Michael Phillips
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COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
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I don’t know how many Pro Tools users frequent this forum. You may want to try:
https://duc.avid.com/forumdisplay.php?f=90
It would probably behoove the COW to have a dedicated Pro Tools sections as for the most part in here, “AVID” is considered mostly for Media Composer and Symphony, but it makes a lot more products for dedicated parts of the market that would benefit from dedicated forums.
Michael
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I was describing the breakdown of an EDL since you mentioned having used EDLs with Final Cut Pro. An EDL meets specifications by vendor and have existed as CMX, Grass Valley, Sony, etc. all matching their linear tape controller providers’ specifications. EDL in general is a 30+ year old technology of which many of the vendors don’t even exist anymore, or are the original products being used. But for better or worse, the industry returns to as the most simplified, limited description of a composition.
“Compositionaly” speaking, Media Composer outputs the following lists:
EDL – timecode based in industry formats
AAF – open industry standard in binary format with complete composition metadata of sources and sequence. Being a binary format, it is not intended to be opened and viewed but exported and imported into supporting systems first, then viewed and manipulated. For example, sending an AAF to Pro Tools or to Resolve or Smoke.
FilmScribe – FilmScribe is actually an Avid application that outputs sequence information in a variety of formats depending on use. WHile originally designed for film based elements in feature film, it handles all source type metadata and can export as printed report, XML, HTML, and TAB. There are a variety of report types within it based on film workflow vernacular such as assemble, pull, scene pull, and scan. This one may be your best bet, but would take a little ramp up time to best understand how to generate reports if you’ve never used it before. Find a film assistant… 😉
Sequence Report – Right-clicking a sequence allows for a report to be generated, but this is a rather limited view of the sequence and is rather geared towards a list of plug-ins and such that were used when doing an online on a different system to ensure a full conform.
Stock Footage Report – While ideally this would be the one you would use, it is currently limited to the in-app stock footage market available since v6 of Media Composer and currently only works with T3 Media formerly Thought Equity. And while some stock footage data fields are available as bin columns, they cannot be populated by a user – only via the transaction with the original vendor. In general I find the reports somewhat useful, but tend to fall apart when generating for several sequences at once (which it allows for).So as you can see, lots of different export functions, but none are clearly targeted for your need other than the last one which is currently only offered with a single vendor. As mentioned, your best bet is to look at FimScribe, and if you don’t have any XML experience for parsing, look at the TAB based export as that can be imported into FileMaker Pro or Excel. I am assuming you have a column in the bin that designates the shot as being from stock (and not shot) and additionally who the vendor might be? Without that, sorting, sifting and extraction in reports becomes difficult or impossible.
Michael
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An EDL from Media Composer:
Event #
Source (Either from TAPE or SOURCE FILE column
Transition type (Cut, Dissolve…)
Source TC IN
Source TC OUT
Record Side IN
Record Side OUTComments field such as clip name.
Most common EDL is CMX3600 which supports up to 8 character for SOURCE.
File_16 and File_32 will support 16 an 32 characters accordingly.Other EDL types may include the duration, but CMX does not and needs to be calculated from the IN-OUT.
A decompose can have START END and DURATION columns applied, but it will not be a complete list if the same shot was used twice – the process may optimize into one clip.
Michael
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If you have an hour to spare – there’s a lot of good info in this video:
https://www.avid.com/redas well as in this whitepaper:
https://www.avid.com/static/resources/documents/whitepapers/digital_camera/digital_camera_workflow_whitepaper_us.pdfMichael
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One of the bigger changes that users who come with FCP background is the fact the the Name in the bin has nothing to do with the relink process as that is being tracked in your scenario in the Source File column. You could rename all the clips the same name like ABC123 and it would still relink.
Just remove the .sync or .new and you are fine. Rename the clip to whatever you want and you are fine. The media composer is keeping track of parent/child relationship as well as original sources via other methods that the name itself.
