the table back to you.

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1. Introduction

Our metadata schema is for a stock footage library providing film, video, and digital

content on a wide range of subjects for independent directors and producers working in the arts,

education, news, public broadcasting, and on the web. Our intended users are searching for film,

video, and digital clips to use in projects such as student films, independent documentaries,

public television programs, and non-profit educational websites. However, we anticipate that

anyone looking for stock footage may choose to use our library, including users looking for

content for projects such as commercials, training films, and trade shows.

A user that would likely utilize this system is a filmmaker working for the Public

Broadcasting System (PBS). They may be shooting a documentary on the effects of globalization

culture and society. The filmmaker may have a grant, but as funding for the arts is limited one

must cautiously budget. Helpful footage may be the generic jet landing or footage of American

currency. The user may search for factories spewing pollution. Keyword searches would easily

bring the user to their desired footage. From there they may want to focus on emotion, perhaps

choosing a shot of the pollution rising at dawn. Since elements such as "Time" are utilized in our

metadata the user can search by time of day.

Another possible user is an environmental educator at a non-profit organization. She’s

developing a website to educate kids about the environmental impacts of global warming. One

of the topics the website deals with is the melting polar ice caps, so she has come to our website

searching for stock footage of polar bears. She wants footage of polar bears engaging in a broad

range of activities, so she would most likely start with a subject search for “polar bear.”

Depending on how many clips this initial search retrieved, she might choose to modify her

search to specific activities by, for example, searching for “polar bear” and “swimming.” While

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she would prefer royalty-free clips due to the limited funds she has available for the project, it is

more important to her that she find just the right clips, even if it means licensing their use.

Hence, she will narrow her choices based primarily on the subject terms and description, and

make her final choices by viewing the online preview clips.

Alternately, the time-consuming footage research might be assigned to a production

assistant good point (PA)—especially in the world of commercial media. One possible situation

would bring a PA to our metadata schema with the task of selecting 15 clips to be reviewed by

his boss, the director. Their efficient 2-stage process, which saves time for the director and

money for projects overall, would hinge on 6 key pieces of information in our schema. The first

2—subject terms and clip description—would provide verbal access to the visual medium and

allow the PA to perform his search based on whatever content or concept requirements the

director has given him. The “old ladies, with joie-de-vivre, in black and white with a vintage

feel” that the director has in mind for a music video, or the “island paradise, breathtaking views

—not the generic coconuts-and-palm-tree deal” that the director envisions for a television

commercial, could be located through the words and phrases “older women” and “smiling,” or

“paradise” and “tropics.” The next key piece of information—concerning usage rights and

release—would allow the PA to choose between Rights Managed or Royalty Free clips. This

would help guard projects against unnecessary budget surprises and schedule delays. Clip

duration and loopability—the fourth and fifth key pieces of information—would allow the PA to

know if a clip were of appropriate length and whether the length could be easily extended.

loopability is a new concept to me (and to my spell checker!) Moreover, the PA could calculate

clip durations to report how much time the director would need to review the clips. Lastly, with a

unique identifier assigned to each clip, the PA could submit his search results with confidence

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that each clip could later be immediately and precisely recalled for the director’s review and final

selection.

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2. Requirements Analysis

2A: Literature about user groupThere are limited resources on the subject of users in the domain of moving images, and

even less on the more specific domain of stock footage libraries. The resources we did find

emphasized the importance of subject access and information on intellectual property and rights

clearance, and reminded us that meeting user needs through good metadata is good for business,

for we can’t make a sale if the user can’t find the shot she needs.

In their user study evaluating the Moving Image Collections union catalog, Zhang, Jeng,

and Li (2004, p. 2) report that “users from the survey tend to find and identify moving image

resources relying more on content descriptions (e.g. subject, title, summary notes, content notes,

genre), while to select and obtain resources with consideration of physical descriptions (e.g.

access restrictions, type, date, physical characteristics, duration).” Overall, “users from the

experiment relied more on content descriptive metadata than physical descriptive metadata for

both identification and selection of moving images," emphasizing the key importance of

metadata such as subject, description, and genre to users of moving image information retrieval

systems (p. 2).

The Film Preservation Guide: The Basics for Archives, Libraries, and Museums (2004, p.

73-74) also emphasizes the importance of subject access for film researchers, further stating that

“film not only contains a visual, and perhaps auditory, record of places, people, events, and

objects but also presents information about larger yet less tangible concepts and themes.” A film

“may show images of babies, houses, parades, and automobiles, but the images may also be

about childhood, domestic life and architecture, community celebrations, and auto touring” (p.

74). In order to provide effective subject access for users, the The Film Preservation Guide

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recommends using the “Library of Congress Subject Headings and the Thesaurus for Graphic

Materials I: Subject Terms as sources for subject terms and supplement(ing) these general

controlled vocabularies with more specialized lists,” while “always ask(ing) yourself: What are

the film’s images of? What are the images about?” (p. 74).

However, in his discussion of the National Film Board of Canada’s stockshot database,

Turner (1990, p. 12) argues against attempting to describe the “aboutness” of stock footage clips,

observing that they “decided as a matter of policy not to attempt to attribute emotional or mood

values, let alone symbolic interpretation, to the footage in the collection.” They feared they

“would be walking on quicksand as far as providing for user needs goes if (they) attempted such

an endeavor,” and thus “decided to try to describe the primary level only, with little or no

interpretation. Objects the viewer is seeing on screen are indexed, and little more” (p. 12).

Turner also observes that

describing what the shot is of rather than trying to interpret what it is about is appropriate

for a database used by filmmakers. An integral part of the creative process in filmmaking

is conceptualizing how to represent ideas and situations, so that it might even be argued

that attempting to supply subject access at other than the primary level may be doing a

disservice to users. (p. 12)

This reveals that, while there is agreement on the importance of subject access, there are

differing viewpoints as to how deep this subject access should go.

Because stock footage libraries are in the business of providing copies for reuse, metadata

regarding intellectual property and rights clearance are also of vital importance for users. In The

Filmmaker’s Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age, Ascher and Pincus (1999,

p. 556) focus on the importance of providing information about rights for users of stock footage

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libraries, explaining that fees for footage depend on “how you plan to distribute your movie,” for

“you can license rights to many media or only a few.” They also warn that just because a stock

footage library provides a copy of a clip does not mean the rights are cleared, and “you may risk

lawsuit if you use it without the owner’s permission” (p. 556).

