[Bob Woodhead]

Do your edit, make a QT output (it can be a reference file, doesn’t need to be complete w/ media).

In Raylight, open the P2Maker tab & drop that file on the tab (or use Raylight’s instructions on how to use the “scan folder” for the source file).

I haven’t tried the metadata import function yet… hasn’t been a concern for me.

Have the destination card mounted (either directly or in the camera) & use the Destination section of Raylight to point to it. **IMPORTANT** if you have multiple cards mounted, they **MUST** have unique names (not NONAME – I use simply A, B, C, D) or the output will fail.

Select the card size & hit Start.

I’ve tested writing to cards with and without pre-existing clips on the destination card, success either way.

[Bob Woodhead]

I use P2CMS because; 1) you get a visual indication that all the clips on the card are in the database (ie, copied) and 2) it has a verify option for the copy process (which I don’t believe Finder does)

Raylight is worth it to me primarily for 3 reasons:
1- no QT conversion time – it lets FCP read the MXFs directly
2- adds metadata from the shoot to your workflow
3- if I ever need to reload the FCP project once media’s offline, I can simply bring back in the archived MXFs & Raylight files, it’s ready to go

[Bob Woodhead]

USB 2 & 17″ MBP, FCP & Raylight. Only drive is in MBP.

Fuji w/ 2X. 2X is useless…. unless you need it. 😉

[Bob Woodhead]

The main benefits of using Raylight:
– no need to convert MXF to QT, MXFs are usable (almost) instantly in FCP
– metadata is available in FCP…. so nice to have clips “automatically” named when they’re imported. (not really automatic, as you have already set that data prior to shooting) And doing the “right thing” by utilizing metadata NOW when you shoot means it’s always there if you switch edit systems, or if FCP enables it directly
– Raylight will make a slate on frame 1 or 2 will ALL metadata visible
– you can write a clip (or sequence as a clip) back to a P2 card
– finally, though not supported by Raylight or Panasonic, I’ve found it possible to edit, on a MacBookPro, using the MXFs still ON THE CAMERA via USB. Scan the camera cards with Raylight, use the Raylight QT Ref files in FCP. Add effects, renders to local drive, then using Raylight, push the edit BACK TO a P2 card in the camera! Then take SDI out of the camera & playback! wow. I’ve sat in a satellite uplink truck & used this workflow. Quite the game-changer. Caveat: I have not tested different formats, just DV25 & DV50. I’ll try some HD formats today.

[Bob Woodhead]

I benefited greatly from some detailed explanations when I switched to P2, so the circle keeps going around. 😉

Raylight: https://dvfilm.com/raylight/mac/index.htm

>would a native MXF file play more smoothly in a Sequence than an FCP-converted Quicktime?< Nope, not to my experience or knowledge. >it still needs to render certain files (transitions, etc.)?< Yep. >brought it back a year later, I would need to re-render, correct?< Yep, assuming you haven't archived all the render files. I don't find it's necessary, as that can GREATLY increase your archive size (like if you color correct most of the sequence). Besides, all your settings are saved in the FCP sequence, so just let it render when you restore. >use Media Manager in FCP and create ALL files for future use< When I was still using tape, and had a project that had a good chance of re-opening in the future, yes, I'd use MediaMangler to create a "consolidated" (old Avid term, forget if FCP has a different one) archive with all media. But now with P2, and the "camera master" RAID drives, there's no need; just copy the RAID files back onto an edit drive & re-render. The RAID unit I have (ezRAID, 2 drive SATA FW800) copies 60GB in about 20 minutes. Heck of alot faster than loading tape! But sure, for a super-fast project re-load, you could consolidate, at the expense of archive storage space. >Leopard
Dunno, still Tiger here. Ask Support @ DVFilm

After all that info, last bit of workflow that I think is Best Practice, even though we’re not doing it. Instead of hard drives on a shelf (even though they’re mirrored, and spun up / accessed twice a year), it would be safer to store archive data on enterprise-class data tape like SDLT, LTO. These tapes have a 30-year shelf life! Most people will hesitate to think of leaving data on a drive on a shelf for beyond 5 years, even if they’re spun up occaisionally. But the best drive for the job (Quantuum SDLT-600A) is like $6,000 and impossible to find used. So….. drives on the shelf until we find a cheap, large, safe long-term storage method.

[Bob Woodhead]

P2CMS works fine, but I will STRONGLY (like REALLY STRONGLY) suggest you add Raylight to your P2 workflow. It seems like an option, but it’s not… Panasonic should buy Raylight & make it part of any P2 bundle, for those who edit on FCP. 2 reasons: metadata & direct use of MXF in FCP.

