Switching from FCP to Avid 8.4 – mxf clips already transcoded – how to link with AMA clips

[Shane Ross]

Already transcoded how? Brought into Avid how? You say ‘already transcoded into Avid,’ so that means brought in properly, right? So what worry do you have about online? Adding what metadata…what metadata is missing? And how will you online?

Shane
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[Jenna Bliss]

I forgot the tone of these forums.

The footage was transcoded in Adobe Encoder. I am walking into a project that several other editors have been working on with Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro 7. I am trying to figure out how to best bring the footage into Avid.

Previously, how I’ve worked with AMA linking is by copying the source location for the camera files and making sure they are in a column on the transcoded files to help when relinking. This is a verite documentary so there will be a lot of footage – I need to edit low res and the upres for the online. Is it possible to link back to camera files (.mxf in this case) from transcoded files that were not made in Avid?

I haven’t worked as an assistant in years so I’m not up to date on all this.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

best,
jenna

Jenna D Bliss

[Shane Ross]

Transcoded with MEDIA ENCODER? Not sure if the files got much of the metadata needed for offline/online. Personally I wouldn’t trust that app for this purpose.

For offline/online, I’d only approach this in one of two ways…and it all depends how it’s being onlined.

1) If onlined in Avid…AMA link and transcode in Avid…NOT with any external converter. External converter means that you’ll have to manually relink later. We use one at work, but we use it to convert to FULL RES files first, then Avid to transcode those to offline files, so it has a link to the full res. So if you plan on using Avid to go to full res, gotta do the work in Avid.

2) If onlining in RESOLVE, you can use RESOLVE to transcode the footage to DNx36 or other low res format. And when you send the AAF from Avid to Resolve for online, have Resolve relink to the camera originals.

Shane
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[Jenna Bliss]

Great – this is really helpful, thank you!!!

Jenna D Bliss

[Jenna Bliss]

I wonder if it is possible to add the metadata Avid needs to the clips that were made in Adobe Encoder?

Jenna D Bliss

[Shane Ross]

Most you can’t, no. And to try to do that manually…with TONS of clips? That’s a lot of work, and it MIGHT NOT work right. Plus, there are a lot of metadataa columns you simply cannot edit.

Shane
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