Cox, Mulder and Tadic (2006, p. 12) observe that broadcast news divisions have always

“understood the importance of maintaining at least a minimum amount of key metadata

(subjects, people, locations, dates),” for “researchers and producers need to be able to quickly

find clips to incorporate in their daily news programs and documentaries.” This practice of

“tracking key shot metadata so footage can be found quickly benefited the broadcasters when

they began selling outtakes from their libraries,” for “it is the accuracy of the metadata in the

online database that brings the researcher to the footage and, it is hoped, to a sale for the

broadcaster” (p. 12). Meeting user needs is good for business, as “consistent and standardized

metadata created by the broadcaster is key for researchers to find the footage they need” (p. 12).

At the onset of our preliminary research, when information resources about stock footage

users seemed scant, an effort to learn more was made through calls and emails to several

companies, institutions, or groups whose members seemed likely to need footage and apply it to

their work. These included: USC School of Cinema; UCLA School of Theater, Film and

Television; American Film Institute; Art Institute of California-Los Angeles; the Association of

Independent Commercial Producers; and several southern California commercial production

companies. Unfortunately, the effort, while instructive, was largely unfruitful. It became

apparent that it would require a more skillful and comprehensive approach than time allowed.

Do you mean more skilled and comprehensive interviewing? Importantly, it also became

apparent that the people applying footage to their work might not be the right ones to survey.

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Ochiva (www.digitalcontentproducer.com/stockfootage/video_stock/index.html) and Prelinger

(www.footage.net/info/archival_survival.html) make the point in their industry-oriented articles

that, if budgets allow, locating and obtaining stock footage are tasks better left to experienced

researchers. interesting This challenged one of our unconscious assumptions good point that the

person who needs the footage and the person who searches for the footage are synonymous.

While this is true some of the time, we now understand it is just as common for a surrogate to

perform the footage search. This range of possible searchers and their levels of search ability,

domain-specific knowledge, and understanding for word meanings, can vary widely. We hope to

address these variances through the use of controlled subject headings, industry-specific

language, and metadata field definitions that establish meanings and bridge seemingly different

but essentially synonymous footage terms.

2B. Existing information retrieval systems

Our group was able to view a variety of information retrieval system for stock footage.

Taking cues from the Association of Moving Image Archivists Listserv (AMIA-L) listserv and

the Moving Image Collections (MIC) website, we were able to experience the functionality of a

variety of systems. The listserv provided some key insight to our metadata needs. One particular

post describes metadata “must haves” for recorded media. The MIC site steered us towards a

variety resources for metadata formats, vocabulary and theory.

A few IR systems we compared and contrasted were from the BBC Motion Gallery,

Corbis, Revostock, Sony Pictures, Getty Images and the MIC IR system which uses their MIC

Core Data Element Registry. Fields used for these sites differ, but the realm of an online IR

search engine opens up many new possibilities. Turner (1990, p. 8) points to changes in field use

since the inception of online databases of footage, “In the National Film Board (of Canada) stock

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shot database it is now possible to search on the working title, the cinematographer, the

production number, the year the footage was shot, and other elements not previously considered

important enough access points to produce another card.” This gives our group the opportunity to

expand our metadata fields to a variety of fields that are specifically geared towards our user

group.

Although there are IR systems available for stock footage, they may not

necessarily provide the best search potential for the user. Goodrum (2005, p. 46)

explains, “The difficulty users often have in translating their image needs into verbal or

written expressions is exemplified by the patron who states, ‘I can’t tell you want I want,

but I’ll know when I see it’!” This problem is something we hope to combat with a

context and content image description. Hertzum (2003) recognized gaps in user needs,

Collectively these attributes relate to the production, content, subject, context and

screening of films. The current indexing of the archived material is, however, restricted to

production-related attributes, and the gap between the requests and these attributes is

bridged by the archivists on the basis of their extensive knowledge of the archived

material and films in general. If the archive is to become less dependent on the

knowledge of individual archivists it is necessary to extend the indexing of the films.

2C. Metadata schemas

We started by comparing five online stock footage libraries (BBC Motion Gallery,

Corbis, Getty Images, RevoStock, and Sony Pictures Stock Footage) based on the quality of the

metadata displayed in their user interfaces. We attempted to map their different data elements

good idea! to each other in order to see which fields they shared and which fields were distinct

(see Table 1). We then compiled a master list of all the elements displayed by these libraries.

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While there was a great deal of variability between the five stock footage libraries, there were

four basic elements they all shared: description, length, rights information, and ID number.

Starting with these four basic elements, we would need to decide which other elements to keep

or adapt from the master list. But first, we needed to select a metadata schema.

We considered several schemas, including Dublin Core, the Moving Image Collections

(MIC) Core Data Element Registry, the Moving Pictures Expert Group Multimedia Content

Description Interface (MPEG-7), the Public Broadcasting Metadata Dictionary (PBCore), and

the Visual Resources Association (VRA) Core Categories. We ultimately selected PBCore

because it maps so well to our master list of stock footage library fields (see Table 2) and serves

our domain and user profile well. PBCore is based on Dublin Core with “53 elements arranged

in 15 containers and 3 sub-containers, all organized under 4 content classes” (retrieved April 13,

2007 from http://www.pbcore.org/PBCore/index.html#howmanyelements). This isn’t the right

way to cite this. As with any other source, if there is an author (personal or corporate), you cite

the author and the copyright year. The url doesn’t go in the in-text reference. Cox et al. (2006,

p. 49) describe a subelement as “a descriptor closely associated with a main element in much the

same way as Dublin Core uses qualifiers (e.g. the publisher's name is a main element and

publisherRole is an associated or subelement).” The expanded Dublin Core elements

(particularly the format elements) are well suited to our domain and the needs of our users.

Furthermore, our user profile includes directors and producers creating content for public

broadcasting, and PBCore is “available free of charge to public broadcasting stations,

distributors, vendors, partners, and related communities” (retrieved April 13, 2007 from

http://www.pbcore.org/whomayuse/index.html not APA format).

