Tracking CG models per shot

Hello. I work in the visual effects industry, and have been a user of
Filemaker databases for years. Creating them is another story. I've
got most of what I want assembled, except tracking CG models per shot
(I will call the model an asset from here on out.

Here is the scenario: I have a tree, a car, and a building asset. I
have 10 shots. I would like to create a relational link between them.
When I am on my shot layout, I would like to see a list of all the
assets that are to be included in the shot (the tree, car, building,
or any cmbination therein). Now when I switch to my asset layout I
want to see a list of all shots that use each individual asset.

I have been able to make layouts that will only show one shot or one
asset at a time. Its driving me bonkers. Can anyone help? I from my
last google searching extravaganza, I think I might need to use
portals, but I'm not sure. Any leads appreciated, thanks!

Re: Tracking CG models per shot

In article
<22358983-b254-445b-b333-3267610a7c5a@c23g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>, dc
wrote:

> Hello. I work in the visual effects industry, and have been a user of
> Filemaker databases for years. Creating them is another story. I've
> got most of what I want assembled, except tracking CG models per shot
> (I will call the model an asset from here on out.
>
> Here is the scenario: I have a tree, a car, and a building asset. I
> have 10 shots. I would like to create a relational link between them.
> When I am on my shot layout, I would like to see a list of all the
> assets that are to be included in the shot (the tree, car, building,
> or any cmbination therein). Now when I switch to my asset layout I
> want to see a list of all shots that use each individual asset.
>
> I have been able to make layouts that will only show one shot or one
> asset at a time. Its driving me bonkers. Can anyone help? I from my
> last google searching extravaganza, I think I might need to use
> portals, but I'm not sure. Any leads appreciated, thanks!

Portals are exactly what you need, and Portals of course need
Relationships.

The best idea is to create a third Table (often called a 'link Table')
to store one record for each Shot and each Asset that go together. You
can call this Table whatever is meaningful to you, eg. Shot-Asset
Register. For example, if the Tree is used in Shot 5 and Shot 10, and
the Car is use in Shot 7, then there will be three records in this Link
Table:

Tree 5
Tree 10
Car 7

Rather than the names, it's usually a good idea to have unique ID
fields for each Shot and each Asset (you may already have something
like these, even if it's only "Tree1", "Tree2", etc.). The Table can
'lookup' the names and any other details using Calculation fields via
the Relationships links.

This Link Table only needs a few fields.
eg.
Link_AssetID Text

Link_ShotID Text

Link_AssetName Calculation, Text Result, Unstored
= rel_Assets::AssetName

Link_ShotName Calculation, Text Result, Unstored
= rel_Shots::ShotName

Those last two fields (and any similar fields to retrieve other Asset
details you need displayed in the Portal on the Shots Layout, or
vice-versa) will need to be created after creating the Relationships.

You don't say which version of FileMaker, so this is a little vague,
but you can then create Relationships between the various Tables based
on the ID fields.
eg.
rel_Assets Asset Table <-> Link Table
when Assets::AssetID = Link::Link_AssetID

rel_Shots Shot Table <-> Link Table
when Shots::AssetID = Link::Link_ShotID

In newer versions of FileMaker I believe Relationships are two-way. In
older versions of FileMaker (or perhaps databases where the Tables are
in separate files) you may need a few more Relationships since they are
only one-way links. For example you will need one Relationship Asset
Table -> Link Table and another Link Table -> Asset Table.

With these Relationships in place you can add Portals to the Asset
Layout (Portal displays Shots) and Shot Layout (Portal displays
Assets). Within the Portals you can add the fields you want to display
- make sure they fit within the first row of the Portal in Layout Mode
and are using the correct Relationship (the same Relationship as the
Portal itself) otherwise you can get peculiar results.
eg.
On the Shots Layout the Portal Row will display the fields:

[rel_Shots::Link_AssetID] [rel_Shots::Link_AssetName]


On the Assets Layout the Portal Row will display the fields:

[rel_Assets::Link_ShotID] [rel_Assets::Link_ShotName]

If you set the Relationships to "allow creation of related records",
then you can enter Assets directly into the last Portal row on the Shot
Layout, and Shots directly into the last Portal row on the Asset
Layout.

You can also perform Finds via the Portals. For example, if you want to
Find all the Assets that are used in Shot 37, go to the Assets Layout
and in Find Mode type 37 into the Link_ShotName field in the Portal -
FileMaker will display each individual Asset record that has "37" as a
Shot in the Portal. Printed reports though should be done from the Link
Table where you can sort records and use summaries / sub-summaries to
create reports in whatever format you need.


Helpful Harry
Hopefully helping harassed humans happily handle handiwork hardships ;o)