[Ryan Dundas]

I created the proxy media in Avid.

I linked all of my footage into separate bins for each card that was recorded. A01, A02, B01, B02… ect.

I was told I need to add Tape source info to all the clips to make relinking easy after edit. So I selected all the clips in each bin and right clicked and chose Modify>Modify Clip… and selected Set Source from the dropdown.

I figured each card from each camera was like a Tape, so I set the Tape name for all the clips to match the bin name, with the camera (letter) and card (number)

Then I changed the project format to 720p/29.97 and transcoded all my footage to DNxHD 50 MXF. I am then using that transcoded footage to create one big multigroup of the whole shoot day.

Are you saying that each individual clip needs its own tape name?

Also why can’t I just have Avid look at the source file name when relinking? Are you saying that info is going to be lost after the footage is used in the multigroup?

[Ryan Dundas]

I have been testing and I think I have come up with a workflow that will be solid, but I have some questions.

I am working in a 1080p/23.976 format project rather than making proxies in a 4k project so our story producers can work on our older computers with Avid 7 which doesn’t allow you to open a 4k project.

I have linked in my 4k footage and transcoded the proxy files. In the transcode window for raster dimensions I choose project dimensions (proxy off), convert to projects frame rate, and DNxHD 36 MXF for resolution.

My questions is, when I make a sequence and drop in some of the transcoded footage, it automatically places a FrameFlex – Layout effect on the clips. I thought it only did this when you edit with footage at a different resolution than your project?
Can anybody explain why it is doing this?

[Ryan Dundas]

Hey guys I was able to talk to Avid support and figured out the issue.

My 4k files were recorded in DNxHR SQ so Avid should have no problem AMA linking to them.

The Avid support team recommended I rebuild the AMA management folder because it could have become corrupt. I did this and restarted Avid. The files that were giving me the error became offline so I deleted the master clip and linked the files in again and I have had no issues. Here are the instructions that Avid emailed me;

-Close Media Composer.
-Go to Machintosh HD>User>Shared>AvidMediaComposer>AMA Management.
-Rename the AMA Management folder (ex. XAMA Management).
-Once you launch Media Composer it will create a brand new AMA Management folder.
-Play the sequence or the clips in the project.

I still can’t figure out why some of my computers at the office will play the DNxHR files in quicktimes, and others will not. I have tried downloading every Avid codec I can find online? Anybody know what I need?

[Ryan Dundas]

Hey thanks for sharing Martin

When you say edit in a 1080 timeline, does that mean you change your project format to 1080p? Then edit with the transcoded clips in full resolution at DNxHR LQ in a 1080 timeline? And this is when you are finishing in 4k?

We would like to edit in a lower resolution to save space and bandwidth. I have been doing some testing today. I left my project format at 4k UHD 23.976P. I link in my 4k footage (which is shot in DNxHR SQ on an Atomos Shogun Flame recorder) and set the tape name. I trancoded test clips into Source 1/4 (1920×1080) and Source 1/16 (960×540) raster dimensions at DNxHR LQ. We decided to go with Source 1/4 proxies, which are 1080. So I am wondering if I should change my project format to 1080 while we edit with these proxies?

We have a few story stations that are running Avid version 7.0.6.2 so they will not be able to open the 4k projects or playback any footage in the DNxHR codec. Boss wants me to figure out a workflow that will work with those systems. I tried downloading the Avid DNxHR codecs but that didn’t work. It looks like I will have to create the project as 1080p 23.976, link in my 4k files and transcode to 1920×1080 DNxHD 36 or 80 proxy files. That way the project can be opened in Avid 7.
I will change the project format to 4k UHD when edit is complete and then relink to the 4k masters on my Avid 8.8 system. Will this cause any relink issues if I change the project format then relink? Will I have to do any rescaling of the footage after I relink to the 4k files?

[Ryan Dundas]

Hey Shane I took your advice and decided to work offline and I would like some more tips on my workflow.

We ended up shooting with 4 main cameras recording in DNxHD 145 on external recorders. So that footage I will link and then transcode to offline files.

We also shot with 6 gopros, 1 Sony A7s, 1 Inspire Drone, and the producer shot some footage on a Canon XA10 (AVCHD format). The GoPro and XA10 footage I transcoded to DNxHD 145, then I will link and transcode to offline files.

