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Subclips as stand alone files?
Hi there,
Our producers create long clipreels, import it into CatDV, then log and create markers. However, when I need to upload the footage to our online database, we prefer short clips instead of one long 20-30 minute clipreel.
So, is there a way to create subclips from markers that create their own self-contained files, instead of referencing the original clipreel file? Or – is there another way of doing this instead of manually “breaking up” the clipreel outside of CatDV?
(Yes – I realize this could be done BEFORE it goes into CatDV in say, FCP, but most of the time the only file I’m given to work with is the finished .mov clipreel)
CavDV version 9.0.6, running off the server on a Mac OS X 10.7.4.
Cheers!
Whitney -
6 Replies
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You can export movies, but you’d have to deal with changing file names, unless you reimport to CatDV.
As an editor I prefer long clip reels with markers. I don’t like having to open each and every clip. I can drag spubclips directly into FCP as either proxy or full resolution media.Non-linear: all the time and nothing but.
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Ah, that’s a good point. Then it may just be easier to break it up in QT first and then import into CatDV, as we’ve been doing. Can be rather time consuming though.
The editors here are against the idea of breaking up the clipreels! 🙂 However, from an archive perspective if someone needs a shot of tuna underwater and the underwater footage is 15 minutes into a 20 minute clipreel, then it makes it more difficult for researchers. Also, we have clients in areas, such as the Congo, with very low bandwidth, so downloading 20 minute clipreels for 20 seconds of footage can be a pain.
Trying to find a solution everyone will be happy with. 🙂
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Whitney,
You can have the subclips exported from the Worker. There used to be a problem with this but I believe it was fixed. (Worker would export the whole clip when you requested a subclip.)
Also, if you just subclip in the client and then choose to export self contained movies it should work fine. (If they don’t, you are seeing the bug I mentioned above.)
I can see the advantage of both. I’d vote to keep the whole clip for editors and then via a naming convention maybe make the short subclips available for web browsing in proxy form. As long as you weren’t doing much automation an assist could easily find the main clip. Or, if you had to automate, keep both hi-res copies live and just let it all flow and take the hit on the size.
bryson
bryson “at” hidefcowboy.com
hidefcowboy.com
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well a stock footage operation is going to have different needs and workflow. There are some people on here who specialize in that.
You can always let someone select a clip based on the sub clips and then deliver the clip by exporting the sub clip as a movie from CatDV. For the purposes of bandwidth you can use the proxies with reel name an timecode burned in. That’s more or less the way we operate here. The master reels are stored on raw drives at full resolution. Everything is searched via the proxy files. We don’t go back to the “masters” until we’re doing finish work.
Are you using the web interface?Non-linear: all the time and nothing but.
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Going back to this, I think that you might also look at the way that you are presenting the footage.
This is probably more of a workflow thing than a technical one.
Hearing your business, I’d also consider the idea of presenting a clip as a full length master and then highlight subclips, if you’re logging in-house already.
Then someone could check the highlights and that’d probably serve a lot of your clients, and if it looked promising they could suffer through the long download.
Also, not sure what web front end you’re using but if it’s your own CMS, you could also present several resolutions of the proxy so that people with low bandwidth could watch for content and then check at a higher bit rate later, if necessary.
Although CatDV can link one asset and it’s proxy, by default. It has a lot of flexibility if you are creative with your data management. We have designed workflows where people are tracking several versions of an asset using CatDV as this is something that a lot of people must do. Sometimes you have to leave the idea of “1 clip/2 versions” behind, especially in the stock footage world where you serve all different types of customers.
bryson
bryson “at” hidefcowboy.com
hidefcowboy.com
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You know what? I think you’re on to something! Gears are running now, going to suggest a compromise. Thanks for your input! 🙂
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