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Once we selected PBCore, we needed to decide if we would adopt it or adapt it.

Comparing PBCore with our master list helped us to determine which fields to keep and which

fields to discard. However, we realized that there are a number of fields on the master list that

should be kept because they are important to our users, even though they don’t currently map

directly to PBCore elements. These fields include “time of day” and “shot speed.” We are now

in the process of adapting PBCore to create these new elements, and seeking the controlled

vocabulary we will need to name them. Since our domain functions both as a library providing

information about items in our collection, and as a business providing copies of those items for

our users, we are also debating how to use certain format fields. Are we describing the original

item (film clip, digital video file, etc.) in our collection, or the copy we’re providing for the user

(which may be in a different format)? Good – and important – question. Our metadata schema

is a work in progress, as we grapple with these issues.

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Table 1 – Mapping the metadata used by five online stock footage libraries

Sony Pictures Revostock Corbis Getty Images BBC Motion Gallery

Name (i.e. title)

DescriptionFile Description Description Caption (“woman

lights…”)Keywords Primary

KeywordsSecondary KeywordsCategories

(“Search for similar clips”)

(“Search related keywords”)

Time Period Era Era Time PeriodTime of Day (included in

“Search for similar clips”)

Int/Ext. (included in “Search for similar clips”)

Relative Location

Setting (included in “Search for similar clips”)

Type of Shot Shot DimensionSpeed Camera Speed Shot SpeedAspect Ratio Aspect RatioDuration Length Duration Length (“00:00:16”)

Frame RateLine Standard

Color Color ColourSoundCamera Shot on

Source FormatHD Available

Format File Delivery Option

Available As

File SizeCodecLoopableField RenderingPrice (listed in

“royalty free options” box)

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Sony Pictures Revostock Corbis Getty Images BBC Motion Gallery

DownloadsRating

Rights Model Release Release Info (“Royalty Free”)Release Information

(color coded “rights managed” in initial search results)

Copyright (i.e. owner of copyright)

Production ByCollection

Episode(“2603-008”) ID (“C205-008”) Clip Clip ID

BBC ReferenceCore Number

Table 2: Online stock footage library data elements mapped to PBCore elements

Master list of online stock footage library elements

PBCore elements

Name (i.e. title) titleDescription/File Description/Caption description, descriptionTypeKeywords/Primary Keywords/Secondary Keywords/Categories

subject, subjectAuthorityUsed

Time Period/Era coverage, coverageTypeTime of DayInt/Ext./Relative LocationSetting coverage, coverageTypeType of Shot/Shot DimensionSpeed/Camera Speed/Shot SpeedAspect Ratio formatAspectRatioDuration/Length formatDurationFrame Rate formatFrameRateLine Standard formatStandardColor formatColorsSoundCamera/Shot onSource Format formatPhysical

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Master list of online stock footage library elements

PBCore elements

HD AvailableFormat/File Delivery Option/Available As

formatDigital, formatEncoding

File Size formatFileSizeCodecLoopableField RenderingPriceDownloadsRatingRights/Model Release/Release Info/Release Information

rightsSummary

Copyright (i.e. owner of copyright) rightsSummaryProduction/By creator, creatorRoleCollectionEpisode titleTypeID/Clip/Clip ID identifier, formatIdentifier

2D. Existing vocabulariesMoving Image Genre-Form Guide. Retrieved on April 14, 2007 from

www.loc.gov/rr/mopic/migintro.html

PBCore Metadata: Welcome. Retrieved April 15, 2007 from

http://www.pbcore.org/

PBCore includes many “picklists” which are useful for the controlled vocabulary in our

format fields.

Radio Form/Genre Terms Guide. Retrieved on April 14, 2007 from

http://www.loc.gov/rr/record/frmgen.html

"The following thesaurus of radio form/genre terms offers controlled vocabulary with

which to describe various types of radio programs. It reconciles variant terms, establishes

relationships between terms, and guides users in the application of terms. It is used for

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cataloging radio materials in both MARC and non-MARC settings." Though this is for

radio, there is a search on "genre" which is helpful.

We also need broad, multidisplinary vocabularies for our subject indexing:

Library of Congress Subject Headings. Retrieved on April 14, 2007 from

http://classificationweb.net/

Thesaurus for Graphic Materials I: Subject Terms. Retrieved on April 14, 2007 from

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/tgm1/

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3. Metadata table

Note: Metadata table is to too wide to insert in this document. Please see separate document: 247_metadata_table_BraunFucinariLin.doc

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4. Style Sheet

Field names Controlled vocabularyIdentifier (Free text)Location of Original (Free text) Is there a specific format to be used? -- Such as the

one in your metadata table? Or does it matter?File Name (Free text)Title (Free text)Description (Free text)Subject (Free text)Subject Authority Used Library of Congress Subject Headings

Thesaurus for Graphic Materials I: Subject Termsother

Setting (Free text) Do you need some rules, such as always include country if known? What about a clip that is set in a time period when a city or country had a different name? Or which purports to be Rome, for instance, but was actually filmed in Morocco?

Time (Free text) Is the “date of the clip” the date on which it was filmed, or the date portrayed?

Camera Angle aerialclose-upextreme close-upextreme long shothigh anglelong shotlow anglemedium close-upmedium long shotmedium shotpoint-of-view shotwide shot

Speed fast-motionreal timeslow motiontime-lapse

Aspect Ratio 4:34:3 (16:9 letterbox)4:3 (16:9 anamorphic)16:95.5:37:3 (Panavision or CinemaScope)2.35:11.85:1other

Duration (Free text)Frame Rate 60 fields/sec

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59.94 fields/sec30 fps (60 fields/sec)29.97 fps (59.94 fields/sec)25 fps24 fps23.976 fps15 fps12 fps10 fps7 fps5 fps2 fps1 fpsother

Line Standard filmMPEG videoNTSC video (interlaced)NTSC video (progressive)ATSC video (interlaced)ATSC video (progressive) PAL videoSECAM videoQuickTimeRealSystemsWindows MediaFlash Video