The A7s footage is 120 fps, and the drone is 60 fps. I will first transcode to DNxHD. Then to make the proxies for these I will AMA link to them in a 60 fps project and transcode to offline, then open that bin in my other project? Is that the best way to bring in high speed footage?

So the last thing I need to decide is what offline resolution I am going to work in. I was thinking of going with 14:1 like Shane suggested, but I noticed that option is only available when I switch my project settings to NTSC 30i. Why is that?
When I leave my project settings alone I am able to transcode DNxHD 45 MXF or Apple ProRes Proxy MXF. Or I can change my project settings to 720p with those same options.

What is the best way to make these proxy files? My multigroup is going to have 6-10 cameras. My plan is to relink to all of the DNxHD masters that I made after edit.

[Ryan Dundas]

Ok cool. We use a ton of time ramps in our edits so that may be an issue.

Also I am wondering if there are even any advantages to shooting in 23.98 if we have to deliver in 60i. My boss likes to shoot in 23.98 for the film look, but after we convert to 60i (29.97) that film look will be lost right? So is there even any difference in the look of the final product in 60i if we shoot in 23.98p vs 29.97p?

[Ryan Dundas]

Yea sorry i keep saying 24p but what I mean is 23.98 progressive

Are there any other options for software or something that can do the pulldown to create the 60i file from 23.98?

It seems like it is common to edit in 23.98 and deliver in 60i. How does everybody else do it? Is everybody using an AJA recorder or Teranex or some other kind of external converter?

[Ryan Dundas]

Hey Shane thanks for the info. We definitely want to avoid going to tape as well.
We considered buying a Teranex to handle the conversion to 60i, but if we can avoid the issue by working in 29.97 we will probably go that route.
Could you be a little more specific about what you mean by output to another computer? Do you mean send the video signal from the avid timeline out of an AJA card via SDI to another computer with an AJA card then capture it like tape?
We don’t have an AJA recorder but we have some Atomos Blade and Flame recorders that I believe will do the pulldown and record in 60i. I’ve never tried feeding them a signal from the NLE on my computer.
It’s already enough of a pain to time out the show in 29.97 drop frame when we are working in 23.98 non drop. It would be easier for me to switch to working in 30p, but if we find a good workflow we will stick to 24p.

[Ryan Dundas]

Shane thanks for the awesome response. It helped me out a lot!

We decided to ditch ProRes and shoot in DNxHD 145 with our Atomos recorders. So I will AMA link those files then consolidate them to MXF on our server. For the GoPro and A7s I will do as you suggested and transcode to DNxHD first. I will keep just the consolidated media on our server and backup the master DNxHD quicktime files to a different raid.

Thanks to Bob Z we are able to use our 42TB thunderbolt QNAP raid for shared storage on Avid. So that should provide enough space for the consolidated avid media for this project. We are making 3 different 30 minute segments about different food events. Each episode will only shoot for one day so we won’t have a ton of footage. We will have at most 4 people at the office editing at once.

It is sort of a disaster right now because we have been working with Final Cut Pro here for years, and the boss just decided he wants to switch to avid for this project. Nobody is happy about it. Most of us are pushing to switch to Premiere Pro instead, but they already have money invested in avid licenses.

Luckily most of our editors and myself have worked on Avid in the past. I was an AE for one season of a big budget reality show that used media composer almost 2 years ago. I didn’t create the workflow for that show, but I did most of the syncing and multigrouping. I used that same blog that you shared to teach myself the process so I have that down. Never tried quick keys, I do it all manually. It’s fairly similar to how I do it in Final Cut.

For that show we were able to edit online without issues. I’m going to make some test multigroups with 3 cameras and see how our system handles it then decide if we should work offline.

And about the editors working from home, is there a way to select all of the media in a project with the Media Tool then tell Avid to copy it all to another drive? We have 4 TB thunderbolt g-drives that should be able to hold all the media files for one episode. If so just need to figure out how to copy the project to the drive and reconnect the media.

[Ryan Dundas]

I’ve also noticed that when I make the multiclips using in points with the WAV file, it strips the timecode from the audio file while the Pro Res 422 video files retain their timecode. I am going to try adding AUX timecode and using that to create the multiclips