OK, P2CMS:
For verification, you need to enable a checkbox under the Options menu. It’ll add time to the transfer, but what a bad place to try to save time. What you’ll see when verification is On is during the Ingest, the progress bar will go from “copying” to “verifying” for each clip. Then to absolutely confirm your copy, the clip thumbnails will be overlaid with yellow, showing they’ve been ingested. You can ingest several cards, then put them back in, and as P2CMS reads the cards, the clips will appear with that yellow overlay, indicating they’ve been copied.

As for Lastclip.txt, honestly, I’ve never even thought about it, since I’ve always used P2CMS, and spanned clips just work.

On the Ingest question, that’s just your misunderstanding of P2CMS functionality. You create a database, Ingest MXFs into the database, then switch to Database mode & Search for what clip parameters you want to find. The Database MUST be searched in some manner in order to find & see clips. You can search on something as basic as clip video format, or if you use metadata, such as Project Name, that metadata will appear as a field in the search function.

My workflow:
1 – storage is external RAID 1 (2 mirror drives). RAID volume is named RAID 1 (RAID 2 , etc). Single P2CMS database on RAID, dbase name CAM_MASTER_1 (2, etc) – more on this later.
2 – shoot card(s), Ingest to database with verify On. Under Ingest there’s a checkboxs for “Sub Folder”; I use “Others” and type a shorthand project name; all clips will go into a database subfolder with that name.
3 – remove cards & re-insert cards, confirm all clips on card have yellow overlay to confirm transfer into database
4- reformat card(s) in camera
5 – done in the field
6 – copy that subfolder from above off RAID onto my edit storage
7 – RAID goes back into production bag for next shoot
8 – use Raylight to create QT Reference files (*not* QT self-contained files, as FCP does when importing P2). Using metadata, Raylight will automatically create clip names based on your metadata from shooting (eg; BRoll Take 2, OnCamera Take 1, etc… the Take #’s are incremented by the camera each time you hit record) These names show up in FCP. Other metadata fields can be used as well. LOVE THIS.
9 – Edit is done. Export either a self-contained full resolution QT from FCP timeline. Offload tape if needed by client.
10 – DELETE MXF files from online edit storage (remember, they’re on 2 separate drives in the field RAID)
11 – when field RAID is full, drives are databased in a standard database manner (not P2CMS) for offline searching. (client calls a year later & asks for something, a quick search & I know which of many drives, dvds, etc that file’s on). After databasing, both drives are removed, bagged in antistatic bags w/ desiccant, and put on shelf. Every 6 months I spin all drives sitting on the shelf.
12 – non-MXF project files usually small enough to burn to DVD for archival. DVDs databased as well.
13 – drink (good) beer

I’ve made other posts specifically about metadata workflow w/ FCP, do a search & you’ll find those either here or on DVXUser

“Constituo, ergo sum”

Bob Woodhead / Atlanta
http://www.CoolNewMedia.net
Quantel-Avid-FCP-3D-Crayola
Panasonic HPX500

[Bob Woodhead]

Use P2CMS from Panasonic. It’s their offload/database app. Single most valuable feature is the ability to see instantly which clips on a P2 card have been copied (with verify). Warm fuzzy follows.

“Constituo, ergo sum”

Bob Woodhead / Atlanta
http://www.CoolNewMedia.net
Quantel-Avid-FCP-3D-Crayola
Panasonic HPX500

[Bob Woodhead]

Not sure how the “cost savings” work into what you’re trying to do. You mean you want to take MXFs BEYOND what’s stored in the camera from a day’s shoot out to tape? (Just taking what’s in the camera to tape is totally easy, so I guess so.) If the files are already on the NLE, why not just go to tape from there? If it’s the cost of an HD deck, take an NLE sequence on external HD to a facility for offload. Faster than pushing files back to P2. If the client wants tape TC that matches source footage (like re-creating camera tape masters), I’d be charging for that… time-consuming setup there.

Many clients aren’t technically savvy…. they’ll want something because “it’s what we always get”. If they knew the time savings with working from files, instead of digitizing tape, there’d be no argument.

On the other hand, there are valid reasons for wanting tape, and solid state recording doesn’t lend itself to that very well. All of those reasons are based on archival & compatibility issues, which hopefully will be answered before too much longer. We all struggle with long-term archive, both in-house, and for client use (eg, LTO data tape may be great for in-house, but not necessarily for a client’s direct use).

“Constituo, ergo sum”

Bob Woodhead / Atlanta
http://www.CoolNewMedia.net
Quantel-Avid-FCP-3D-Crayola
Panasonic HPX500

[Bob Woodhead]

Never thought about the fact it’s an anamorphic capture! Time for a Pshop batch process….

[Bob Woodhead]

PLEASE… not ANOTHER thread on P2 “obsolescence”!!!

Look back about 2 weeks – there was a LONG thread on this topic.

(And no, I don’t care even if it **is** a past computer standard… I’m making money with it NOW.)