Joblist templates: a detailed guide

For a presentation of the general logic of joblist templates, go here.

The following is a detailed walkthrough of a complete, generic joblist template. The template in question can be found in a default installation of Plint, under Tools & Data / Joblist templates. A project like the one described here would work as a test subject. 

The rules list

Each rule in a joblist template can create one or more jobs. When you apply it to a project, the rules will be triggered in the order they are arranged in the list. The list typically (but not necessarily) follows the chronology of the project steps. The rules can be dragged and dropped to change the order. 

However, as you will see, all rules are not necessarily applied to a project. It depends on project or language settings. This allows you to maintain a limited number of joblist templates and use project data to fine tune the results. 

Rule 1 – Media upload

The goal in this case to add a "Media upload" job, which will launch the rest of the workflow. We'll also use the first rule to explain all the panels. 

• Add job(s) to:
  • Where in the project structure should these jobs be added?
    • A project typically begins with media ingest, with one file per part (e.g. an episode of a series).
    • Selecting "Part" will add one job of this type to each part (see Project structure).
• Job options (panel one)
  • In the first panel you can add general information about the job, such as the Job type, which together with the Custom label will be shown as the name of the job. 
    • Please note that the selected Job type here happens to have the same name as the Delivery method (see below). This is not necessary but can be helpful in some cases. 
• Job options (panel two)
  • Use the Delivery method to specify how the job will be done.  
  • In this case, a file needs to uploaded to the system and mapped to the correct part, and perhaps converted to an editor-friendly format. There is a built-in Delivery method that makes this easy, called "Media upload". 
  • If the job should be confirmed by the assignee, set Confirmation status to "Awaiting confirmation"
    • Since this is done by the Project manager (see more under "Default person"), that's not necessary in this case. 
  • Use the date options to calculate a job deadline based on information from the project, such as main project deadline, or the dates linked to individual parts. 
    • Tip: you can calculate dates backward from a final delivery date: "when does this need to be done in order for us to complete the project on time?"
    • or you can take a point in time such as the arrival of the source media and calculate dates forward: "how long will this step take, once we have the file?"
• Select parent job
  • This is perhaps the most complex part of creating joblist templates, but well worth mastering. By supplying the right instructions to the rule, it can ensure that an unbroken chain of interdependent jobs is created. In more concrete terms, it determines the ID of the job which should be the parent of this job. 
  • Selecting "No" will make this a job independent of any previous work. It will be open for work as soon as it is created. Since the Media upload jobs are the first to be completed for each part, that's the right setting in this case. 
• Default person
  • In this case, the Project manager is the right person for the job, so we will use this option. 
  • There is also an option to select the Client contact.
    • Both of these options will use the information from the project in question when assigning the job. 
  • You can also utilize the automatic assignment logic in Plint for a much more advanced user matching.
    • In order to do this, choose "Apply critera" and then select which criteria to use.
    • The rules can be applied right away and the "best" person pre-selected as soon as the job is created.
    • You can also choose to simply store the rules with the job in order to make the final selection later. To do this, check the option: "Don't assign".
      • Explanation: More than one person may be eligible, and a project manager may want to make the final call from a list of relevant users. Or the job may end up in the Shark tank, where anyone who matches the critera will have a chance of grabbing it.
• Advanced edit
  • Finally: anything that can be specified for a single job can be specified in a joblist template rule.
    • The settings you select here will be inherited by each job created by the rule.
    • A typical example would be "Editor settings", where you determine the behaviour of the built-in subtitle editor.
  • If the option you seek is not available in any of the panels, select "Advanced edit" to open a dialogue which matches the edit form for individual jobs.

