Linked files

[Shane Ross]

[Jean Tertrain] “But I don’t undestand why we then weed to consolidate or transcode : why one would not just keep the files linked to edit them ? Why do we need to either consolide or transcode after having linked them ?”

Many reasons.

1) You have TONS OF FOOTAGE and limited space, so you work in an offline/online workflow to save drive space. Also crucial if you are having multiple editors on a show

2) The camera masters are a complex format, like R3D or AVCHD or MP4…that require a LOT of computing power to decode on the fly. Not all camera native formats are meant to be edited straight away…the power needed to decode them on the fly is too much and can slow the system down.

3) NEVER EVER EVER work with the camera masters. They need to be stored away. Always have at LEAST two copies of the media, because hard drives die. So…linking to the masters, and then TRANSCODING to work with them does two things…a) moves them to your EDITING drives so they are in two locations, and b) makes them easier to work with.

[Jean Tertrain] “Also, why don’t we just import everything ? Why has the linked method been created at the first place ?”

If doing an offline/online workflow, relinking to the masters can only happen if you AMA the footage. If you IMPORTED, you’d have to resort to BATCH-REIMPORTING at a higher resolution…you can’t relink back to the camera masters. The reason to relink is to either capture at a higher resolution, or to prep to send to online done on another system.

[Jean Tertrain] “Also, what is the difference between consolidate and transcode ? What is the best ? How do we choose which one to pick ?”

CONSOLIDATE…MOVES the media from one location to another. TRANSCODE converts it from one codec to another. I’d never CONSOLIDATE camera masters, UNLESS it is a COPY consolidate, rather than move…and only if it’s an editing codec like ProRes. The BEST depends on the workflow you’ve devised.

Shane
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[John Pale]

Your confusion stems from the fact that pretty much all NLEs except Avid are actually using linked files when you choose to import media. In Avid, it means something else.

Avid is an older application. Initially, it only worked with native Avid media. This means, when you import something, you are converting it to Avid media. It does not use the original file at all, but creates a new Avid media file to work with instead. Modern versions of Avid allow you to work with linked media (sometimes referred to by the moniker AMA, for Avid Media Access). Many people (including myself) choose to link to all media and then transcode to a native Avid format for performance and media management reasons. Some simply link to the media and start editing. With some media types and projects, that might work just fine. For a large project, most people find its better to work with Avid media.