Purpose and Suitability of an Asset Log

An asset log is a pre-production document that records every asset used in a media product. It does not store the assets themselves. Instead it stores information about them, so each one can be identified, found and checked.

Its purpose is to keep track of each asset: what it is, its origin, its role in the product and whether there is legal permission to use it. Media products often contain work created by other people, so the log shows that permission and payment have been dealt with. For example, a school talent show trailer might use a royalty-free music track and a photo of the sports hall taken by a teacher who has given written permission. Each gets its own row, noting its source, the part of the trailer it appears in and its licence. If a clip shows a person, the log can record where the signed model release form is kept.

This matters for legal reasons. The log helps show that licences and permissions are in place and have been stored safely, so the product does not use someone else's work without the right to do so.

An asset log is appropriate whenever a product uses sourced content, including photographs, stock photography, stock footage, hired illustrations, recorded music, written text and other material made by someone else. A source entry such as "sent by a friend" is not enough, because nobody could trace the asset from it.

It is not the same as a workplan or a storyboard. A workplan schedules tasks, a storyboard designs shots and an asset log records assets, so each document does a different job.