Rule 2 - Verify media

The purpose of the second job is to make sure the converted video is correctly converted for online editing, including dependencies such as audio wave forms and shot change markers. This being a manual workflow, the job is done by the Project manager by simply opening Plint Subtitler, where the video will load automatically. Like the Media upload job above, it will be added to all Parts and assigned to the Project manager, but there are some major differences:

• There is no Job type for this job. A Custom label is sometimes enough. 
• The Delivery method is Online editor.
  • Since this tool is where the actual subtitling will take place, it's a good way to ensure everything is in order. 
• This job needs a Parent job: the media upload needs to be completed first.
  • In order to do this mapping, we use the most straight forward logic: find the most recently created job in the same Part. Since the Media upload jobs are created just before the Verify media jobs, this will work nicely. 
  • (You can pinpoint matching further by specifying what rule was used to create the parent job)

Rule 3 - Subtitle template creation

There are a few new concepts introduced in the next step. The goal is to create a timed subtitling template which will be used to facilitate translation into a number of additional languages. This first step is done for the "First" language, as explained below. 

• The jobs are to be added to a certain language, repeated for each part.
  • The language should be the one tagged as "First", which is done on project level. 
  • Note: There is an additional language setting on project level called "Internal" with the same possibilities. 
    • This would typically used to flag languages where the work is not requested by the client but may be necessary to complete the project. 
• We use a Job type called "Template creation", in order to be able to automatically calculate fees and assign this kind of work to the right user. 
• The Delivery method is once again Online editor.
• We use the Project deadline to calculate a Delivery date for this job.
  • In this case, the subtitling template needs to be done ten days before final delivery of the complete project to ensure sufficient time for the following steps.
  • The parent job should be found in the same Part but not in the same Language.
    • We are now moving one level deeper into the project structure. 
• The Default person should be selected using Assignment criteria and match three properties:
  • Job type ("Template creation" in this case), Source and Target language. 
  • This means that only users who have these qualities attached to them are eligible for the job. 

Rule 4 - Subtitle template proofing

Once the template is created, it will be reviewed by the Project manager to ensure no errors are inherited down to all the subsequent languages. This is of course done in the Online editor. 

• Note that the Parent job section includes "In same lang".
  • We are now working within a specific language until the template is completely done. 
• There is one important difference between this job and the first, which can be found by going to "Advanced edit".
  • The "Proofing-type" option will allow the reviewer to mark the job as "Not approved" when changing status after the proofing is completed.
  • Doing this will reopen the previous job and allow the template creator to make (or confirm) any necessary changes.
  • This is a good example of how a simple adjustment to a joblist template rule will have a major impact on all the workflows created by it. Note: If an important omission like this is found after a project has been launched, you would typically change the live projects using batch editing and edit the joblist template to ensure that future projects are correctly set up. 

Rule 5 - Subtitling from a template

Here is where the work from the Template creation steps pay off. 

• The Jobs are added to "General target languages"
  • These are languages attached to the project which are neither "First" nor "Internal". 
• Since we are now expanding into multiple languages from the "First" language, "In same lang" is once again set to "No" when mapping the Parent job.
• There are also a couple of "Advanced edit" settings which are vital here:
  • "Load template" makes sure that when subtitlers go to work, the timed template from the previous step is automatically loaded into the editor.
  • "Limit editing" prevents the translator from some editing, such as changing the timing and adding clips.
    • This is used for projects where it is important that all translations follow a consistent structure.  

Rule 6 - Subtitling proofing

Just like the timed template, the translated subtitles require proofing. The options should be familiar by now. 

Rule 7 - Additional proofing?

This rule is conditional; it will only be applied for certain languages, the ones with a specific tag. This tag would be added on project level and in this case tells the joblist template that the language requires additional work.

Rule 8 - Client verification?

Another conditional rule, this one using a tag to the main project data. If found, extra jobs will be added to all languages.
Explanation: the jobs are added to the language nodes, but only if the project has the tag. 

The assignee here is the the Client contact. There can only be one of these for a project, so the selection logic is simple. 

Rule 9 - Render and delivery

The final job in this example is also a manual one. Using the localizations created (and proofed) using the online tools, the Project manager creates deliverables and ensures they end up in the right place. 

The Delivery method is the simple one: "Report". This simply places a button on the Dashboard which the assignee simply clicks to change status to "Done" and thus report that this step is completed. 

Summary

The above examples are just this: examples. They are meant to provide ideas based on real-life workflows. Workflows can be even simpler, or much more advanced. The best way to learn these tools is to try them out.