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Sort & Rename in Worker Node
Hi All
I need some help/advice with configuring the CatDV worker node. Here is the workflow I would like to create using worker node:
1. Cameraman creates a new folder named to reflect the contents (Joe_Smith_Intvw) and and adds all the camera footage(mov files) from Joe Smith’s interview to that folder. He then drags it into a watch folder
2. Worker Node sorts the mov files by date created/modified
3. Worker Node adds the filenames to the metadata of each file (so camera generated filenames are preserved)
4. Worker Node renames Filenames to reflect parent folder name with incremental numbers as suffix (Joe_Smith_Intvw_001.mov)
5. Worker Node create proxy files
6. Worker Node publishes catalog and sends email to specified addresses
Now the part I need most help with is – can the worker node sort files? can i have multiple pre-processing instructions within the same watch action or do I have to create multiple watch actions? What is the variable string to rename (foldername_incremental number) and do i enter this in the “Destination” field of the Pre-Processing tab?
Thank you in advance
Vik Narayan
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3 Replies
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Yes.
😉 I’m joking. Generally we tend to go to the side of separate actions instead of lots of actions in one. Troubleshooting a complex workflow can be a pain if it’s all in one.
The variables are in the help, as you know so depending on which folder you’re looking to pull the name of it can vary. (Pardon the pun.)
This info is provided unsupported. If you delete files or any other data, I and North Shore Automation are not responsible. We recommend you receive training and preferably have complex workflows integrated by an authorized dealer. (There, legalese done. Now let’s tear some stuff up!)
For instance, the “$q” variable gives you the name of the enclosing (parent) folder. You do need to select “expand variables” which brings me to an interesting question. We tend to use timestamps to ensure unique filenames. I’ve never tried to make a variable increment the filename. Could someone from Squarebox support speak to that? You can select “number files consecutively” or “expand variables” but not both.
(Date and or timestamp are pretty great though.)
Variables are added to the end of the path in the “Destination” field, as you assumed.
/Volumes/Folder/file.mov
With a destination of /Volumes/watch-output/$D-$Q-$f
Would give you a file and path like this:
/Volumes/watch-output/20140204-Folder-file.mov
Hope this gets you started. As I stated, a lot can go wrong, very quickly so please, please test and do research off of your main storage and media. (I mean it, we’ve seen some really bad things happen.)
This can get pretty deep quickly and is super fun. If you stack up a few actions, you can have some really neat analysis and then run operations based on them.
bryson
bryson “at” northshoreautomation.com
northshoreautomation.com
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Thank you Bryson. I really appreciate your insight. Btw, does NSA provide Cat-DV training-only deals or is it part of your turn-key installations only?
I am purely in test mode right now and am not anywhere near working on the “real” production folders. Even at a test level, I plan to maintain a copy of the original camera media that will live through the production process. I am an editor first, a long time CatDV Pro client user and fairly new to the server/worker world, but am very interested to learn and get a handle on this. If there are any good resources to use as reference, please guide me. I can convince my employer to getting relevant books/courses if available.
Btw, can CatDV perform a sort by Date Created? I will try adding date/time to the clip names to see if it works for us.
Thank you again
Vik Narayan -
Vik, good to hear you are testing.
The read me for Worker is the main resource, along with the Squarebox website. We learned it the old fashioned… and painful way.
I’ll reach out off the board but JB&A offers a full slate of training on all the products as well.
bryson
bryson “at” northshoreautomation.com
northshoreautomation.com
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