Colors b&wgrayscalecolorb&w with grayscale sequencesb&w with color sequences grayscale with b&w sequencesgrayscale with color sequences color with b&w sequencescolor with grayscale sequencesother

Sound yesno

Original Format Film: 8mmFilm: 16mmFilm: 35mmFilm: 70mm8mm video8mm: Hi8 Video8mm: Digital-81/4 inch videotape: Akai

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1/2 inch videotape: CV1/2 inch videotape: EIAJ Type 11/2 inch videotape: VCR1/2 inch videotape: V20001/2 inch videotape:Hawkeye/Recam/M 3/4 inch videotape: U-matic3/4 inch videotape: U-matic SP1 inch videotape: PI-3V1 inch videotape: EV-2001 inch videotape: EL34001 inch videotape: SMPTE Type A1 inch videotape: SMPTE Type B1 inch videotape: SMPTE Type C1 inch videotape: IVC-700/800/9001 inch videotape: Helical BVH-10002 inch videotape: Quad2 inch videotape: Helical Ampex VR-15002 inch videotape: Sony Helical SV-2012 inch videotape: Helical IVC-9000BetacamBetacam SPBetacam Digital (Digi Beta)Betacam SXBetamax/Super/HBDV MiniDVC-Pro 25DVC-Pro 50DVC-Pro 50/PDVCam: SonyD1D2D3D5D6D7HD: D5HD: D9HD: DVC PRO HDHDCAMVHSS-VHSW-VHSCD-VideoCD-ROM DVD-VideoHD-Videodisc

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BD-VideodiscUMD-Videodisc: SonyEVD-Videodisc: China DVD-RDVD+RDVD-RWDVD+RWDVD+R DL Laser Videodisc CAV: 12-inchLaser Videodisc CLV: 12-inchHard DriveFlash MemoryCartivisionCVCDCTED-BetaEIAJ CartridgeHDD1000HDV1000Macthronics MVC-10M-IIMPEG IMXUniHiV-CordV-Cord IIVTR150VTR600VXother

Loopable yesno

Rights/Release Info rights managedroyalty free

Creator (Free text)

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5. Examples of objects in our domain

Element ValuesIdentifier 2006-343-2Location of Original vault 3; tier 2: shelf 10File Name 20063432.movTitle not applicableDescription College students with backpacks and cell phones walk up and

down the steps to the UCLA Powell Library, a red brick building with an ornate archway. A sign over the entrance reads: LIBRARY. A few students are seated on the steps with books, smoking cigarettes and blowing smoke into the air.

Subject College studentsEducationLibrariesSmokingUniversity of California, Los Angeles

Subject Authority Used Library of Congress Subject HeadingsSetting exterior

University of California, Los AngelesTime day

2006Camera Angle medium shotSpeed real timeAspect Ratio 16:9Duration 00:01:30Frame Rate 24 fpsLine Standard filmColors colorSound noOriginal Format 35mmLoopable noRights/Release Info rights managedCreator Gay Robot

Element ValuesIdentifier 2004-183-9Location of Original vault 3; tier 8: shelf 4File Name 20041839.movTitle not applicableDescription A polar bear swims underwater.Subject Polar bear

SwimmingUnderwater cinematography

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WaterSubject Authority Used Library of Congress Subject HeadingsSetting exterior

underwaterTime dayCamera Angle medium shotSpeed slow motionAspect Ratio 4:3Duration 00:00:13Frame Rate 30 fps (60 fields/sec)Line Standard NTSC video (interlaced)Colors colorSound noOriginal Format Betacam SPLoopable noRights/Release Info rights managedCreator Steve Marts

Element ValuesIdentifier 2005-089-22Location of Original vault 2; tier 4: shelf 5File Name 200508922.movTitle not applicableDescription Archival footage of a female factory worker on a production line

gathering cigarettes off a belt and stacking them.Subject Blue collar workers

CigarettesCigarette IndustryFactoriesWomen employees

Subject Authority Used Library of Congress Subject HeadingsSetting interior

factoryTime 1950Camera Angle medium shotSpeed real timeAspectRatio 4:3Duration 00:00:05Frame Rate 24 fpsLine Standard filmColors b&wSound noOriginal Format Film: 16mmLoopable noRights/Release Info rights managed

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Creator unknown

Element ValuesIdentifier 2007-127-01Location of Original vault 1; tier 9: shelf 4File Name 200712701.movTitle not applicableDescription On a street in Prague, a red and white tram on a cable rolls past an

ornate, historic building with shop windows illuminated on the ground floor. The tram is lit up inside and filled with people. A red car passes the tram, and people cross the street behind it.

Subject Prague (Czech Republic)Street-railroadsStreetsTransportationTravel

Subject Authority Used Library of Congress Subject HeadingsSetting exterior

Prague (Czech Republic)Time duskCamera Angle long shotSpeed real timeAspect Ratio 4:3Duration 00:00:22Frame Rate 25 fpsLine Standard PAL videoColors colorSound noOriginal Format Betacam Digital (Digi Beta)Loopable noRights/Release Info royalty freeCreator unknown

Element ValuesIdentifier 2004-352-9Location of Original vault 2; tier 1: shelf 9File Name 20043529.movTitle not applicableDescription Airplane landing on runway at dusk.Subject Airplanes

TransportationTravelRunways

Subject Authority Used Library of Congress Subject HeadingsSetting exterior

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airportTime dusk

Camera Angle wide shotSpeed slow motionAspect Ratio 4:3 (16:9 anamorphic)

Duration 00:00:25Frame Rate 24 fpsLine Standard NTSC video (interlaced)Colors colorSound noOriginal Format Betacam SPLoopable noRights/Release Info royalty freeCreator Stanley Film

Element ValuesIdentifier 2005-400-4Location of Original vault 1; tier 3: shelf 6File Name 20054004.movTitle not applicableDescription Smoking chimney at run down steel works in PolandSubject Poland

Air—PollutionPollutionAir qualitySteel-worksHazardous wastesFactory and trade wasteChimneys

Subject Authority Used Library of Congress Subject HeadingsSetting exteriorTime day

Camera Angle long shotSpeed real timeAspect Ratio 4:3

Duration 00:00:06Frame Rate 24 fpsLine Standard filmColors colorSound noOriginal Format Film: 16mm

