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Avid’s Script Sync tool sounds great.  But it appears the script has to be in a certain format.  Can CeltX-exported scripts be imported?

• Master Indexes:
  • http://community.avid.com/forums/142.aspx
  • http://community.avid.com/tags/Avid+for+Final+Cut+Pro+Users/default.aspx

• Avid Basics re Projects, Bins, Users, User-Settings
  • Notionally “Avid for Final Cut Pro Users” but generally useful introduction, complete with pragmatics.
  • Overview:
    • In this set of tutorials, it is assumed that a Shared project called “Tempest” will be edited by two people, Laura and David, one on day-shift (say) and the other on nights.  They can each select eithers’ settings (editor configs) via the Project Window’s Settings tab, under the User dropdown.  No need to log-out of Avid or indeed to switch User login sessions.  I guess a given user could create several configs e.g. default, david, david_temp
  • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/70313/393166.aspx
    • Module 1, Lesson 1 - Creating a Project
    • Private/Shared etc., User Settings (independent of User logged-in), Film features
  • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/70314/393171.aspx#393171
    • Module 1, Lesson 2 - Intro to Project Window - Avid for Final Cut Pro Users
    • MenuBar: [Tools > Console] brings up a text logger where progress can be recorded by users (as far as I can tell from the tutorial)
  • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/70315/393176.aspx
    • Module 1, Lesson 3 - Where to find Avid files
    • Explains where the Avid files are stored on the computer’s hard drive, and how to take your settings from system to system.
  • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/70317/393180.aspx
    • Module 1, Lesson 4 - Project Differences
    • Explains Avid Projects, Bins and how one can move & create stuff equivalently in Avid or in Windows Explorer (etc.)
    • Also explains some ways it differs from FCP.

• Importing Media Logs (from external apps)
  • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/70318/393190.aspx#393190
    • Module 2, Lesson 1 - Logging and Digitizing
    • Can initially log media in Spreadsheet (e.g. Excel), Database (e.g. Access), FCP Batch Lists or Telecine Logs, then export as a tab-delimited file, then use Avid Log Exchange (application) to convert to the ALE format, which can then be imported by Avid to auto-creat and populate corresponding Bins.
  • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/70319/393191.aspx#393191
    • Module 2, Lesson 2 - Using Excel to Log Footage
    • It works, and populates a Bin,  but the spreadsheet requires very specific formatting etc.
  • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/70320/393193.aspx
    • Module 2, Lesson 3 - Using FileMaker Pro to Log Footage - Avid for Final Cut Pro Users
    • (I haven’t looked at that yet - domestically distracted…)
  • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/70325/393201.aspx#393201
    • Importing Final Cut Pro Logs (into Avid, via ALE)
    • FCP: [File > Export > Batch List], then run ALE, then small manual tweaking of this (”Reel” -> “Tape”)
  • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/70326/393202.aspx#393202
    • Using Telecine Logs

Migrating Media (and Projects) from FCP to Avid:

• http://michaelkammes.com/editorial/getting-final-cut-pro-projects-andor-media-into-avid-media-composer/
  • Very nice article with schematic diagrams explaining cost-free methods and why, despite those, Automatic Duck is worthwhile.

There exist various HD-SDI device to record 10-Bit 422 video data.  10 bits is useful for shallow gradients especially when expanded (steeper contrast curve) by grading, while 422 gives better detail, that can matter when pixels are big (e.g. when close to a big screen or when digital zoom employed in post).  In any case, such recorders tend to compress less than on-board camera systems, or in some cases not at all, improving the quality.  But to what extent can the various NLEs cope with this?  From my web searches it seems that the answer is “sometimes”.  For example some NLEs will accept 10-bit only in their own favourite formats, otherwise they discard two bits, interpreting the footage as 8-bit.  One might (naively) have thought the way to be sure was to experiment - but there is plenty of room for confusion when doing experiments, for example Avid’s color correction tool allegedly only displays to 8-bit resolution even when it is importing/processing/exporting at 10-bit.  Other “loopholes” may exist, like it seems (if I understand it correctly) that if you AMA or import 10-bit ProRes then Avid only sees 8-bit, implying one needs instead to transcode ProRes->DNxHD externally (e.g. via MPEG StreamClip?) and import that.  But even that might not be possible, as one post suggested DNxHD 10-bit encoding could only work from Avid, not external apps.   Furthermore, whereas all ProRes formats handle 10-bit, for DNxHD, only formats with an “x” suffix do; the only one I know of is DNxHD 220x.  There exist further subtleties/loopholes/pitfalls, hence more research to be done on this… and I’ll tread very carefully…

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As illustrated in my previous post on this subject (http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/399), the popular (it seems) approach to offline/online media file replacement is to “hack” the file system.  In the example in that previous post, the hack was to move files to a different folder.  An alternative is to rename the existing folder then rename the required folder the original of the existing folder.  That approach is illustrated in a video tutorial at http://homepage.mac.com/lindsayellis/avid-alexa.mov.

http://www.eskayproductions.co.uk/Avid%20Manuals/AvidCCUG.pdf

• Extremely useful

When you purchase Avid Media Composer, you also get a set of other applications, whose purpose (at least to the newbie) is not immediately obvious.  So I did some investigation and produced a summary of them, as below.  I have no experience of actually using them, I just trawled ReadMe files and (mostly) the web.  Here are my (interim) conclusions:

• Avid TransferManager - Is e.g. for uploading to a Playback Server [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/274]
• AMA - the camera-specific AMA Plugins (e.g. for Sony XDCAM) are no longer bundled with MC, you have to download and install them separately. [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/316]
• Avid MetaSync automates the inclusion of metadata (expressed in suitable XML formats) into Avid editing systems, including synchronisation with video and audio. The metadata can be anything from subtitles / closed captioning to synchronized entertainments such as lightshows or simulator rides.   [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/334]
• Avid MetaFuze’s primary, if not only purpose is to prep files for Media Composer use - an “outboard importer”.  Avid’s article at http://www.avid.com/US/industries/workflow/MetaFuze summarises it nicely.  Though bundled with Media Composer, it is also available free. That means for example that preprocessing work (e.g. generation of burnt-timecode proxies and online files) can be generated (e.g. in DNxHD) by anyone whether or not they have an Avid system.  Potentially then a great option for breaking up work into collaborative / parallel workflows. [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/335]
• Sorenson Squeeze - a well-known compressor/encoder, bundled as part of Avid Media Composer (MC) but also an independent product in its own right. Avid MC5.5 specifies version v6.04 but further updates are available from Sorenson itself.  There is a free-to-Avid-users update from v6.x to v6.5.  The latest version is v7.0 (with CUDA).  Presumably these later versions are officially unsupported by Avid (but how much does that matter in practice?). [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/337]
• Avid EDL Manager imports and exports EDL (in various flavours) - from/to a bin (e.g. thumbnails storyboard layout?) (or a Sequence or MXF file?).  It can be run stand-alone or from within Avid.  EDLs are somewhat of a hangover from the past, so it’s unlikely to be of much use in my case, but worth knowing about as an option, and as such still features in other people’s current workflows. [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/350]
• Avid Film Scribe generates Cut Lists and Change Lists (used in transfer from video edit to film edit) in more contemporary formats than EDL, e.g. XML formats involved in VFX / DPX workflows (? I am on very unfamiliar ground here ?).  It can generate such formats from a Sequence and also it can be used to translate between some formats.[http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/352]
• Avid Log Exchange (ALE) is an Avid log file format that has become a de facto standard in the post industry. It is a text-based metadata exchange format used in applications from telecine to standalone logging applications, and is supported by many NLEs.  The ALE format is based on a Comma or Tab -delimited file format. [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/353]
• Avid After Effects EMP is (not a disruptive elctronic weapon but) an Avid-supplied plugin for Adobe After Effects allowing that application to use a DNA family video output box such as Mojo (”ordinaire”) or Nitris to provide External Monitor Preview (EMP) on a monitor.  Helpful in order to make use of that Avid box for the Adobe After Effects application, both for convenience and consistency.  Unfortunately it does not work with the more recent DX family, such as the Mojo DX box. [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/354]
• The Avid DNA Diags application is for diagnostics on DNA family e.g. Mojo “ordinaire” (not DX) [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/355]
• The Avid Quicktime Codecs extend QuickTime for encoding and decoding to/from Avid codecs such as DNxHD.  Essentially they add such formats to QuickTime on your system.  The LE codecs are “Light Edition” - only needed on systems where Avid is not already installed.   [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/356]
• Avid Media Log is a standalone app supplied with Avid systems enabling assistants on non-Avid machines to select and log raw (as opposed to RAW) footage in a manner that can easily be transferred into an Avid session/system elsewhere, where the result appears as an Avid Project.  Apparently, Media Log is much like the digitize tool on Media Composer.  But I’ve never used that either… It can output e.g. to ALE (explained below) and hence e.g to other NLEs.  [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/357]
• Misc “Avid Downloads” (?) Looking at  my Avid Downloads page, there is a much larger list of items than I expected, and suspect that many of them are not relevant.  For example, what is Avid Deko?  It’s listed on my Avid Downloads page, though I don’t know if I would be able to activate it, or whether it would be worth the trouble.  It’s listed as Deko 2200.  So I googled and YouTubed about it…  Impression: that version (2200) is very obsolete. [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/332]
• On my web “travels”, I discovered a great article entitled “The Avid Ecosystem” at [http://digitalfilms.wordpress.com/the-avid-ecosystem/], listing many of the resources for the Avid world: links, tutorials, filters, applications, training…
• It’s helpful to see some of the above items in the context of illustrative workflows, e.g.:
  • http://www.avid.com/static/resources/documents/solutions/REDstepbystep.pdf
  • http://www.studiodaily.com/main/minisites/avid/f/mtutorials/Streamline-Your-QuickTime-Based-Workflow-with-MetaCheater-and-Avid-Media-Composer_9547.html
  • http://pomfort.com/support/Pomfort_Metadata_workflow_AVID_Media_Composer.pdf.