Michael
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The goal of all the steps is that you are supposed to edit with the .sync and or.new clips as they point to the transcoded media. Since the clip is referring to two different sources, that relationship is maintained in the .sync subclips to that you can always match frame back to original sources during editorial, or make lists that are correct for each of the sources.
Editing with subclips is just fine, why does that present an issue for you in your workflow?
I agree that the clip name adding .sync and .new is a pain in the ass and wish there was an automated method to do text replacement, removal but there is a way to rename your clips in one swoop if you prepare for it before the syncing process. What I would do in this workflow based on your AMA steps (I always make my picture dailies in RXCPro)
1. AMA to Red files
2. Transcode before syncing to DNxHD de choix. At this point, move transcoded .new clisp to their own bin and archive AMA linked bins)
4. Rename clips to something useful for the editor – be is scene-take, etc. For reduncancy, I will hilight the entire name column when done and duplicate to a custom column labeled Name2 (call it whatever you want)
3. AutoSequence clips for each batch, card, day, drive, or however the dailies are being managed from set to post. Keep that for archive purposes.
4. Import audio (never AMA audio) and AutoSync. This creates a clip with .sync. In order to batch remove these, I go to my Name2 column, highlight it, and duplicate back into the Name column thus renaming everything back to the way it was before the syncing process.
5. Edit with these subclips and you always have a way to make lists for original picture, original sound, and have your bin of AMA links in case you need to go back to that.In some cases with a good production audio person, the scene/take is in the BWF file – if so, I do the duplicate column on that metadata fields on the BWF clips before AutoSyncing, then use that to name the .sync clips via the same duplicate column process.
I have seen more and more posts about people transcoding, then relinking AMA clips back to transcoded clips – that to me will only lead to unknown problems downstream.
There is a way to create brand new master clips from these .sync clip, but involves a knowledge in ALE export and import/merge back to existing media, etc. Thousands of features have been edited with .sync clips for all the advantages I have listed.
Michael
5. Hi
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You can just copy the Avid MediaFiles folder from the source drive. If you create a new one, then make sure you don’t copy Avid MediaFiles into a folder called Avid MediaFiles or Media Composer will not see the media.
Michael
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How are these MXF files being made? While MXF is a top level container format, there are different specifications of MXF referred to as OPAtoms. Media Composer needs to have all tracks as a separate MXF file, so a clip with video and 4 audio tracks would have 5 .MXF files to copy into the folder structure.
So it would be good to know what system is creating the MXF file to know whether it can be done or not. For example, Redcine X Pro and Resolve both use Avid’s licensed AMT to make the files. These are native and can be dropped directly into the Avid MediaFiles/MXF/1 or whatever numbered folder you have.
I can’t recall what the total number is off the top of my head – Media Composer manages this based on what the OS supports with some headroom. Once this number is hit, it will create a next numbered folder (2, 3, 4, etc.). Media Composer will always try to render, transcode, mixdown to 1, then move up even if you’ve designated folder 10, 11, and 12 for your project. You can’t manage which numbered folder a project renders to. The only way to manage that is via drives or partitions dedicated to a project.
You can rename a numbered folder and Media Composer will continue to read from that folder, but any new items will not be indexed.
Perhaps Avid will allow for better media management at the project level in the future – but these methods may work, you just need to understand their limitations.
Michael
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in addition to the folder containing the files, the filename itself may have something in it that isn’t liked.
On AMA – do not AMA BWF audio as timecode will be all over the place. Import.
Michael
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If you do a “set bin display” for the bin with just the sequence in it, and then “show reference clips” you will see all the master clips that made up the sequence from subclips or not. Maybe that will help get you back on track for finding stuff.
Also, open the Media Tool and do a “seek media relatives” from the sublcip and it should highlight the master clip there. It is possible to delete the master clip pointer to the media without deleting the media but if was ever edited into a sequence or has a subclip you can retrieve the master clip from whence it came. Once found in the Media Tool, drag the clip to a bin and you now have the master clip.
Michael