Avid Workflows with AMA & Offline/Online Combined

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb8LqUY1q34
    • AMA and Media Management – Media Composer Cutting Edge
      • Suppose you start with a Project having a Sequence of clips from a Bin, these clips directly linked (via AMA) to original media-recordings in a camera’s native format.
      • “There are still going to be times when you want to integrate that media in your local or shared AVid storage”.
      • This can be done easily via the Consolidate and Transcode features:
        • Sequence: RightClick > Consolidate/Transcode
        • Consolidate/Transcode:
          • I THINK BUT UNSURE:
            • Select Consolidate if you just want the camera’s native format re-wrapped in MXF
            • Select Transcode if you want it transcoded e.g. into DNxHD
            • In both cases, you end up with a new sequence, of clips which are now:
              • On the Avid Media storage (MXF).  Better performance (?), better media management (by Avid) and ability to do some things that AMA can’t, such as multi-camera.
              • Only the subsets (of original footage) needed by the sequence (plus handles).  Saves disk space.
          • Settings:
            • “Video and audio on same drive”: YES
            • Select required target drive
            • Define Handle Length (e.g. two seconds’ worth of frames).
              • (Implies that Consolidate will only ingest the subsets of clips actually referenced in the Sequence)
            • “Create new sequence”: YES
            • “Delete original media files when done”: NO
            • “Skip media files already open on the target drive”: YES
              • (Thinks: what if they already exist on some other drive (that’s connected) ?)
            • “Relink selected clips to target drive before skipping”: YES
          • Click “go-button” (labelled Consolidate or Transcode).
      • If at any subsequent stage you want to re-edit:
        • Re-mount the original camera volumes (e.g. disk drive/drives).
        • Re-link your sequence to them (via AMA ?).
        • {Subsequently, presumably re- Consolidate or Transcode }
          • {Presumably if all you did was add something, the only action performed will be the Consolidate/Transcode of that very addition}
          • {What if existing clips are trimmed (up or down) in the sequence?  Will the corresponding existing Consolidate/Transcode product be appended/reduced/replaced as necessary (is AVid “clever” about all this?  Or will a new one co-exist alongside the old one (which then just wastes space) ? }
          • {Does an Avid-managed file act like an object, i.e. exists so long as something (bin or sequence) points at it, otherwise is deleted by some “garbage collection” ?}
      • ReLink is also handy for Offline-Online conversion.  Example:
        • A remote cameraman delivers (e.g. via DigiDelivery) a set of XDCAM-HD Proxies.
        • Editor receives proxies and Imports them into Avid.
          • No AMA used here.
        • Some time later the Online files arrive (e.g. by physical delivery of disks).
        • Avid’s ReLink function matches the offline proxy sequence, frame-for-frame, with the newly-avaiable HD footage.

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