GENERATING FILES FOR EDITING
The Generate Task can be used to output a range of file types to external disk to be used for post production.
When preparing the template for the Generate Task, select Settings to define the File type and any other options for it. For example, scaling to a lower resolution, choosing a LUT to apply, and setting the directory structure that will be created.
Each Generate Task is configured for a single file type, but you can set up multiple Generate Tasks to run in a sequence as part of your Work Template.
Base Directory options
This setting controls the directory (folder) structure that is written above the files.
{Roll}/ - there is a Roll folder at the top, the default for stream files such as mov and mxf
{Roll}/{Shot}/ - there is a Roll folder and then a Shot folder at the top, the default for file sequences such as ari and dpx
{ProductionName}/{ShootDate}/{Day}/{Roll} - additional folder levels for Production Name, Shoot Date, and Day metadata are written.
{ProductionName}/{ShootDate}/{Day}/{Roll}/{Shot} - additional folder levels for Production Name, Shoot Date, and Day metadata are written.
Setting the destination for a Generate Task
The Vault will auto-mount external drives that are formatted with the following file systems:
FAT
Ext3
HFS
HFS+
NTFS
XFS
ExFAT
UDF
When using large disks (e.g. >4TB) it is good practice to format with multiple smaller partitions to assist with data management. Drives can be connected to the following ports on the Vault:
SAS (a cable is available to connect up to 4 eSATA devices to the SAS port)
USB 2.0
USB 3.0
2.5” SSD
1.8” SSD
In the settings for the Generate Task leave the Directory field blank or containing a * if you want to choose the location of the external drive when the task starts.
If the mounted device/directory is always the same then the exact path can be specified in the Directory field when setting up the Generate Task. Click the ... symbol to choose a directory:
A top level directory will always be created on the drive used for the Generate Task, which is given a unique name based on the date and time the task was started in the following format:
generate_DDMMYY_HHMMSS
This is then followed by folders defined by the Base Directory setting.
By default per-shot files such as .mxf or .mov will be copied into a Roll folder within the main generate folder.
By default for per-frame files such as .ari or .dpx, the generate folder will contain a folder for each shot, and the individual files will be in these folders.
The Base Directory setting will determine if there are additional folder levels for Production Name, Shoot Date, and Day.
Each Generate Task automatically creates an ALE (Avid Log Exchange) file called generate.ale in the main generate folder. The ALE can be used to bring all the original shot metadata into Avid.
Compression Quality Settings
When using ProRes 422 or DNxHD compression there is a Compression Quality setting available. Below are details on how this setting relates to the compression codec that is used.
ProRes 422:
|
Compression Quality |
ProRes 422 Codec |
|
High |
422 HQ |
|
Medium |
422 LT |
|
Low |
422 Proxy |
DNxHD 422:
|
Compression Quality |
Frames per second |
DNxHD 422 codec |
|
High* |
23.98/24 |
DNx175/DNx175x |
|
|
25 |
DNx185/DNx185x |
|
|
29.97/30 |
DNx220/DNx220x |
|
Medium |
23.98/24 |
DNx115 |
|
|
25 |
DNx120 |
|
|
29.97/30 |
DNx145 |
|
Low |
All |
DNx36 |
* Using High Compression Quality the DNx codec will be 8-bit for source material that is captured as 8-bit.The DNx codec will be 10-bit for source material that is captured as 10-bit or higher. Medium and Low Quality will use an 8-bit DNx codec.
DNxHD 444:
|
Frames per second |
DNxHD 444 codec |
|
23.98/24 |
DNx360x |
|
25 |
DNx370x |
|
29.97/30 |
DNx440x |
When mxf files are generated, for any shots with audio there will be a video mxf as well as audio mxf files. For example, if shot 1-1_A001 has two audio channels then generating an mxf will result in three files:
1-1_A001V1.mxf
1-1_A001A1.mxf
1-1_A001A2.mxf
These video and audio mxf files contain metadata so that when they are loaded into an Avid edit system they will be linked automatically.
Applying LUTs and Burn-Ins
The Vault can apply 1D LUTs, 3D LUTs, CDL Data and burn-ins to deliverable files. The most common use of this feature is for editorial and dailies files to have a colour corrected image, optionally with production information and a watermark.
When in the Settings for a Generate Task there are separate boxes to specify LUT and Burn-In files.
To load your own LUT files to the Vault see the later section ‘Loading LUTs to the Vault.’
There are a range of pre-loaded LUT and Burn-In files available to choose from on the Vault.
Click the Add Lut button to open a browser and highlight/Select a LUT file from those loaded on the Vault. Repeat this process to add multiple LUTs to a file type.
To apply one of the pre-installed LUTs based on the Exposure Index metadata of the clip, change the value in the filename to be {ExposureIndex} as shown below:
If the clips were recorded with CDL Data, click the Add CDL button to burn this look into the files:
Click the Add box next to the Burn-In field to open a browser and highlight/Select from the files available on the Vault. Repeat this process to add multiple Burn-Ins to a file type:
