Whether enhancing searchability or enabling workflow automation, metadata is the backbone of modern media workflows. And now, in a fresh update to the Rally media supply chain management platform, metadata management has become significantly more efficient. We’ve improved management of JSON forms and lists to streamline metadata handling across workflows, in turn reducing redundancy and making updates easier than ever.
Why This Update Matters
Setting up and managing metadata forms can be cumbersome, especially for operators who perform metadata entry across two or three Rally Gateways — or even a dozen or more. When entering metadata across Gateways and search forms, operators commonly reuse the same form over and over again.
In the past, if they wanted to change a single metadata field or entry form or list, they’d need to copy that change to every Gateway. Now, however, with more centralized metadata form and list management, teams can define a single reference that is reused across various workflows. Any modifications made to the fields or forms automatically propagate wherever they are used, eliminating the need for manual updates across multiple Gateways and enabling greater efficiency with lower risk of error or inconsistency. This capability is especially beneficial for organizations managing high volumes of media assets, where consistency in metadata is critical for efficient search, retrieval, and automation.
Dynamic and Interlinked Lists for Smarter Data Entry
In addition to centralized management of JSON-enabled forms and lists, Rally now supports dynamically linked lists. Metadata-driven dropdown lists can now reference a central source, ensuring that updates to list values (such as available tags, user roles, or production details) are automatically reflected across all forms where the list is used.
Even more powerful is the ability to create interdependent lists. For example, the selection of a director’s name from a dropdown can dynamically populate another list with their associated films. This approach eliminates the need for complex, hardcoded metadata relationships and simplifies data entry.
Impact on Efficiency and Usability
By making metadata management easier, this new update makes Rally workflows more intelligent and adaptable. And, operators can expand use cases to general data entry within the Rally universe. Not just applicable to Gateway, this functionality is available across the full portfolio — to data entry and search in Rally Access, as well.
Together, the benefits of enhanced metadata management bring greater accuracy and consistency across all workflows, reductions in duplicate work, and significantly less manual intervention. Without the need to navigate and update disparate metadata structures, operators can be more productive and turn their focus to less-repetitive tasks. As the scale of operations grows, centralized management makes it easier to manage metadata effectively across multiple workflows and teams.
What’s Next?
These metadata enhancements align with SDVI’s broader goal of making Rally more intuitive and capable for media organizations handling vast amounts of content. As Rally continues to evolve, expect even more improvements designed to simplify and optimize content supply chain management.
Want to see how centralized metadata forms and dynamic lists can transform your workflows? Contact us for a demo or explore the Rally UI documentation for detailed guidance on getting started.
