Mmm. Asset Library Geekout...

I have a side geek that enjoys thinking about pipelines in the Cg film production biz. My years as a CG Supervisor have tainted me.
Anyhow, I came across this neat presentation about the power of links and Tags in a wide spread data world as compared to rigid categorization. Studios that wish to survive in the ever increasing crunch of tighter production cycles and budgets will need to have a really kick-butt asset library. An asset library allows you to re-use things (models, textures, FX solutions, comps, motion libraries, etc.) from previous jobs without having to always start from scratch. One of the problems with a large asset library is catgorizing things. When I was at Blur they had (and still have I assume) a very large library of previously built stuff. Problem is often finding what you need in it as one tries to browse through a huge directory structure looking for just the right thing. Tagging a file with key words, and then using a Tag search engine to find what you need will allow Joe Modeler or Suzy Texturer to get what they need as simply as using Google.
Anyhow, you pipeline and asset library builders out there (no doubt a huge percetnage of the readership here. ahem) should read this article.