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Loopable noRights/Release Info royalty freeCreator Dell Studios

Element ValuesIdentifier 2007-286-1Location of Original vault 2; tier 1: shelf 5File Name 20072861.movTitle not applicableDescription US dollars falling from the top of screen and swirling across a

black background.Subject Dollar, American

FantasySubject Authority Used Library of Congress Subject HeadingsSetting interior

Time unknown Camera Angle medium shotSpeed fast motionAspect Ratio 4:3

Duration 00:00:06Frame Rate 24 fpsLine Standard NTSC video (progressive)

Colors colorSound noOriginal Format Betacam Digital (Digi Beta)Loopable yesRights/Release Info royalty freeCreator Humphrey Jones

Element ValuesIdentifier 1991-165-2Location of Original vault 3; tier 2: shelf 8File Name 19911652.movTitle not applicableDescription Burning oil well spews flames and toxic smoke, Kuwait, 1991Subject Iraq-Kuwait Crisis, 1990-1991

Oil wellsIncinerationHazardous wastesAir—PollutionPollutionOil fields

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Subject Authority Used Library of Congress Subject HeadingsSetting exteriorTime day

Camera Angle medium shotSpeed real timeAspect Ratio 4:3

Duration 00:00:10Frame Rate 24 fpsLine Standard filmColors colorSound noOriginal Format Film: 16mmLoopable yesRights/Release Info rights managedCreator Clive Jones

Element ValuesIdentifier 2005-222-3Location of Original Vault 5; tier 2: shelf 7File Name 20052223.movTitle not applicableDescription Camera pans across large crowd of twins of all ages gathered

outdoors. Senior male twins with long white beards. Senior female twins in eyeglasses laughing. Smiling woman holds twin babies. Woman’s twin appears from behind her. Adult male twins in formal three-piece suits, winking and waving at camera.

Subject TwinsBrothers and sistersAge groupsSpecial eventsPeopleFellowship

Subject Authority Used Library of Congress Subject HeadingsSetting exteriorTime Day

1931Camera Angle wide shot

medium shotclose-up

Speed real timeAspect Ratio 4:3Duration 00:00:15Frame Rate 24 fps

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Line Standard filmColors B&WSound noOriginal Format Film: 16mmLoopable noRights/Release Info rights ManagedCreator Betty Marcus

Element ValuesIdentifier 2001-035-2Location of Original Vault 1; tier 3: shelf 7File Name 20010352.movTitle not applicableDescription Attention on group of senior females smiling, wearing old-

fashioned bathing suits. Numbered stickers on their arms indicate a contest. Male judge with tape measuring bust and raising hand of winning senior female contestant. Winning senior female with white hair and eyeglasses smiles.

Subject Older peopleOlder womenBeauty contests

Subject Authority Used Library of Congress Subject HeadingsSetting exteriorTime day

1939Camera Angle medium shotSpeed real timeAspect Ratio 4:3Duration 00:00:10Frame Rate 24 fpsLine Standard filmColors B&WSound noOriginal Format Film: 16mmLoopable noRights/Release Info rights managedCreator Douglas Banks

Element ValuesIdentifier 2001-040-4Location of Original Vault 2; tier 1: shelf 8File Name 20010404.movTitle not applicableDescription Aerial view of rushing waterfall through green tropical foliage.

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Subject WaterfallsRain forestsHawaiiNatureParadiseTropics

Subject Authority Used Library of Congress Subject HeadingsSetting exteriorTime dayCamera Angle aerialSpeed real timeAspect Ratio otherDuration 00:00:18Frame Rate 30 fps (60 fields/sec)Line Standard NTSC video (interlaced)Colors colorSound noOriginal Format DVCam: SonyLoopable yesRights/Release Info royalty freeCreator Kahuna Films

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6. Annotated bibliography

Ascher, S., & Pincus, E. (1999). The filmmaker's handbook: A comprehensive guide

for the digital age, completely revised and updated. New York: Plume.

This guide for filmmakers emphasizes the stock footage library user’s need for

information about rights clearance.

The Association of Moving Image Archivists. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2007 from

http://www.amianet.org/

AMIA’s website and listserv, AMIA-L, provided a great deal of useful information about

existing information retrieval systems and metadata schemas in the domain of moving

images.

BBC Motion Gallery. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2007 from

http://www.bbcmotiongallery.com/Customer/index.aspx

BBC Motion Gallery is one of the existing information retrieval systems we used to adapt

our own metadata schema and retrieve examples for Part 3 of the assignment.

Browne, S. (1992). Film-video terms and concepts. Boston: Focal Press.

This dictionary helped us to compile our controlled vocabularies for the

formatCameraAngle and formatSpeed fields.

Corbis: photography, rights, assignment, motion. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2007 from

http://pro.corbis.com/

Corbis is another one of the existing information retrieval systems we used to adapt our

own metadata schema and retrieve examples for Part 3 of the assignment.

Cox, M., Mulder, E., Tadic, L. (2006). Descriptive metadata for television: An end-to-

end introduction. Burlington, MA: Focal Press.

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This text describes the ways in which broadcast news metadata serves the needs first of

in-house users, and later of stock footage library users, and reminds its readers that good

metadata is good for business, since it is what makes the sale of stock footage possible.

Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, Version 1.1. (December 18, 2006). Retrieved April

15, 2007 from http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/

Finding the Coverage fields in PBCore somewhat cumbersome, we decided to go back to

its source, Dublin Core, for those fields.

Elkins, D. E. (1993). Camera terms and concepts. Boston: Focal Press.

This dictionary also helped us to compile our controlled vocabularies for the

formatCameraAngle and formatSpeed fields, along with the name of the

formatCameraAngle element.

The film preservation guide: the basics for archives, libraries, and museums. (2004). San

Francisco, CA: National Film Preservation Foundation. Retrieved April 15, 2007 from

http://www.filmpreservation.org/preservation/film_guide.html

This text emphasizes the importance of subject access to users of moving image

information retrieval systems, and suggests that indexers consider not only what the

film’s images are of, but also what they are about.

