Case Study: Turning 40+ Years of Legacy Media Into a Searchable, Protected Asset Library

Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican, 2006 Documentary

Context

Spia Media is a Rhode Island based production company focused in the documentary field. Their body of work spans more than 40 years and contains thousands of assets. My relationship with Spia goes back more than 25 years and includes working as an online editor for the feature documentary film, Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican in 2006. In 2025, Spia reached out to me for support reviewing its full library and developing a more cohesive, sustainable strategy for protecting and organizing decades of production assets.

Challenge

The Spia Media library spans more than 40 years and includes at least 8 unique tape formats and several generations of diverse digital storage devices. The risks were not limited to storage concerns. Aging media, inconsistent organization protocols, and disconnected storage practices created a situation where assets were difficult to locate, reuse, protect and preserve. The challenge was moving a vulnerable media collection into an organized, protected library that is built on a system that is easy to understand, adopt, and maintain.

Role

Spia asked me to audit the existing library, formalize operating procedures, identify blind spots, and create a workable roadmap to safeguard high-risk assets. The larger engagement also included marketing ideas, communications opportunities, infrastructure considerations, and broader operational recommendations, but this case study focuses on the media library strategy. This review covered organization, file naming conventions, metadata strategy, and long-term storage needs. Because of my history working with Spia Media and my familiarity with the material, I was able to evaluate the library not only as a technical issue, but as a working production asset that needed to remain functional for the foreseeable future.

Approach

My strategy started with a complete audit of library assets focused on preservation risk. Before making recommendations, it was important to understand the full breadth of the library; which materials were vulnerable, which assets required immediate attention. Once the audit was completed, I developed a four-part framework: folder taxonomy, file naming conventions, metadata standards, and a long-term 3-2-1 storage strategy. The first three exist so the library works. The fourth exists so it survives.

The system had to be easy to use. Complicated conventions get abandoned. It was also essential that this methodology was in place before touching storage. I recommended a 3-2-1 approach, which is widely considered the gold standard for protecting media assets. The recommendation consisted of a local DAS solution, LTO tape as an offsite cold storage backup and a companion cloud storage solution.

Execution

I traveled to Rhode Island and spent four days reviewing the library and current procedures. The audit included tape library, current storage drives, file structures, known project files, and existing storage practices. Based on this review, I produced a formal strategy document that included:

• Folder taxonomy

• Metadata and naming conventions

• Hardware and software options

• Storage models, options and pricing considerations

• Vendor recommendations

• Workflows aligned with a

Results / Outcome

Spia Media adopted the recommendations and began implementing the strategy into their workflows. They have been able to capture nearly all vulnerable legacy tapes, reducing the chances of permanent media loss. Additionally, Spia has implemented a 3-2-1 storage methodology and began migrating digital media from legacy storage drives into a more secure, organized and sustainable system. The adoption of these recommendations creates a library that is better protected, easier to organize and use, and is future-proof.

Key Takeaways

The best lesson to take away from this case study is that asset management is not only a media company problem. Many small and medium-sized companies are focused on the daily work of serving customers, producing results, and moving business forward. As a result, many of the systems behind that work often fall behind. Whether the asset is footage, photography, documents, customer records, training materials, or marketing content, the same principle applies: valuable assets need structure, protection, and a practical plan for long-term use. Best practice storage solutions are part of that larger strategy.

TMS Connection

This work reflects what TMS does best: start with the client’s real-world problem, understand their business, and partner with them to build a strategy that fits their needs. The assets differ from company to company, but the core need remains the same, which is to organize the work, protect what matters, and create systems your team understands and will use. TMS brings 25 years of entertainment, production, communications, and workflow experience to help businesses turn assets and disconnected processes into an easy to use and sustainable system.

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