-
OMF workflow for nested sequences. Has anyone found an automated way?
I’m an adobe premiere / audition fan, however I’m a Pro Tools sound editor. I’ve yet to find an easy or automated way to send the discrete audio tracks from the nested sequences to an OMF.
Yes, I know how to export an omf from the main sequence. Yes, I ‘can’ go into each sequence and copy / paste the entire audio structure that into a duplicated main sequence, however I find the re-syncing/aligning (Especially since there’s no mid sequence 2 pop) a pita.
As you can imagine, as a sound editor, I work with a lot of premiere editors who use nested sequences… and rarely do they want to do all that leg work ‘just’ to send me a proper OMF. Heaven forbid I mentioned about working in a non-nested sequence as well.
I’d even settle for an easy way to walk someone through unesting a sequence on a main timeline.
-
16 Replies
-
[Sean Scarfo] “I work with a lot of premiere editors who use nested sequences… and rarely do they want to do all that leg work ‘just’ to send me a proper OMF.”
Sorry, but they have to. You must insist that they do not send nested sequence audio. You can’t work with it….plain and simple. All you need to say is, “Sorry, but I cannot properly mix audio that has been nested. You need to send discreet audio tracks and clips.” Then it is on them…because it really IS on them. My post supervisor chews out editors who nest. If there is no post super, then the producer will. Talk to the producer and tell them you can’t do what is required as long as it is nested and have them whip the editors into line.
They must be broken of this bad BAD habit. Like it all they want, it causes issues with other parts of the post chain…they need to refrain from doing it, or fix it.
[Sean Scarfo] ” Heaven forbid I mentioned about working in a non-nested sequence as well.”
IF the editors give you guff, go to the producers. Explain how you cannot do your job if the sequences are nested. Period.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[Sean Scarfo] “I’d even settle for an easy way to walk someone through unesting a sequence on a main timeline.”
Premiere Pro CC has a feature for sequence-to-sequence editing [link] which edits the clips from inside the source sequence into the timeline rather than a nested sequence.
With this, you should be able to match frame from the nested sequence, loading it in the source monitor, then overwrite back into the timeline.
(edit: fixed broken link)
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events -
Also, to Shane’s point, you should send the above link to the editorial staff.
Editing from selects sequences can be really useful, but clicking that one little switch before you do so will make the whole workflow so much smoother.
If you’re on CS6, I consider this one of the upgrade-worthy “little” features.
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events -
Yea, I have CC, but not every premiere editor has it.
That link was pretty cool. Would def save me some time if I was doing the edit.
I just can’t believe in 2014, literally over 20 years after premiere has been around… the ability to ‘un-nest’ on the fly or export EDL/OMF with nested sequences (and have the edl and OMF point to the correct corresponding clips) isn’t available yet.
It’s probably been the number 1 gripe of mine ever since I’ve owned a license for premiere.
-
[Sean Scarfo] “I just can’t believe in 2014, literally over 20 years after premiere has been around… the ability to ‘un-nest’ on the fly or export EDL/OMF with nested sequences (and have the edl and OMF point to the correct corresponding clips) isn’t available yet.
“Yeah, I know what you mean.
I can see that this is a non-trivial problem — how do you automatically handle track patching when audio layouts differ, how do you handle potential clip collisions, how do you handle effects applied to the nest, etc. — but something here would be better than nothing!
May I suggest filing a feature request [link]?
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events -
Easy fix…stop the editors from doing this in the first place. They need to learn how to do things right.
In my not-so-humble and grumpy opinion.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Yep, already submitted the feature request. IMO, this would make life so much easier for Premiere editors that collaborate with sound editors.
-
Hi Shane, I’d love to ‘yell’ at them… however typically my business / work involves being contracted ‘last’ in the project as sound editing and cleanup is way too common an after thought. Also, telling editors to modify their workflow heavily to accommodate me (the sound editor) is rarely a good thing.
I’d even pay for a plugin at this point.
-
All roads lead to post. Camera people need to accommodate our needs…although true, there are times they don’t. But when I start editing, I always work with the finish in mind…the online and the audio mix. Every place I work has rules on what you can and cannot do, in order to make online and mix go smoothly. People who DO NOT take audio and online into account are lazy good-for-nothing editors who have no business editing professionally.
Sure, audio might be the last link in the chain, but it is a very important one, and working in a way that enables you to do your job is only smart. And YES…editors MUST modify their workflow and work habits if they intend on working in a post production chain like this. If they are all-in-one people…they can do what suits them. But if they are a link in the chain, they need to work in a way that makes things go smoothly.
And it’s not your job to whip them into shape…you can tell them your needs, and it’s the job of the post super or producer to do that. If you tell them “nested sequences cause issues in the mix, I cannot properly mix with nested material,” then they need to do what is needed to fix that. It’s on them. If they don’t, then you can only do so much.
I’m used to working with stubborn editors who do things their way and refuse to change. After receiving a bill for all the fixing I had to do in order to make things work…or me even mentioning how much it would cost for me to fix the mess I was given…the producer gets the editors to fix it, and do it right in the future.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
I feel your pain on this and echo what Shane and Walter said.
Not sure this would help, but I think I was able to accomplish a proper omf
from a nested (multicam) cs6 sequence once, by doing a “send to audition” from within premiere, then once it
finished conforming in audition, export the omf from there.might be an option for your cs6 projects from editors.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up