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AMA vs IMPORT
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“Avid doesn’t work that way. Sorry. Avid needs the footage to be transcoded to DNxHD…and then IT will organize it where it wants it to go…into the Avid MediaFiles>MXF>1 folder. And it keeps a database in there to track it all. All the media organization is done inside the Avid software.”
That’s fine. So how do I do that? I thought I understood this but now it seems more confusing than before!
Do I just use import then? So that any files brought in can be transcoded first within avid? This is why I don’t understand the purpose of AMA if everything needs to be transcoded to work properly in Avid and AMA essentially skips over that step.
And no offense to Premiere, but I have no interest in learning another piece of software that almost no one uses, lol!
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“AMA will put all of the clips into a bin. Call this the AMA BIN for the given media (I organize this by card name, or reel). Highlight all the footage you want transcoded…then go CLIP>TRANSCODE. Or, if you want to make selection…only parts of clips…then put what you want in a sequence and transcode the clips in the sequence. Put the newly transcoded clips in a new master bin.”
Besides being able to grab parts of clips that you want transcoded, I’m still not understanding how this is different to Import, which I thought brings the footage in and transcodes it immediately. What is the difference?
All I want to do is work with what is transcoded already. So is that better to do with import or AMA?
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[Danielle Warren] “Do I just use import then? So that any files brought in can be transcoded first within avid? This is why I don’t understand the purpose of AMA if everything needs to be transcoded to work properly in Avid and AMA essentially skips over that step.”
AMA is Avid’s way of tracking where the masters are. So if you ever wanted to reconnect to them, you could easily. This is done if people want to edit in an offline, low res, low space requirement, format. Then relink to the masters later. Or, if they work with say RED which was shot 4K, and they want a 4K finish. Avid doesn’t do 4K. So you bring in your footage as say DNxHD 36 for offline editing, and then output an EDL for Resolve…Resolve will link to the Red originals.
AMA is basically a form of Log and Transfer.
[Danielle Warren] “And no offense to Premiere, but I have no interest in learning another piece of software that almost no one uses, lol!”
Premiere is VERY close to the way FCP works. So close it’s amazing. You can even choose teh FCP keyboard setup and be all set. People dub it “the FCP 8 we were waiting for.”
Shane
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Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[Danielle Warren] “All I want to do is work with what is transcoded already. So is that better to do with import or AMA?”
Transcoded with what? Into what format? Are they MXF files in the Avid media format? Or say DNxHD Quicktime files? Or ProRes files?
Shane
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Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
“[Danielle Warren] “All I want to do is work with what is transcoded already. So is that better to do with import or AMA?”
Transcoded with what? Into what format? Are they MXF files in the Avid media format? Or say DNxHD Quicktime files? Or ProRes files?”
I don’t know! You’re supposed to tell me!
I have some QT files for a project. I want to work with them in Avid. What is the best way to get those files (whatever format they are other than Avid media) into Avid and work? They could be Prores files, h264, camera specific files, whatever. How do I bring them into Avid and work with them, transcoded and ready to go?
“AMA is Avid’s way of tracking where the masters are. So if you ever wanted to reconnect to them, you could easily. This is done if people want to edit in an offline, low res, low space requirement, format. Then relink to the masters later. Or, if they work with say RED which was shot 4K, and they want a 4K finish. Avid doesn’t do 4K. So you bring in your footage as say DNxHD 36 for offline editing, and then output an EDL for Resolve…Resolve will link to the Red originals.
AMA is basically a form of Log and Transfer.”
I always work offline, so being able to re-link stuff later is not necessary for the editing I do. Does that mean import would just be a better option than AMA?
On a side note, I thought log and transfer was just a way to transcode from raw camera files. That’s all I’ve ever used it for.
“[Danielle Warren] “And no offense to Premiere, but I have no interest in learning another piece of software that almost no one uses, lol!”
Premiere is VERY close to the way FCP works. So close it’s amazing. You can even choose teh FCP keyboard setup and be all set. People dub it “the FCP 8 we were waiting for.”
I’ve heard that too, but I don’t know anywhere that uses it so it seems a waste to use if no vendors use it. I suppose if they started to like they did with FCP years ago, maybe I’d look into it. But everyone tells me Avid needs to be learned.