Getty Images. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2007 from

http://creative.gettyimages.com/source/home/home.aspx

Getty Images is another one of the existing information retrieval systems we used to

adapt our own metadata schema and retrieve examples for Part 3 of the assignment. We

also drew vocabulary from its glossary for our formatCameraAngle and formatSpeed

controlled vocabularies.

30

Goodrum, A. (2005). I Can't Tell You What I Want, But I'll Know It When I See It:

Terminological Disconnects In Digital Image Reference. Reference & User Services

Quarterly, 45(1). Retrieved April 14, 2007 from Library Literature & Information

Science Full Text.

This article describes the block that may be created between a user’s idea of what digital

image they want returned and the controlled vocabulary which is actually used.

Hertzum, M. (2003). Requests for information from a film archive: a case study of multimedia

retrieval. Journal of Documentation, 59(2). Retrieved April 14, 2007 from Library

Literature & Information Science Full Text.

This article explores the complexities of multimedia indexing and retrieval and how well

they are satisfying user needs. It explores how image description is restricted by the

archivist’s subject knowledge beyond the general production related attributes.

Moving Image Collections. (January 24, 2007). Retrieved April 15, 2007 from

http://mic.imtc.gatech.edu/

This website also provided a great deal of useful information about existing information

retrieval systems and metadata schemas in the domain of moving images, and served as

an example of an information retrieval system, itself.

MPEG-7 Overview. (October, 2004) Retrieved April 15, 2007 from

http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/standards/mpeg-7/mpeg-7.htm

This is one of the metadata schemas we considered but rejected, in part due to its extreme

complexity.

Ochiva, Dan. (2002, October 1) Got stock? Digital Content Producer. Retrieved April 15, 2007,

from www.digitalcontentproducer.com/stockfootage/video_stock/index.html

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This article was useful as a “ground-level” summary of relatively recent stock footage

industry developments, including the expansion of industry giants Corbis and Getty

Images, the rise in stock footage demand, and the role of digital technologies and the

internet in creating and facilitating the demand.

Corporation for Public Broadcasting (2005). PBCore Metadata: Welcome. (n.d.). Retrieved

April 15, 2007 from http://www.pbcore.org/

PBCore is well-suited to our domain, so we chose to adapt it for our own metadata

schema.

Prelinger, Rick. (1998). Archival survival: The fundamentals of using film archives and stock

footage libraries. Footage.Net: The stock, archival & news footage network. Retrieved

April 15, 2007, from www.footage.net/info/archival_survival.html

This article directly and indirectly conveyed the importance of research expertise for

seeking and obtaining stock footage because it deals mainly with the financial, legal, and

scheduling aspects to be considered—and, yet, #2 of the writer’s 7 imperative and basic

“commandments” exhorts, “Seriously consider hiring an archival researcher with

expertise in the area of your production.”

RevoStock. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2007 from http://www.revostock.com/

RevoStock is another one of the existing information retrieval systems we used to adapt

our own metadata schema and retrieve examples for Part 3 of the assignment. It is also

the source for the element names for formatLoopable and formatSound.

Singleton, R. S., Conrad, J. A., Healy, J. W. (2000). Filmmaker’s dictionary. Hollywood,

CA: Lone Eagle Pub. Co.

32

This dictionary also helped us to compile our controlled vocabularies for the

formatCameraAngle and formatSpeed fields, along with the name of the

formatCameraAngle element.

Sony Pictures Stock Footage. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2007 from

http://www.sonypicturesstockfootage.com/

Sony Pictures Stock Footage is another one of the existing information retrieval systems

we used to adapt our own metadata schema and retrieve examples for Part 3 of the

assignment. It is also the source for the element name formatSpeed.

Turner, J. (1990, December). Representing and accessing information in the stockshot

database at the National Film Board of Canada. The Canadian Journal of Information

Science, 15(4) 1-22. Retrieved from April 5, 2007 from

http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/courses/restricted/202turner.pdf

This article describes another moving image information retrieval system, and provides a

differing viewpoint on subject access and user needs, particularly with regard to

aboutness.

VRA Projects - VRA Core 3.0. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2007 from

http://www.vraweb.org/projects/vracore3/

This is one of the metadata schemas we considered but rejected, due to the fact that it

seemed ill-suited to our domain.

Zhang, Y., Jeng, J., Li, Y. (2004, November). IFLA FRBR as user-centered metadata

evaluation framework for Moving Image Collections. Poster session presented at the

annual meeting of the American Society for Information Science and Technology,

Providence, RI. Retrieved April 15, 2007 from

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http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~miceval/progress/asist04_poster.doc

This poster session describes a user study evaluating the Moving Image Collections union

catalog, providing information about an information retrieval system and emphasizing the

importance of content description for users.

Zwaneveld, E. (2000, February 6). Metadata that must be on the video or data storage medium?

Messages posted to AMIA-L@LSV.UKY.EDU mailing list, archives at

http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0002&L=AMIA-L&P=R3027&I=-3

This is the Association of Moving Image Archivists listserv. This message was retrieved

from an archive search on “metadata”. The purpose was to get an idea from those in

moving image archiving profession what best practices for selecting metadata fields are.

Great range of resources! It appears you were very thorough in your search for relevant information.

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7. Discussion

Since our domain involves selling copies of originals, one of the issues we grappled with

was how to deal with describing an original object and a copy of the object in the same record.

Initially, we considered describing both the original footage and the copy of the footage for sale,

and we determined that PBCore would allow us to create different instantiation containers for

different formats within the same record. However, after studying several online stock footage

libraries, we decided that this was unnecessary. Most larger stock footage libraries offer to copy

their footage onto a variety of formats, depending on the needs of the user. Since the copy would

often not be created until the user requested it, we should limit ourselves to describing the

original footage. Interesting – this makes sense.

However, we then realized that we would still need to provide our users with a digital

preview clip on our website to assist them in making their selection. Would this little Quicktime

file require its own instantiation container? Unsure how to proceed, we consulted with Dr.

Weedman, who reassured us that this was probably not necessary. We simply created an

additional field called “File Name” in which to identify the specific Quicktime file.

