Operational management solution for media production and distribution

Abstract

A method for managing tasks and user operations on media using a model of resources management dealing with the complexity of situation which occur in a production/distributions system is provided. The method is based on a workplace infrastructure, a task-oriented user interface and a work package management system. The method optimizes operations in media production/distribution environment through a workflow-based user interface that handles Work packages, Workplaces, Tasks, Assets and Contents.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for media production and distribution comprising:
 receiving a selection of a workplace within a workplace category, wherein a workplace defines a specific position within a logical workflow;   providing at least one task corresponding to the selected workplace as part of a dynamic media work page managed by a media workflow engine;   updating a media asset by performing the at least one task; and   launching a command related to the task,   wherein the providing of the at least one task comprises:
 (a) identifying to an individual operator:
 (1) at least one task assigned to said operator for performance, 
 (2) at least one task assigned to other operators that can be performed by said individual operator, and 
 (3) any urgent task that can be performed by said individual operator, 
 
 (b) updating a task status of the at least one task following completion of the at least one task by said individual operator. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said providing further comprises repeating steps (a) and (b) until all tasks are completed for the selected workplace. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising presenting a plurality of workplaces contained in the workplace category, wherein the selected workplace is one of the plurality of presented workplaces. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising preventing access to the tasks assigned to said operator by other operators. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said identifying can be performed for a predetermined select group of operators to execute the task or tasks at a specific workplace. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising locking the user selected task to associate the same with an identified individual operator. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein said locking enables tracking of the user's time in performing the selected task. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the media asset comprises aggregation of media content and corresponding rights. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 presenting one of a plurality of views based on the selected workplace, wherein the view comprises a user interface presenting a subset of at least one task from a plurality of tasks corresponding to an overall media workflow.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the user interface presents a combination of user tools and commands for performing the subset of at least one task for the media asset. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one task comprises at least one of editing, trimming, and cataloguing the media asset. 
     
     
         12 . A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied thereon for use in media production and distribution environment, the computer program product comprising code, which when executed by a processing device, for:
 receiving a selection of a workplace within a workplace category, wherein a workplace defines a specific position within a logical workflow;   providing at least one task corresponding to the selected workplace as a dynamic media work page managed by a media workflow engine;   updating a target media asset by performing the at least one task; and   launching a command related to the selected task,   wherein said program code for the providing of the at least one task further comprises code for:
 (a) identifying to an individual operator:
 (1) at least one task assigned to said operator for performance, 
 (2) at least one task assigned to other operators that can be performed by said individual operator, and 
 (3) any urgent task that can be performed by said individual operator, 
 
 (b) updating a task status of the at least one task following completion of the at least one task by said individual operator. 
   
     
     
         13 . The computer program product of according to  claim 12 , wherein said program code for providing at least one task corresponding to the selected workplace further comprises code for repeating steps (a) and (b) until all tasks are completed for the selected workplace. 
     
     
         14 . A system for media production and distribution comprising:
 at least one processor configured to:
 receive a selection of a workplace within a workplace category, wherein a workplace defines a specific position within a logical workflow; 
 provide at least one task corresponding to the selected workplace as part of a dynamic media work page managed by a media workflow engine; 
 update a media asset in response to the provided task; and 
 launch a command related to the task, 
   wherein the at least one processor is configured to provide the at least one task by:
 (a) identifying to an individual operator:
 (1) at least one task assigned to said operator for performance, 
 (2) at least one task assigned to other operators that can be performed by said individual operator, and 
 (3) any urgent task that can be performed by said individual operator, 
 
 (b) updating a task status of the at least one task following completion of the at least one task by said individual operator. 
   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 present one of a plurality of views based on the selected workplace, wherein the view comprises a user interface presenting a subset of at least one task from a plurality of tasks corresponding to an overall media workflow.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the user interface presents a combination of user tools and commands for performing the subset of at least one task for the media asset. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the media content comprises an aggregation of at least one essence and corresponding metadata.