MediaHub: Interim Conform workflow
Uploaded by SmokeHowTos on 04.06.2012
Transcript:
In the previous video, you saw how you could import various formats as well as multi-channel files containing an embedded alpha channel.
Depending on your background, you might want to edit in your other NLE and complete your programme in Autodesk Smoke.
If this is the case, then keep watching and I’ll show you the interim conforming technique to import your sequences.
If you intend to do all your editing in Autodesk Smoke than please skip to the next video
about media organisation in the Media Library.
Whether you are working with Apple Final Cut Pro 7 or Apple Final Cut Pro 10, first you need to export an XML.
If you are using Avid Media Composer or Adobe Premiere Pro, you need to export an AAF.
Here are a few guidelines that you need to follow for a successful conform in Smoke.
The first thing to ensure is that the resolution of the sequence that you are importing,
matches the resolution of the Smoke project.
If the resolutions of the projects do not match up, than the conformed sequence will have unnecessary resizing applied.
Secondly, in all instances, you may choose to work with the native media or recompressed intermediates coming from your other NLE.
And finally, export your XML or AAF in the same folder as all your media or the folder above your media
so that Smoke can search for all the footage within the vicinity of the XML or AAF file.
To conform and rebuild the sequences, you will start off by going into the MediaHub.
Through the file browser, navigate to the location of media.
Here I have a few folders containing XMLs and AAFs from various NLEs.
All of them will follow the same procedure to conform and rebuild the sequence.
Starting off with the Final Cut Pro 7 XML, I will double-click the file to bring up the preview window
and display all the clip information detected in the XML.
Remember that the project settings in this XML match the project I am currently working in.
If you switch to the “SEQUENCE IMPORT OPTIONS”, you will see menus on how to search for media,
as well as linking options to connect the media with the sequence.
In most cases, the XML and AAF files are connected to their media through their respective filenames.
This option is enabled in the search criteria.
You will also see a slider labeled “Max Up 0 Level”.
With this slider set to 0, Smoke will only search the current folder where the XML lives.
So if your media was in the same folder as the XML or AAF, it will find the footage.
In my case, if I step one level up, you can see that I have a MEDIA folder
and separate folders for the XMLs or AAFs files.
So by setting the “MAX Up slider to 1", Smoke will step up one folder from the XML file
and search all these folders including my MEDIA folder.
All that is left to do is to go to the XML folder and drag and drop the XML into the Media Library.
Smoke will give you messages that it is searching for the media.
Once the files have been located, a new sequence will be created in the media library,
and the media will be automatically reconnected.
Just to illustrate how it works with other formats, I will go into the Final Cut Pro 10 folder,
and drag and drop the XML clip into the Media Library.
Smoke will apply the same settings as before and build the sequence.
Finally I’ll go into the Avid folder and conform the sequences as well.
This is exactly the same process for AAFs coming from Adobe Premiere Pro
Now let’s look at these sequences.
Switch to the timeline tab.
In the Media Library, I’ll first double-click on the Final Cut Pro 7 sequence.
Scrolling through the sequence you can see that all the layers have been conformed
and most of the effects have been rebuilt.
Here is the Final Cut Pro 10 sequence
and here is the Avid Media Composer sequence.
Most effects are re-built in the sequence.
For the functions that are not supported, Smoke will give you indications regarding what
needs to be done on the particular shot, via markers and comments in the segments.
As mentioned previously, this is an interim workflow while the new conforming tools are being developed.
In the next video, you will begin to organise your media and sequences in the Media Library to prepare for your edit.
Depending on your background, you might want to edit in your other NLE and complete your programme in Autodesk Smoke.
If this is the case, then keep watching and I’ll show you the interim conforming technique to import your sequences.
If you intend to do all your editing in Autodesk Smoke than please skip to the next video
about media organisation in the Media Library.
Whether you are working with Apple Final Cut Pro 7 or Apple Final Cut Pro 10, first you need to export an XML.
If you are using Avid Media Composer or Adobe Premiere Pro, you need to export an AAF.
Here are a few guidelines that you need to follow for a successful conform in Smoke.
The first thing to ensure is that the resolution of the sequence that you are importing,
matches the resolution of the Smoke project.
If the resolutions of the projects do not match up, than the conformed sequence will have unnecessary resizing applied.
Secondly, in all instances, you may choose to work with the native media or recompressed intermediates coming from your other NLE.
And finally, export your XML or AAF in the same folder as all your media or the folder above your media
so that Smoke can search for all the footage within the vicinity of the XML or AAF file.
To conform and rebuild the sequences, you will start off by going into the MediaHub.
Through the file browser, navigate to the location of media.
Here I have a few folders containing XMLs and AAFs from various NLEs.
All of them will follow the same procedure to conform and rebuild the sequence.
Starting off with the Final Cut Pro 7 XML, I will double-click the file to bring up the preview window
and display all the clip information detected in the XML.
Remember that the project settings in this XML match the project I am currently working in.
If you switch to the “SEQUENCE IMPORT OPTIONS”, you will see menus on how to search for media,
as well as linking options to connect the media with the sequence.
In most cases, the XML and AAF files are connected to their media through their respective filenames.
This option is enabled in the search criteria.
You will also see a slider labeled “Max Up 0 Level”.
With this slider set to 0, Smoke will only search the current folder where the XML lives.
So if your media was in the same folder as the XML or AAF, it will find the footage.
In my case, if I step one level up, you can see that I have a MEDIA folder
and separate folders for the XMLs or AAFs files.
So by setting the “MAX Up slider to 1", Smoke will step up one folder from the XML file
and search all these folders including my MEDIA folder.
All that is left to do is to go to the XML folder and drag and drop the XML into the Media Library.
Smoke will give you messages that it is searching for the media.
Once the files have been located, a new sequence will be created in the media library,
and the media will be automatically reconnected.
Just to illustrate how it works with other formats, I will go into the Final Cut Pro 10 folder,
and drag and drop the XML clip into the Media Library.
Smoke will apply the same settings as before and build the sequence.
Finally I’ll go into the Avid folder and conform the sequences as well.
This is exactly the same process for AAFs coming from Adobe Premiere Pro
Now let’s look at these sequences.
Switch to the timeline tab.
In the Media Library, I’ll first double-click on the Final Cut Pro 7 sequence.
Scrolling through the sequence you can see that all the layers have been conformed
and most of the effects have been rebuilt.
Here is the Final Cut Pro 10 sequence
and here is the Avid Media Composer sequence.
Most effects are re-built in the sequence.
For the functions that are not supported, Smoke will give you indications regarding what
needs to be done on the particular shot, via markers and comments in the segments.
As mentioned previously, this is an interim workflow while the new conforming tools are being developed.
In the next video, you will begin to organise your media and sequences in the Media Library to prepare for your edit.