I’m still holding out hope that Apple will wake up and go back to updating FCP 7.
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[Danielle Warren] “I don’t know! You’re supposed to tell me!”
You said: “All I want to do is work with what is transcoded already.” So I asked…”how was that transcoded?” How are you doing these transcoded files that you want to bring into Avid? But I see that you are still trying to apply your old work habits to a new system that works very differently. You have to stop trying that.
Here’s how it works. You shoot your fantastic footage onto your tapeless camera. You back up that tapeless media onto a hard drive. Then, you use AMA to access that media and populate a bin with all the clip. This is how you point Avid to…”hey, this is all my source media.” Then you immediately transcode the footage and when you do that, set the target drive for this media…your media drive. The AMA bin will now have the original files, and a bunch that say ‘.new.’ Take those new files, organize them into new bins. THAT is the media you will work with. Take the card backup drive offline and work with the masters.
If you want to relink to the masters when you are done…then have the bin with the cut in it open…open all of your AMA bins…connect the drive with the backup card footage…then select the sequence, choose RELINK TO AMA and it will then make a new sequence that links to the master files. ANd it knows where they are because you used AMA to point to them before you imported.
IF YOU NEVER PLAN ON RELINKING TO THE MASTERS…and just want to import and edit full res…you can set your MEDIA CREATION settings to the codec you want…point it to the media drive of your choice…and drag and drop. Avid will convert the media to the codec you chose, and move the converted media into the Avid file structure.
[Danielle Warren] “I’ve heard that too, but I don’t know anywhere that uses it so it seems a waste to use if no vendors use it. I suppose if they started to like they did with FCP years ago, maybe I’d look into it. But everyone tells me Avid needs to be learned.”
At the last LAFCPUG meeting here in LA, all the questions we got for the tech support section were Adobe PPro related. It’s being used on small side projects just like FCP started out. It’s coming. But yes, if you work in LA, you need to learn Avid. BUT, if you just have clients who want a finished product…it doesn’t matter what you use to edit it. IT only matters when employers dictate what you need to edit on, or if networks want project files from the show.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
I think this is why this is so confusing. I’m used to doing and understanding things one way and this just makes no sense to me. But I’m trying. I appreciate your explanations and I’m sorry I’m just not understanding very well.
“Here’s how it works. You shoot your fantastic footage onto your tapeless camera. You back up that tapeless media onto a hard drive. Then, you use AMA to access that media and populate a bin with all the clip. This is how you point Avid to…”hey, this is all my source media.” Then you immediately transcode the footage and when you do that, set the target drive for this media…your media drive. The AMA bin will now have the original files, and a bunch that say ‘.new.’ Take those new files, organize them into new bins. THAT is the media you will work with. Take the card backup drive offline and work with the masters.”
That’s fine, I definitely understand that. But then didn’t someone else say that when you work this way, you can’t export?
“If you want to relink to the masters when you are done…then have the bin with the cut in it open…open all of your AMA bins…connect the drive with the backup card footage…then select the sequence, choose RELINK TO AMA and it will then make a new sequence that links to the master files. ANd it knows where they are because you used AMA to point to them before you imported.”
This is good to know, but I never re-link anything. So hopefully I won’t have to worry about that.
“IF YOU NEVER PLAN ON RELINKING TO THE MASTERS…and just want to import and edit full res…you can set your MEDIA CREATION settings to the codec you want…point it to the media drive of your choice…and drag and drop. Avid will convert the media to the codec you chose, and move the converted media into the Avid file structure. ”
So you’re saying to use import here, correct? As I won’t be needing to re-link anything. And when I say I don’t know what codec I want, it’s because I thought Avid has specific ones you need to use. The MXF and the other one. So why would you choose another codec in the settings?
And again, I just don’t understand the difference between using AMA and importing. I wish it was a really simple answer, but I’m still having trouble understand the core difference between them when they both transcode.
“At the last LAFCPUG meeting here in LA, all the questions we got for the tech support section were Adobe PPro related. It’s being used on small side projects just like FCP started out. It’s coming. But yes, if you work in LA, you need to learn Avid. BUT, if you just have clients who want a finished product…it doesn’t matter what you use to edit it. IT only matters when employers dictate what you need to edit on, or if networks want project files from the show.”
