WTDaBuzz · Production & AI · 17 October 2026
Two production systems can exchange information while their users still disagree about what the information means. A shared vocabulary is therefore an operating requirement, not simply a software detail.
On its interoperable-workflows overview, MovieLabs describes its Ontology for Media Creation as a set of defined concepts for production assets and workflows. It presents those definitions as a foundation for communication between people and for data models, schemas and interfaces. This is a framework for interoperability, not a claim that any two products connect automatically.
Find the term that causes a real decision problem
A team reviewing a virtual production pipeline can begin with an everyday term that different departments use differently. “Approved” is a useful hypothetical example: approved for creative review, approved for a particular use and ready for delivery may represent different decisions.
The aim is to define the relevant meaning and owner at the point where another person needs to act. A vocabulary project becomes more useful when it resolves a concrete handoff rather than collecting an unlimited glossary.
Test meaning as well as transfer
In a supplier demonstration, ask the receiving team to explain the record it has received. Can it identify the relevant asset, interpret the status and know what action is expected next?
If the receiving system displays the text but the team still needs an informal explanation every time, the integration has not resolved the full operating problem. That finding gives the supplier a specific question to address.
Keep definitions connected to ownership
A production’s terminology can evolve as the work changes. Someone needs to decide when an internal definition changes and how affected teams learn about it.
A small set of well-maintained definitions can be more practical than a large document that no one owns. The test is whether the record helps people make consistent decisions about the work in front of them.
MovieLabs provides an industry reference point. The production business still needs to apply the relevant concepts to its own responsibilities, tools and exchanges.
Image: Illustrative production crew, Getty Images / Unsplash+, licensed original.