PBCore is the metadata schema best suited to our domain, but we still needed to adapt it

and create a number of new fields. PBCore requires an XML Namespace for every element,

which we decided not to address, since we haven’t learned XML yet. However, we did at least

want to follow the basic principle of using controlled vocabulary to name our elements and citing

what authority we used. This proved to be more challenging than we initially thought. For

example, we needed a field for attributes such as “close-up” and “medium shot.” The online

stock footage libraries all use different terminology for this element, and sometimes it seems to

be proprietary (for example, a Google search of the term “shot dimension” only retrieves BBC

35

Motion Gallery pages). We then consulted various controlled vocabularies such as the TGM and

the AAT, without luck. Finally, we turned to an assortment of film and video dictionaries,

settling upon the term “camera angle” as the best name for the element, and citing the

dictionaries in our metadata table.

We initially included the PBCore elements “genre” and “genreAuthorityUsed,” intending

to use the Moving Image Genre-Form Guide to assign genres to our clips. However, as we

started to collect our examples, we realized that genre might not be an appropriate element for

our domain. Should a 13 second shot of a swimming polar bear be assigned the genre “nature?”

If so, what genre would be assigned to a 25 second clip of an airplane taking off? Genre is

created by context. oh – this is a valuable insight! When a clip is viewed outside of a larger

context, it can’t really be said to have a genre. Realizing this, we removed “genre” and

“genreAuthorityUsed” from our metadata table.

The literature we consulted offered differing positions regarding how much subject

access to provide. We decided that we wanted to offer as much subject access as possible,

describing not only what the image was of, but also what it was about. However, many stock

footage clips do not lend themselves to descriptions of “aboutness.” What is a 13 second clip of

a polar bear swimming about, other than polar bears, swimming, and water? We have tried to

provide as much depth of subject access as possible, but it varies, depending on the clip.

After seeking out various types of stock footage we realized we should add vocabulary

such as "unknown" for time and "not applicable" for title. Since all fields are required, the

indexer must have vocabulary available in instances where all other controlled vocabulary does

not apply. One piece of footage, in particular, consisted of American dollars freely floating

across a black background. The idea of "time" cannot be extrapolated from shots such as these.

36

There is no good vocabulary to describe the element of "Time". We decided to allow the indexer

to use the term "unknown" in instances such as these. The same was allowed for the "Title"

element. We decided to allow the indexer to enter "Not Applicable" for footage with no real title.

When we began finalizing the Comments section for all of the Fields (i.e., providing

indexing guidelines), questions about procedural order and process arose. According to our Field

definitions, an item’s unique Identifier was assigned automatically by the system; and according

to our indexing guidelines, the indexer was to create and enter a File Name for an item’s digital

clip, based on the item’s Identifier. This caused some confusion. If the File Name (and

presumably, its corresponding viewable, digital clip) did not already exist, what was the indexer

indexing from? “The original” was out of the question since that would risk wear and tear,

possible misplacement, and create the very impractical need for an indexer to view original

footage, in a variety of formats, on a variety of machines. A more plausible answer was that the

digital clip (and its File Name) would already exist. This led to further questions: when did the

digitization occur and who digitized it? The initial confusion made us test our assumptions and

consider what possibly happens with an information item when it joins a collection and “moves

along” through a collection management process. It also prompted us to improve the internal

consistency of our metadata schema and, importantly, made us think about the different types

and functions of metadata (i.e., administrative, structural, and descriptive) that accumulate to an

information item. Good – the more specifically you can think these issues through, the better.

Lastly, the consideration or question of the “user” was an interesting and important one

that led to a better understanding of metadata “uses.” By creating user profiles and corresponding

sample searches, we had narrowed or defined our user and their intended use of footage to a neat

and manageable scope. As we progressed in our work, however, it was necessary to consider

37

users and uses beyond our immediate conception. For example, in our project scenario we

considered Internal and External users when deciding what information and which fields would

be publicly accessible. Internal or External: pretty basic. Yet, among Internal users, we came to

realize that the group could further subdivide by purpose to include Indexers, Administrators,

Archivists and/or Accessionists, maybe even Digitization Technicians—each with their specific,

and probably specialized, metadata needs in relation to the information item. good points These

various needs should not be represented in this particular metadata schema (which is specifically

oriented to Indexers and Public Footage Searchers). However, it was interesting to consider how

metadata meaningful and useful to one group carries over and is important to another group yes,

this is interesting , and to become aware of the myriad users and uses that can benefit from

carefully-designed metadata schemas.

Very nice job! You put a lot into this project, and it appears you gained a lot from doing it.

295

Field nameField

Source and Authority

Definition DataType

Req’d

Max # of

values

Term/Word

Indexed

Controlled

VocabCV

Source

Identifier PBCore v1.11.01 identifier

A unique string or number that the information retrieval system assigns to the item.

numerical yes 1 word

no - sequential

Example of Identifier:

2004-352-9

This means that the clip in question is the 9th item in the 352nd accession of 2004.

The system assigns a unique Identifier to the original item during the accession process (which precedes all other collection-management procedures, including digitization and indexing).

Location of PBCore v1.1 The physical location ID of the item. text yes 1 word no  

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Original

(administrative only)

25.05 formatLocation

Example of Location of Original:

vault 2; tier 4: shelf 5

This field is assigned during the accession process. It is for administrative use only, and is not visible to the user.

Subsequent to accession, technicians will use this piece of information to retrieve an original item in order to digitize it to a commonly viewable format (.mov). Once digitization is complete, the original item is seldom accessed but locatable.

File Name

No source, discussed during meeting with JW

A unique string or number assigned to the item's digital preview clip file in Quicktime.

The File Name is derived from the original item’s Identifier.

text yes 1 word no  

Example of File Name:

20043529.mov

The File Name is based on the original item’s unique Identifier.

2004-352-9 = Identifier20043529.mov = File Name

The File Name is pre-assigned/reserved during the accession process. It is essentially a vacant “parking spot,” waiting for digitized content. The digitized content is supplied when the digitization process of the original item (whose Identifier corresponds to the File Name) is completed.

Title PBCore v1.102.01 Title

Name given to the media item you are indexing. text yes 1 word no  

Enter the Title as it appears on the item’s accession form.

If no title is apparent, enter "Not applicable."

