MXF glitch rendering from Resolve

[Brendan Dillon]

I don’t have the frame rate discrepancy that you have but the files still don’t relink in Avid. I’m working at 25fps.

I notice that when the files come out of Resolve the ‘Clip Name’ metadata has changed. In your example ‘071510 g02.02.new.01’ has become ‘TFS071510V01.’ I am guessing that Avid wants to see the same clip name for it to really believe that this is the same file.

I would love to get this workflow happening …

[Blase Theodore]

Actually the clipname is unrelated. The “.new.01” gets tacked on when Avid does an AAF clip trimmed consolidate. I did a blank timeline with a prores clip in it, and the clipname is correctly preserved in metadata, but still exhibits the “120:00:00” duration.

(Make sure you’re using the “use prefix, suffix… from source clip” checkbox when you render.)

Are you seeing the same duration glitch on your end?

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Blase Theodore

When I don’t understand something in Color, I have faith that everything in life happens for a reason. Then I trash preferences.

[Brendan Dillon]

No duration glitch here. Could it be a 29.97 – 30 issue? I notice one of your clips is 29.97 fps and the other is 30. All my material is at 25 and there is no problem with duration and yes I am using the “use prefix, suffix… from source clip”

Regarding getting the clips back into Avid this is how it should work:

Export an AAF and this creates an AvidMediaFiles folder with MXF Media. Also, it creates a new sequence in the bin with .exported and a whole bunch of clips are added to the bin.

As a test If you take the new MXF files and move them into Avid’s ‘AvidMediaFiles’ at the root of the drive, the drive will scan and the .exported timeline will no longer be offline.

Now if the files from Resolve were identical and you instead put the new rendered Resolve files into Avid’s original AvidMediaFiles folder the drive will scan and the .exported sequence would be automatically linked to the graded footage.

Unfortunately the files are close – mine have the same file name, same duration, timecode .. it all looks good but the clip names are always totally different from the original.

In your example ‘071510 g02.02.new.01’ has become ‘TFS071510V01.’ More has changed than just ‘.new’

It appears that instead of keeping the clip name it replaces it with he first 10 characters of the tape name and adds a V01 to the end.

[Blase Theodore]

Brendan,

You’re correct. I’ve come to the same conclusion myself over the past few hours. The 120:00:00 was a glitch caused by the .quicklook file installed by Calibrated_MXF (which I use for MXF in FCP).

The actual cause of the import problem is more likely:
– Resolve is creating the wrong “name” metadata, (as you noted)
– Resolve doesn’t seem to want to import Reel names from the EDL or AAF.

Even if the clip name is wrong in the metadata, I’m hoping Avid could still connect based on the TC and a Reel name. (as if this was a proper offline/online).

It looks like we’re after the same workflow here. I’m 2 days into banging my head against the keyboard, hopefully will find solution shortly.

[Brendan Dillon]

[Blase Theodore] “The actual cause of the import problem is more likely:
– Resolve is creating the wrong “name” metadata, (as you noted)
– Resolve doesn’t seem to want to import Reel names from the EDL or AAF.”

Yes I would be guessing this is the problem. The rendered files are similar to the source files but have enough metadata changes for Avid to know that they are not the same file. If these files were the same as the ones generated when exporting the AAF then the .exported sequence would relink automatically once Resolve’s rendered files are placed into the Avid MediaFiles folder.

All the functions are there – Resolve reads the AAF and the MediaFiles folder and renders Avid MXF files but it just doesn’t quite work. This would be such a great workflow and would allow Avid and Resolve to work so well together as a finishing system. I really hope this is looked at for future software updates.

For now I’ve gone back to a ‘Preconform’ workflow.

[Blase Theodore]

I should mention here that this is not limited to MXF, it applies to QT, and DPX as well. No format I rendered had reel/tape names.

You mentioned that you got the clip names to work? How did you accomplish that?

With a proper clip name, did you try relinking based on Key number instead of tape name?

I was hoping that Avid MediaLog could help (i.e. edit metadata, or associate the clips and transfer metadata.) But couldn’t seem to use it to get anything done.

[Brendan Dillon]

[Blase Theodore] “You mentioned that you got the clip names to work? How did you accomplish that?”

Did I? No – I haven’t had clip names working.

This should not be an Avid ‘Relink’ function. When the rendered files are placed in the Avid MediaFiles folder Avid will scan the drive and the .new clips and the .exported sequence created when exporting the AAF will come online automatically. This can be proven by putting the source files (from the AAF) onto your Avid media drive and instantly Avid will scan the drive and the .exported sequence will come online.

But as I mentioned this is not working with the Resolve files because some metadata has changed – I’m not sure what missing metadata Avid wants – it could be clip name or tape or both or maybe something else.

‘Relink’ will not work because the tape names are gone and ‘key number’ refers to key code on film projects.

For now you may just have to render in ‘Target’ mode. Or, if your project isn’t too big, you could add your rendered MXF clips to the AvidMediaFiles folder and open the Media Tool in Avid, find your new clips and drag them to a bin and start manually cutting them into your sequence. This is probably just as laborious as trying to use an app to manually modify clip metadata and at least manually cutting in the clips will actually work!

I’m sorry but I can’t think of any easy solution to this at the moment.

[Blase Theodore]

Hey Brendan please shoot me an email when you get a sec. I may have a workaround, but don’t want to clog up the thread troubleshooting.

blasetheodore@yahoo.com

[Dean Manion]

Please reveal any workarounds you figure out for this problem! I\’m about to attempt this workflow next week and I\’d love to get any tips you discover. I have the $500 DNxHD add-on software and it would be an expensive failure if it doesn\’t do what I\’m hoping it will, which is maintain continuity of files from Avid to Resolve and back again. Please keep this thread going and perhaps I\’ll have something to add going forward.

Thanks
Dean

[Blase Theodore]

Solved by rendering to QT and then using metacheater to build ALE files.

threw some notes down here:
https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/277/2100