[Glenn Sakatch]

When avid launches it checks/adjusts/creates a database in any numbered folder within the MXF/”number” structure. The file is called msmMMOB.mdb

Inside Avid, you can either create a new bin called “transcodes” or use the bin that contains all the clips you were already transcoding.

From the finder level or explorer level, manipulate your way to the mxf/2 folder you created described in the above post.
Basically, you have avid running underneath your finder screen, but you can see them both at once.

From the finder/explorer window, drag the msmMMOB.mdb file into the avid bin. Yes…you are dragging from outside an Avid program, into the Avid program.

This will populate the bin with every clip that is in the “2” folder.
You have already ensured that the 2 folder only contains the media that was created and “lost” due to the crash.

You can now identify which clips have been transcoded, and which clips haven’t.

Yes it does work…I do it all the time when crashes occur.

At the end of the process, you can feel free to drag those files back to the 1 folder, to keep your entire project together. Avid will simply rebuild the database in the 1 folder, and the clips that were created above will stay online, invisible to anyone that they have in fact changed from the 2 to the 1 folder.

Take it a step further, once you have all your media in place, and rename your 1 folder to “project X Media” Avid will continue to read the database inside that folder, and access the media. You will however not be able to create or move any new mediafiles into that folder. (Letters in the folder name make it read only by Avid Standards) If you want to refresh the database in that folder, because you have added more files to it, you have to briefly rename it to 2, or 3 or 666 or 123456…anything with numbers only. Avid will scan it and refresh the database. Once done you can then safely rename it back to “project x Media”

I use this method to keep all my projects separate and organized for backups.

At the end of a session I typically rename my 1 folder to “project X working files” When I jump to that project again, I rename which ever project I’m on to “1”. This becomes where all the renders and incidental file creation for a particular project goes.

When I go to archive, I have a folder called “Project X Media” and “Project X working files” They get archived with the project and taken off the box.

I would ofcourse always have the option of combining those two folders together, changing them to a number allowing Avid to refresh the database, and then renaming that folder to “Project X Media” and archiving it all as one folder.

Glenn

[Glenn Sakatch]

go to your AvidMediaFiles/mxf/1 folder and sort by date. That should tell you what clips are the newest (most recently transcoded)

Move those to a “2” bin.

Save

Let Avid build a database for the “2” folder.
Drag that database into your bin with all the clips that you are transcoding.

Sort by name

You can now see what is and isn’t transcoded. Select what you need and tell it to continue transcoding.

Glenn

[Glenn Sakatch]

That’s the beauty of an external matte. Make it in Resolve, like I described above, or make it in After effects using the same technique. In Resolve you identify the clip as a matte when you import it into your media pool. Colour correct your fill as you see fit, and assign the matte to that clip in a node structure. Key from one source, fill from another, all inside one node. Very common workflow when using greenscreen, as you always want to colour your subject,while leaving your green screen cleaner for keying purposes.

Glenn

[Glenn Sakatch]

Most times these problems can be traced back to the creation of the files at the very start of the process. If you are new to the process, or new to the camera being used, save yourself a lot of grief and run some tests. Transcode 2 or 3 clips. Bring them back into Resolve and check their timecode, and their reel name.

Send those clips to your editing application, check the timecode and reel names, do they match what you saw in Resolve? Perform 3 edits, and send it back to Resolve. If it doesn’t link up, go back to step 1 and try and figure out what went wrong. Don’t wait until your 15 hours worth of footage has been transcoded and edited before you decide to figure out if your workflow is going to work.

Lots of time people want to blame Resolve or Avid or Premiere for screwing everything up, but it is usually us who screwed everything up. The software simply becomes a patsy.

Glenn

[Glenn Sakatch]

You would have to export all your stills, import them into the other project, and manually apply them. Tracking will not come across.

12 to 11 doesn’t exst.

Glenn

[Glenn Sakatch]

I thought Resolve always lost its caches after a restart, no matter where your storage was.

Glenn

[Glenn Sakatch]

Well you could set up a comp in Resolve where you are essentially keying you matte over black, and filling it with white. Export that as a quicktime, and bring it into AE as an external matte.

Fusion might be a better option.

Glenn

[Glenn Sakatch]

Avid does come with a full slate of built in fx installed. Slo motion (video) typically does not put the audio into slo motion as well. you would have to apply an audio fx, and possibly render it out for that to take place. (i’m assuming you are thinking of just hitting play, and typing away?

What type of files does your preferred system recognize? Just quicktimes? It reads proper timecode off the quicktimes?

You might be able to batch export quicktimes out of Avid to match what you need.
Just thinking about timecode here…you may need to set up each series of clips with its own sequence, and have the sequence time match the timecodes of the clips that are playing back inside it, as I don’t think you can export a quicktime out of Avid, and have it match the source quicktime.

Another option would be to change the timecode of the quicktimes after the fact, to match the original clips.There is a program called QTChange that would allow you to do that.

Glenn

[Glenn Sakatch]

I think you will always find people who have had trouble with one drive or another. The key is to back up your media.

I’ve had lots of Gtechs die. (at least 3) as well as Lacies.

I do like the GTECH cases, and as such have swapped out their drives for others when the original has died.

Don’t buy a hard drive thinking it will last for ever, buy a hard drive assuming it will die when you least expect it.

I’m on a promise raid right now, and I love it, but sooner or later I expect something to go wrong.

Raids are great for the redundancy, but you may want to have a spare drive sitting around as well. The redundancy only helps if you have a drive you can swap into the system to keep working, and quite often, you want it to be from the original manufacturer, to keep performance up to par.

Even at that, back up your originals.

Glenn

[Glenn Sakatch]

Its hard to say without really seeing and hearing how big of a mess this is, but you may want to reverse your process a bit.

You are trying to cut to the final audio essentially? Typically, the audio wouldn’t be finalized until after the edit is done, so perhaps you should ignore the fact that you have a soundboard recorded file for your first pass.

You do have individual cameras with complete songs, with audio correct? For example 5 cameras from show 1, 5 from show 2 and 5 from show 3…each with some sort of sound?

I would cut show 1’s song 1 together, as best as you can with those cameras. Doesn’t have to be perfect, but will give you a base layer for show 1. Will also show you where there are holes in the coverage that you are going to need from the other shows. Same thing for the other shows. 2 or 3 passes on each song per show to get a base. Then combine these 3 cuts into 1 master cut for song 1. then I would put the final audio underneath it, and trim individual shots to sync to the audio. Of course the pace of your edit is going to make it either easier of harder to keep the audio and video looking like it is in sync. Longer visual edits are more likely to drift over a different version of the song.

Again, hard to visualize all the issues you are encountering without sitting in front of the mess, but this is my typical workflow for concerts anyway…with the exception of having to sync to a final audio bed in the last step.

My other question would be if the audio guy has a list of how he pieced together the show? That information might come in handy. I find it odd they would cut around sound wise that much for each song, unless they are editing at chorus points, or solo points or something else with an obvious change.

Glenn