DescriptionPBCore v1.104.01 description

A brief description summarizing the item's observable content. text yes 1 word no

As needed, the Description entry may be a single sentence or a paragraph.

The entry can serve as a "catch-all" to capture content features which do not fit neatly in other fields.

Subject PBCore v1.103.01subject

Topical headings, keywords, or key phrases that address both the observable and intellectual content of the item.

text yes

No limit to repeatability

word yes

- Library of Congress Subject Headings- Thesaurus for Graphic Materials I: Subject Terms- other

Entries to the Subject field must be current, preferred headings in LCSH or TGM I. If any are, in fact, an entry term, follow TGM I or LCSH's instructions to the preferred term and enter the preferred term, instead.

Subject Authority

Used

PBCore v1.103.02 subjectAuthorityUsed

The specific authority from which Subject field entries are derived. text yes

No limit to repeatability

word yes

Choose a Subject Authority Used from the style sheet:

- Library of Congress Subject Headings- Thesaurus for Graphic Materials I: Subject Terms- other

If "other" is chosen, override content validation and enter name of "other" specific authority source.

Setting Dcore text yes No word no Controlled vocabulary for Setting is not required,

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coverageSpatial

Entries to this field describe specific and generic settings and locations. Examples of specific locations include ”Prague (Czech Republic)” and “University of California, Los Angeles.” Examples of generic settings include “airport” and “factory.”

limit to repeatability

but is recommended whenever possible. Useful sources include LCSH, TGM I, and Getty TGN.

To indicate if setting is indoors or outdoors, please use terms “interior” or “exterior.”

TimeDCorecoverageTemporal

Entries to this field describe specific and generic times and dates. Examples of specific dates include “193?” and “2006.” Examples of generic times include “day” and “dusk.”

text yes

No limit to repeatability

word no

For generic times of day, please use the following terms:

daynightdawnduskunknown

If date of clip is known, please enter as specific a date as possible. If the year is known, enter all four digits (example: 2006). If only the decade is known, enter three digits and a question mark (example: 193?).

Camera Angle

formatCameraAngle

Adapted from:

Singleton, Conrad, & Healy (2000)&Elkins (1993)

Entries to this field relate to the position, point of view, or direction of the camera during filming.

text yes

No limit to repeatability

word yes

BBC Motion Gallery. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2007 from http://www.bbcmotiongallery.com/Customer/index.aspx

Browne, S. (1992). Film-video terms and concepts. Boston: Focal Press.

Elkins, D. E. (1993). Camera terms and concepts. Boston: Focal Press.

Getty Images. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2007 from http://creative.gettyimages.com/source/home/home.aspx

Singleton, R. S., Conrad, J. A., Healy, J. W. (2000). Filmmaker’s dictionary. Hollywood, CA: Lone Eagle Pub. Co.

Choose from the style sheet.

Speed (adaptation)Sony Pictures Stock Footage

The speed at which the clip is played, relative to the speed at which it was filmed.

This simply means when the contents of the clip appear in:

text yes 1 word yes   Choose from style sheet.

40

Fast-motion = this indicates that it was filmed slower than it is being played

Real time = this indicates that it was filmed and is being played at the same speed

Slow motion = this indicates that it was filmed faster than it is being played

Time-lapse = this indicates that it was filmed at a slower speed than it is being played and that frames may have been dropped: either techniques employed to produce an accelerated or abbreviated moving image record of an event or process (e.g., clouds forming, seeds growing into flowers, hair growing) that occurs over a longer period of time than the duration of the clip.

Aspect Ratio

PBCore v1.125.17 formatAspectRatio

The ratio of width to height in a picture. text yes 1 word yesPBCore v1.125.17 formatAspectRatio

Choose from style sheet.

DurationPBCore v1.125.12 formatDuration

The overall length or duration of an item. This is strictly playback time, from the item's start to end.

text yes 1 term no

Enter Duration information according to the following mask/pattern:

HH:MM:SS

Frame RatePBCore v1.125.16 formatFrameRate

The frames per second found in the item's playback or display.

text yes 1 word yesPBCore v1.125.16 formatFrameRate

Choose from style sheet.

Line Standard

PBCore v1.125.08 formatStandard

Identifies a larger technical system/standard, or overarching media architecture under which various media formats exist (e.g., NTSC is a system/standard under which many video formats exist).

text yes 1 word yesPBCore v1.125.08 formatStandard

Choose from style sheet.

ColorsPBCore v1.125.19 formatColors

Overall color, grayscale, or black and white nature of the item—as a single occurrence or combination of occurrences in or throughout the item.

text yes

No limit to repeatability

word yes PBCore v1.125.19 formatColors

Choose from style sheet.

If the media item is primarily color, grayscale, or black and white, then use one of these three simple terms from the style sheet.

If the media item has a primary color scheme, but includes significant embedded sequences of another color set, then a color combination from the style sheet can be used to show the primary and secondary color schemes

Sound (adaptation) RevoStock

Identifies the presence or absence of an audio track. text yes 1 word yes   Choose from style sheet.

Original Format

PBCore v1.125.03 formatPhysical

Identifies the format of the item as it exists in an actual physical form that occupies physical space (e.g., a tape on a shelf), rather than as a digital file residing on a server or hard drive.

text yes 1 term yes   Choose from style sheet.

Loopable (adaptation)RevoStock Indicates whether the clip can be used

text yes 1 word yes   Choose from style sheet.

41

in a repeating loop.

Rights/Release Info

PBCore v1.118.01 RightsSummary

Entries to this field identify the conditions and terms of reproduction that are granted in the licensed use of the item.

Rights-managed products are licensed on a use-by-use basis. The fee for using the product is calculated from several factors including size, placement, duration of use and geographic distribution.

Royalty-free pricing is based solely on the size of the product needed, not the specific use. Any additional royalties need not be paid on a use-by-use basis. Once purchased, a royalty-free product may be used multiple times for multiple projects without additional fees.

text yes 1 term yes   Choose from style sheet.

Creator PBCore v1.115.01 creator

The Creator is primarily responsible for creating the item. The Creator may be considered an author and could be one or more people, a business, organization, group, project or service.

text yes

No limit to repeatability

word no  

42