[Jeremy Garchow]

[Chester Dent] “changing XML refs to hi-res versions may work. “

But not if there’s no matching tc it won’t, or at least it shouldn’t.

[Jeremy Garchow]

Then that would be the issue. No program is going to be able to relink these very easily without matching tc.

Do the mp4s have tc burn-in so you can match by hand?

[Jeremy Garchow]

Do they mp4s have timecode?

[Jeremy Garchow]

I think it would matter what you are most comfortable with, but a Wacom pen and tablet is probably the most practical as you could use it right in FCPX if you’d like, or any other program like Photoshop.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Chester Dent] “Dragging and dropping media from browser to timeline and selecting Replace isn’t working for me.”

For whatever reason FCPX cannot link mp4 to mov in a batch, but it can do it one by one. You must have the exact same audio channels on your proxy media, though, and it needs to match the number of channels and on your high res original files exactly. If your audio channels match, you can relink, but you have to select each clip in the list and manually link them one by one by finding each file.

You can also use Resolve to relink, which has a much more robust relinking system.

Neither method is prefect. FCPX will be more accurate, Resolve has the potential to make a mess of the audio as Resolve does not honor audio channel config and selection from FCPX and includes all audio channels instead of what is ‘active’ in the fcpx timeline. But it’s worth trying as it may work if the audio is simple enough.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Mark Raudonis] “The conversation has now shifted to why WOULDN’T you set up a WFH situation. “

That’s how I look at it too. There is a list of reasons that people are not going to be able, or even willing, to go in to a central location, but are willing and able to do the work. It would be in company’s best interest to have a WFH setup available. It can and will be worked out.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Oliver Peters] “If I’m hiring freelancers, their gear is their own cost. The exception would be if I opted to own and check out the gear to them. However, if they are just cutting proxy media, I would only supply laptops. No way would I buy and supply MP, iMac, or iMP to them. I would for on-prem suites. So the difference would still be lower cap-ex.”

I guess it would depend on what you’re doing. If someone needs a MacPro at the office, for whatever reason, I would imagine that they would need one at home. You can’t get the same work done from a 13″ MBP than you can on a MacPro. And yes, the cost could be deferred to the freelancer, and I would assume that cost would be reflected in the rate, just like anything else. A rate from the shop includes cost of gear, salaries, overhead, the soda machine, the espresso maker, everything. The same should be true for a freelancer, or perhaps they get a “gear fee” as a line on the invoice instead of an hourly/daily charge. Whatever it is, that would indeed need to be worked out, and I think it would be easy. We work with freelancers all the time, some have hourly rates, some have daily rates. Some charge for gear separately, some don’t. At some point, the production company is paying for it. It might not be as one lump some, but the fees should be included as part of the negotiations if the freelancer wants to remain in business.

[Oliver Peters] “And you, not your boss, will most likely pay for it.

Note as well, that a number of tech companies are talking about paying less for WFH employees. Hopefully that’s not a trend.”

I pay for gear now. Not all of it, but some of it. My home system is all paid for by me. The office infrastructure that I use is supplied to me. So, I am already doing this and have been working this way for a long time. And if this continues, I will consider adding a smaller raid that will sync with the office system (same brand), and yep, I will have to figure out how to pay for it.

I just wish there was an e-learning situation that was as engaging as school for my son. That is literally the hardest part of all of this. The amount of gear and money and time and all that stuff can be figured out, but having to be a teacher, mentor, friend, as well as a working, client engaging, creative , and providing parent has been the single biggest point of stress and failure.

[Jeremy Garchow]

Of course not.

But if you need less in the office and costs go down. Editors take home gear that is otherwise idle.

You’d need to setup a sync system, or a really good proxy system, and I think you’ll need more storage and not less. You may need less office space, but you’ll need more of everything else. I don’t think capex for gear goes downward, necessarily, it’s more lateral, and where you save money in certain areas, you may have to add more in home suites.

For instance, if WFH continues for another year (?), I will know doubt need to upgrade my home internet. It will go from pretty cheap to fairly expensive every month. I am going to need more minutes, I’m going to need a better storage system that would sync with the office system. And I’d still need stuff at the office for when I do need to go in.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Oliver Peters] “If you have editors working from home, you don’t need as large of a system. Let’s say the “traditional” shop had 10 suites (iMac, iMac Pro, nMac Pro) and shared storage. If the bulk of the editing is done from home, then you may only need 4 suites to cover the work needed to be done on-prem. “

I guess this is where I get lost. How do you go from 10 to 4? Why can’t it be 10 to 10?

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Oliver Peters] “But consider this. Covid aside. If we truly believe that the majority of post work from now on will be remote, then in the past few years, facility owners have flushed a helluva a lot of money down the drain. That fleet of new Mac Pros? No need for those. That big honking NAS? Nope, should have saved money there. Simply make sure the freelancers you have working from home have adequate set-ups. “

I don’t see why if you work form home you won’t need the same or similar setup at the office. Do you need a 10Gb network at home? Maybe not. Maybe you do, it depends on what you have at home. I know that it is getting easier and easier to keep things in sync over the internet. Depending on your NAS, that capability might simply be built in to the machine. I don’t see a reason for much to go away besides the overall amount of office space. You will still need the speed and power at home if you plan to do the same thing. Maybe you don’t need the biggest raid, but you’re still going to need a raid.

Again, Work From Home is not as efficient or even cheaper, but there are trade offs where it might be better, and yes, it would mean taking a look at the whole process and pipeline, and it is not impossible.