Databases

Knowledge

Clear up the differences between structured and unstructured data. The quality issues that can arise with data and how to avoid and/or resolve these. Explain the fundamentals of data structures, database system design, implementation and the importance of maintenance. Don’t forget to talk about the organisation’s data architecture.

Skills

Identify, collect and migrate data to/from a range of systems. Manipulate and link different data sets as required. Interpret and apply the organisation’s data and information security standards, policies and procedures to data management activities. Perform database queries across multiple tables to extract data for analysis.

Knowledge

Unstructured data would be most of the files we deal with on a day to day basis. It is easily accessed through Miasma which i have outlined in other posts. Miasma sorts all of the unstructured data files in structured databases. They are named correctly when setting up the databases so that miasma can keep the database appropriately named from then on. maintaining the database and adhering to the pipeline conventions is important to the smoothness of the project. This includes versioning on data already created. The files picked up by each artist may have versions. It is important to check the you are picking up and working on the most up to date version of the file. this data basing system, Miasma enacts version control with a clear UI to maintain version control.

Skills

I had to manoeuvre through the database system when I created a wand for the Wizards Unite job. I created the model and saved it in the ‘model’ scene inside the arbitrary ‘build’ folder created when the job was created in Miasma. I then textured and look developed the wand in the ‘lookdev’ scene. Once the asset was created the riggers created a simple rig for it in their ‘rig’ scene. At this point a ‘render’ scene is created for the wand and it is appropriately lit. This is where you may find that the textures need to be tweaked to better fit the actual scenes lighting and shot composition. This meant returning to the ‘lookdev’ scene versioning up and making the modifications. when I returned to the ‘render’ scene I now have to version up the asset in the scene to the now updated, newly modified asset. This how the database handles all unstructured data situations through pipeline, structuring the data.