MXF exists in variants.

• http://mxf4mac.com/quicktime-plug-ins
  • Examples:
    • Sony XDCAM (OP1a)
    • Panasonic P2 (OP-Atom)
    • Avid (OP-Atom)
  • MXF Import QT (one of mxf4mac’s products) is a MXF reader, importer, interpreter and file access plug-in for the QuickTime system framework. It allows to natively open and access a broad range of MXF variations without converting or referencing to the QuickTime movie format. The unique integration enables Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server and other solutions to directly work with native MXF media.
    • £462 from one UK supplier I just checked.

I found a great simple example of a typical Avid workflow, happens to be for footage from an ARRI ALEXA camera, which can record to ProRes (amongst other things).  Once again, the workflow depends on the clunky/hacky method of taking files offline, in order to substitute others (e.g. proxies), in this case by moving them out of the MXF folder.  The full article is at http://digitalfilms.wordpress.com/2010/11/18/arri-alexa-post-part-3/.  The last time I posted on this sort of issue was http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/367.

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Free open-source pro-class NLE: http://www.lightworksbeta.com/ .  Well-received by many.  Glimmers a little bit like FCPX, but more flexible user interface, including keyboard-compatibility options with AVID and FCP7.  Register to download it (just over 40 MB).  Further links:

• http://www.lightworksbeta.com/
• http://www.advancehdtv.com/index.php/item/lightworks-a-new-nle.html
• http://forums.creativecow.net/archivethread/134/313499
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightworks
• http://lightworks.wikidot.com/
  • Unofficial Site to help the Lightworks (Beta) NLE community share tips/tricks and documentation.
  • Before using this Wiki, read the following:
    • Lightworks Quickstart Guide
  • Maybe also read the following (longer documents):
    • Lightworks Guide 2010
    • Install Guide
• http://community.avid.com/forums/p/96606/553421.aspx
  • Avid users discussing Lightworks etc.  Seems a reasonably good reception.
  • http://community.avid.com/forums/t/82697.aspx
    • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gCDFfXUcGk
• YouTube
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gCDFfXUcGk
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu9kgRLQ7n8
• http://www.interlab-net.com/docs/lightworks/Press_Releases/LWKS_PR_NTFS.pdf
  • LightWorks courses at London’s NTFS