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Originally worked in DNxHD36, trying to reconnect to DNxHD175 now
We’re a feature length production and originally we were working with clips that were transcoded to DNxHD36. Now we’re in post and the directors would like us to work in higher resolution, so we’ve transcoded all the footage to DNxHD175. We have a new drive (twin of the old 36 drive in structure) with the 175 footage on it and we’re trying to relink files to 175 in the old projects we’ve been working on. These are the projects where we have organized, synced, and color-coded everything. But (as you can imagine) the relinking is not happening easily.
The biggest problem we’ve been having with this so far has to do with subclips/groupclips. We subclipped every shot in order to sync audio and video. We also group clipped every two-camera shot with both subclips. Now, when I’m reconnecting in my sequences, the audio is reconnecting to the subclips, and some subclip video files are reconnecting, but the group clips, when they reconnect, don’t reconnect to subclips — they reconnect to the source video files. We need the group clips so we’re able to toggle between the angles in the edit, and now it seems like that information is being lost somewhere in the relink.
You can see in the attached screen grab — we color coded all our subclips, and the grey clips are the source audio clips.
No clue how to fix this problem. Actually don’t want to keep relinking because it seems I’m just losing the work I did making group clips. Any ideas?
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12 Replies
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Relinking in Media Composer is pretty robust with a lot of options. For clips to relink, the most important thing is the time code and one other identifier such as file name, clip name or reel number. The time code can be messed if you transcoded the offline and online files in different apps. Above all, before you try anything else, rebuild all your media file databases so you know media is all properly indexed.
There are also options you need to check such as link to highest quality and choose whether or not to link to media only in this project. A lot of times, media can be sourced from different projects.
If you keep linking back to the DNX 36 media, try hiding that media so Avid can’t see it. You can also try unlinking clips from media before you relink.
I have never seen relink fail unless either the timecode is messed, the file names are duplicated or there is some unexpected thing that was done that creates a change that prevents the linking. But I have really only encountered this with round trips from DaVinci Resolve. You realize that if you have the annual upgrade plan or are on the rental scheme, you get a support call a month. You could call 1-800-800-AVID and they can walk you through this. Sometimes a little Teamviewer or Logmein session is faster than trying to be guided by phone or email.
Dennis
Dennis Kutchera
Online Editor / Colourist
Halifax, Canada -
I have better luck with the hide and find workflow.
Saves the guess work IMHO. -
Ya, try moving your 36 media out of the Avid MediaFiles structure, leaving only the 175. Avid will usually try and use what it can find. If some is online, and some is offline, then its time to isolate 1 offline clip and try to figure out what avid is missing to make the link. (name, timecode, frame rate etc)
Glenn
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Also relinking through group clips usually does not work. You will want to commit your multicam edits and try relinking again. As a test, you can do this on a copy of the sequence.
Michael
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Yes, I’ve already done hide and find from the very beginning — the 36 files are not on the drive. All the metadata is the same (name, timecode, etc.) except for the higher bitrate.
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Hi Michael — can you explain what you mean by “commit your multicam edits and try relinking again”? Do you mean create the group clips again?
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There is a command called “commit multicam” that is available if you right click the sequence (I think, not in front of the system). This removes all groups from the timeline leaving only the active camera as though you edited single camera. Use that sequence to relink. Media Composer does not allow relinking back through grouped clips which could be the source of the problem for some of the clips.
Have you tried in the relink dialog box at the bottom to relink to highest or specific resolution?
Michael
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You will have to relink to the master clips and not the grouped or multicam clips since they were all derived from the master clips. Hopefully you still have all the bins with the original master clips before they were grouped or multicamed.
[Nina Tenny] “All the metadata is the same (name, timecode, etc.) except for the higher bitrate.”
Is the “Tape” Column populated in the master clip bins and were both the DNxHD36 and 175x Transcoded from within the same App like say Resolve. I’ve even found link back issues in some cases if the two different Transcodes were rendered in a Resolve Project that is named differently.
\”MY MEDIA/PROJECT MOTO: If you think three copies of your media or project are enough.
Take a moment to place a value on them and then maybe add two more.
Hard Drives are now stupidly cheap. A RE-SHOOT AND YOUR TIME AREN\’T.\” -
Yes, I checked — the master clip tape columns in both the 36 and 175 projects are identical.
I did relink the files by clicking on the group clip and selecting “relink” through that gateway (with “Any video format” selected in the pulldown menu and “only media from this project” unchecked). Do you think that caused the problem — should I have only relinked the master clip?
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Thanks Brent, I actually tried relinking from the master clips and not touching the group clips, and it worked well — definitely better than relinking through group clips.
However, I’m getting a new problem now… it seems like some of the master clips are arbitrarily not reconnecting.
I checked the tape ID and other data on the clips that aren’t reconnecting and they seem the same as the other clips, and match their 36 versions as well. I try reconnecting them manually using a bunch of different criteria and nothing seems to work. Any idea of what’s going on?
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