I’m from LA, but live and work in NY now. I do work on projects on my own system, but also at different companies, so I’d want to learn something that is more universal. So far, I don’t know anyone who uses FCP that’s making the switch to Premiere. Seems most want to eventually go back to Avid. Having to learn Avid is a time consuming headache all on it’s own, I don’t know if I can possibly even think about trying to learn another piece of software just yet!
BTW, to give some background, I am a trailer/commercial editor. I never work in online, and everything I work on is short form. THis is why the ease and simplicity of FCP has been the best choice for trailer houses. There is no need for certain things that Avid offers, and for me, it just overcomplicates what I am trying to do because I’m not cutting features or shows, or doing any of the finishing myself. Does that help to understand why I’m not really understanding this stuff? If not, then I’ll admit I’m just thick!
Thanks again for your patience. I really appreciate it.
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[Danielle Warren] “That’s fine, I definitely understand that. But then didn’t someone else say that when you work this way, you can’t export?”
No. If you access the footage via AMA…and EDIT that AMA footage, without transcoding…THEN is when you get the issues exporting. You can’t export reference files and the like. You’d have to do a video mixdown or transcode before you exported. And it really just slows the system down…depending on the footage type.
Some camera formats produce Avid native files. The Canon C300, for example, shoots to an MXF format that is XDCAM. No transcoding necessary. But, I still CONSOLIDATE, which means COPY, from the card backup to my media drive. Because I don’t want to work from my camera masters, and I want the footage to be in the Avid file structure that it craves. It takes less time, as I am just copying from one location to another. BUT, because it is XDCAM and a GOP format, I cannot export a reference QT either. It has to be DNxHD for that…so I tend to do a video mixdown…which makes a single QT file of the sequence in the DnxHD format for output only.
[Danielle Warren] “So you’re saying to use import here, correct? As I won’t be needing to re-link anything. And when I say I don’t know what codec I want, it’s because I thought Avid has specific ones you need to use. The MXF and the other one. So why would you choose another codec in the settings?”
If you are planning on working full res only…importing is better for that, yes. And Avid does have specific codecs, like FCP did. ProRes 422 is akin to say DNxHD 145…and ProRes HQ is akin to DNxHD 220. There’s a full sheet of options…lemme see if I can put a photo up here for you to see. It’s pretty darn helpful. Shows all the codecs available for the given frame sizes.
[Danielle Warren] “And again, I just don’t understand the difference between using AMA and importing. I wish it was a really simple answer, but I’m still having trouble understand the core difference between them when they both transcode.”
TRACKING the footage. That’s the main diff. If you plan on working full res only…feel free to import. It’s faster. If you plan on every relinking to the original source media for any reason…use AMA. AND…there are some formats that you cannot simply import, like AVCHD. You MUST use AMA to connect to the card. It won’t directly import the .MTS format.
[Danielle Warren] ”
BTW, to give some background, I am a trailer/commercial editor. I never work in online, and everything I work on is short form. THis is why the ease and simplicity of FCP has been the best choice for trailer houses. There is no need for certain things that Avid offers, and for me, it just overcomplicates what I am trying to do because I’m not cutting features or shows, or doing any of the finishing myself. Does that help to understand why I’m not really understanding this stuff? If not, then I’ll admit I’m just thick!”No…this makes sense. This is one of the big reasons FCP was used heavily in commercial and trailer houses…it was the better choice. It was a lot easier than Avid. Avid is build with features and long form in mind. FCP did make in-roads there, and became great. Heck, many places still use FCP because it still works. I do too.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Wow i think your thinking into this too deep. Even im confused now. Lol. Import is known as a “legacy” feature. It takes forever. Thats whyvlink to AMA and then transcode is used now. Its way faster, more control, etc. The only thing i ever bring in with import is stuff with alpha channels.
Neil Goodman: Editor of New Media Production – NBC/Universal
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When to use AMA: When dealing with camera masters. Canon DSLR, AVCHD, P2, XDCAM, RED…
When to use IMPORT: When you have stand alone Quicktime files. Graphics with alphas.
How’s that?
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def
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