Asset Management for 3D and Video Projects

TL;DR Dimitris Katsafouros shares how Anchorpoint streamlines his 3D, audio, and video production. With Anchorpoint you can:

• Organize audio libraries by waveform previews, tags, and ratings. 
• Build asset libraries for 3D, images, audio and video with smart search.
• Enable team collaboration via templates, version control, and reviews. 
• Integrate with Notion for seamless access.

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My name is Dimitris Katsafouros and I am a designer living in Athens, Greece. I recently added Anchorpoint. It's a piece of software that solved a lot of pain points in my day to day work. So with that in mind I thought it would be a good idea to share my workflow and show you how I use Anchorpoint to organise my 3D and video projects!

But before we get to that, a few quick words about what I do. Me and my team produce 3D content (assets, materials, textures) for third party services. I also run a YouTube channel where I talk about tech, design and 3D. Now let's see how Anchorpoint can help!

Why do I need an 3D asset manager?

Imagine your hard drive is a digital attic. Over the years, you’ve accumulated hundreds, perhaps thousands, of 3D models, textures, audio files and animations. Because they were created across different projects and timelines, the organization is... optimistic at best. Finding a specific character mesh from two years ago becomes a treasure hunt that stalls your creative momentum.

This is where a dedicated asset management solution like Anchorpoint comes in. It's not just a place to organize files; it's a system designed to solve the specific "discoverability" problems that accompany project complexity, on top of the version control features.

Organizing music and sound effects for video production

Audio plays an important role in all video content. This applies to both animated movies and regular talking head videos on YouTube. Without a content management system to organize these large audio libraries, it's easy to get lost. That's where Anchorpoint comes in!

The first step in the process is organizing your library in to folders and categories. We can use a lot of different methods to achieve that, but for music we usually organise by genre. For sounds effects we create categories based on the type of effect. Whoosh, people, walking etc.

Anchorpoint is great for this type of work because we can:

• See the waveform of the audio file. Just from that alone we can gather a lot of valuable info! We can see how many loud and silent parts there are, we can see how busy the song might be, we can even evaluate how many different versions are included in a sound sample!  
• The other invaluable thing is the ability to quickly play back a file while hovering over it. So we can easily find the right track without much hassle!

Aside from these two things I also rely on the rating and filtering system quite a lot! That makes finding your favorite tracks or discovering new tracks a simple process. It certainly beats importing everything to Adobe Premiere and then finding the right track there. But more on that in a bit!

Setting up an asset library for 3D, image, video, and audio files

Going through big libraries of data is a piece of cake with Anchorpoint. It doesn't matter what type of content it is. It can be music, textures, video clips, or whatever else you can imagine. We can enhance this content easily within the app.

• We can preview every type of file imaginable (obj, .ai .psd etc)!
• We can also tag files based on specific criteria (genre, mood, etc) which is perfect for quick search.
• And finally we can rate files for easy identification of frequently used assets.

Since Anchorpoint can preview any file directly within the search results we have yet one more way to quickly find things. The search functionality is also smart enough to detect image sequences, so if we have a lot of those, the search results won't be cluttered by the same thing over and over again.

Collaboration on a 3D asset production

In contrast to an asset library, which is a static thing and has to work for you, managing 3D assets in a project works a bit differently. It has to work for the team. Here are a couple of things that help us do things in a more efficient manner:

Folder structures and naming conventions

We can use templates for things like assets, worlds, or shots, so the whole project stays consistent. In the more traditional way, we would have to copy folders in the file explorer. But in Anchorpoint, we can use templates that simplify this whole process. It also allows for setting up naming conventions, so we don’t have to name files manually.

Asset production: From Chaos to Checkpoints

In a typical 3D or video production pipeline, creating assets often results in "version soup": countless files with names like "final_v2_new." Anchorpoint eliminates this problem by acting as a checkpoint system for your project. Artists can save their progress using Git terms like "commit" and "push" without a steep learning curve. This ensures that everyone on the team always has access to the most up-to-date, correct assets needed for their specific tasks.

Version control & Reviews

The reason why version control exists is to determine who worked on what, at which time, and why. The most important thing is the “who” part especially when we work in a team, for example a director and a group of artists. With versions we can easily see how the project has evolved. And the handy thing with that is the fact that we have a whole reviewing system right there next to our version. Does something need modification? Just @ the person working on it to let them know! And once the work is done they can let you know too!

Anchorpoint visually groups all the versions of a file and makes the creation of a new version a two click operation. It's something me and my team rely on a daily basis.

The built-in commenting system, ensure that feedback is not lost in a chat somewhere on teams or Slack. We have a one stop shop. We have a way to give feedback and a way to track progress all within one app.

Integration with High-Level Organization Tools

Anchorpoint also plays well with high-level organization tools like Notion, Basecamp, or Monday.com. I personally use Notion and I rely a lot on the url functionality inside a database. I can create an Anchorpoint link and add that to my Notion database so whenever me or a teammate want to access a certain file we can just click on the URL (inside Notion) and the rest is taken care of by Anchorpoint! If you want to look that up it's called “App-Link”.

This simple feature alone minimizes silos and ensures that everyone involved has immediate access to the required assets, streamlining the overall project management process.

One last thing

And that's a big one too! The development team working on the app is one of a kind! Is there a bug making things difficult for you to work? Is there something you don't understand inside the app? No problem! You can just reach out to them and they will respond in a heartbeat. And if you want to be part of a community you can also check out their Discord server. It's a chill and nice place to hang out!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Anchorpoint?

Anchorpoint is a robust 3D asset management system designed to streamline file organization and collaboration for creatives. It serves as a centralized hub where users can store, categorize, and easily access their digital assets, such as images, videos, audio files, and 3D models. Anchorpoint offers features like tagging, rating, fast previewing, search functionality, and version control, making it an essential tool for managing creative projects efficiently.

What are 3D assets?

3D assets can include 3D models, textures, materials, animations, and lighting setups. They form the building blocks of creating virtual environments, characters, and objects in various industries, such as film, gaming, architecture, product design, and visual effects. 3D assets are often created using specialized software like Maya, Cinema 4D, or Blender and can be imported into different software applications for further manipulation and rendering.

What is version control and why do I need it?

Version control is a system that allows users to track and manage changes made to files or projects over time. It keeps a history of revisions, captures differences between versions, and provides the ability to revert back to previous states if needed. In the context of creative work, version control is crucial for maintaining a smooth collaboration process, especially when multiple team members are working on the same project simultaneously.

Where to learn more

• A proper guide to game asset management https://www.anchorpoint.app/blog/a-proper-guide-to-game-asset-management
• A comparison of 3D asset management software for game art: https://www.anchorpoint.app/blog/a-comparison-of-3d-asset-management-software-for-game-art
• Tips & Tricks for managing art assets: https://www.anchorpoint.app/blog/tips-tricks-for-managing-art-assets-p1
• ‍Remote workflows for creative teams: https://www.anchorpoint.app/blog/media-asset-management-for-3d-projects