A single animation project can generate a vast amount of digital assets, from complex 3D models and preliminary previews to fully rendered videos.
Each of these assets takes up significant storage space―sometimes terabytes of data!―presenting a unique set of challenges for studios.
Effectively managing storage across various digital content creation (DCC) tools while coordinating distributed processes and facilitating remote team collaboration is a major pain point in animation production. We know this from our first-hand experience building Kitsu.
Read on for best practices to master storage management!
Why Storage Management
Animation projects, especially those involving 3D elements and high-resolution outputs, generate massive amounts of data. Efficient storage management makes sure that all assets, from raw footage to rendered files, are organized and accessible without overwhelming the infrastructure. As teams use a variety of specialized software, storing, organizing, and sharing these assets is a complex puzzle.
Animation projects often involve teams distributed across different locations, sometimes different studios. Effective storage solutions facilitate collaboration by allowing team members to access, share, and update files efficiently, regardless of where they are located. With cyber threats increasingly targeting creative industries, secure storage management is key to protecting intellectual property from unauthorized access.
Efficient storage systems also reduce load times for large assets, which increases the performance of software tools and improves the overall productivity of artists and technical staff. Proper storage management help reduce costs by optimizing existing storage resources, eliminating the need for unnecessary hardware purchases and minimizing cloud storage fees.
1. Resilient, Centralized Storage
It's important to have a robust storage solution that centralizes all the project assets into a single, secure location.
It should combine centralized data repositories with redundancy and backup systems to ensure that all vital assets are not only easily accessible but also protected against loss or corruption. This system allows animators, designers, and other team members to work together without conflict, knowing that the material they need is shielded against hardware failures, cyber threats, and accidental deletions.
Time is a critical factor in productions. Decentralized or fragmented storage systems can lead to lost hours or even days as teams search for assets or face repetitive losses that delay production timelines. An elevated risk of losing critical work could result in considerable setbacks and financial losses.
- Start by selecting reliable storage solutions that fit your project needs. It is crucial to conduct thorough research and possibly consult with IT experts to identify the right combination of storage technologies, high-capacity servers that can handle intensive data loads and advanced backup technologies to duplicate data regularly to secure locations.
- Invest in strong cybersecurity measures to protect against unauthorized access and data breaches. Regular updates to security protocols and continuous monitoring should be standard procedures.
- Foster a collaborative workflow by creating a centralized asset management platform where team members can easily access, share, and update assets in real time. This method not only boosts productivity but also ensures consistency throughout production.
The Kitsu API provides centralized storage for assets, shots, casting, tasks, and everything a production pipeline needs. The casting management feature makes it easy to build breakdown tables to list casted assets for each shot in a meaningful way:
2. DCC Tool Integrations
Modern storage solutions often integrate with other tools in the production pipeline to streamline workflows and automate repetitive tasks for higher productivity.
DCC tool integrations facilitate the transfer and synchronization of assets, including 3D models, textures, animations, and other digital elements, across different software.
In a typical pipeline, artists rely on a variety of specialized tools for tasks like modelling, rigging, animation, texturing, lighting, rendering, etc. Without effective integrations, transitioning assets between these tools can quickly become a cumbersome and error-prone process leading to inconsistencies. DCC integrations help eliminate redundant processes, reduce the likelihood of errors, and enable teams to focus on creative tasks rather than on technical challenges related to asset compatibility and data transfer.
- It's crucial to ensure compatibility with industry standards and interoperability protocols, like Alembic, USD, and FBX, to facilitate smooth data exchange between different systems.
- Maintaining clear documentation of the integration process allows technical artists to understand workflows and resolve issues swiftly.
- Regularly updating and testing integrations to align with software updates and new features ensures continued performance.
For example, Kitsu allows artists to publish asset previews directly from their DCC tools, so that it's easy to keep track of the work you do with your team, without overwhelming your storage space with full-blown 3D models or HD videos:
Duplicating assets between databases can easily blow up the storage space you need, so using appropriate levels of detail is important.
3. Traceability
Traceability is the ability to track and manage the history, location, and usage of animation assets throughout the project's lifecycle.
It includes maintaining detailed records of asset changes, including who made what modifications and when, to allow all team members to have access to up-to-date information.
With numerous assets being developed and iterated on simultaneously, having a robust traceability system in place helps maintain order. It enforces accountability, as team members can easily identify the source of any asset-related issue, and facilitates rapid problem resolution. It also helps project management by providing clear insights into the progress and status of assets for teams to meet deadlines and budgets more effectively.
- A centralized asset management system serves as a single source of truth for all asset-related information.
- Consistent naming conventions and metadata help organize and retrieve assets efficiently.
- Regular audits and updates to the asset database ensure its accuracy and reliability.
- Fostering a collaborative culture where team members diligently document changes and communicate effectively significantly improves traceability and overall production efficiency.
A review engine like Kitsu's allows you to quickly add annotations with your team to work on the next batch of edits, and the breakdown tables make it easy to access assets related to each shot in a single place.
Last but not least, this system should support version control.
4. Versioning
Animation involves multiple iterations, making it essential to track versions of assets and scenes.
Multiple artists and teams often work concurrently on various elements. Versioning ensures that everyone is working with the most up-to-date and correct files, minimizing the risk of errors (e.g. overwriting files) or inconsistencies in the final product. It also allows teams to roll back to previous versions if necessary and maintain a clear history of the asset's development.
After reviews, Kitsu previews are automatically versioned for easy comparison:
All new changes, like comments or preview,s appear in the newsfeed to keep everyone informed about available versions.
Conclusion
An effective asset storage solution for animation productions must include key features like resilience, centralization, integration with digital content creation tools, traceability, and versioning to make sure assets are not only safeguarded against potential data loss but also efficiently organized and easily accessible to the entire production team.
Additionally, the integration of asset storage solutions with project management tools improves the workflow significantly to coordinate teams across different departments or even studios. Using a pipeline tracker like Kitsu further streamlines this process by providing a comprehensive oversight of project assets, status updates, and team interactions.
It's important to consider the design of your asset storage solution so that it fits your specific needs as an animation studio: it's not enough to drop everything in a Google Drive when you handle terabytes of data. Kitsu neatly organizes everything in a logical way by shots and previews, and you can use the API to match the storage logic with your studio's workflow.
