Andrew wrote that good article in 2002. A few issues:
1) DV to offline RT. Who's using this today?
With hard drives now cheaper than gas (although not by much) most folks didge long projects in DV, and sometimes higher codecs. Offline RT has lousy image quality unless you pumped up the quality to 100%-- which made the file larger than an equivalent DV clip! Also, your imported photo stills and graphics scaled for DV occasionally went haywire in OfflineRT. Motion paths go completely haywire when uprezzed. DV offline resolution to be uprezzed to SD master avoids that. (HD offline resolutions? Opinions?)
Offline RT was also a hassle to view on a client monitor. Forget OfflineRT!
2) Good treatment on the importance of accurate timecode. However, an error in reel naming for logging across timecode breaks:
[log up to the first timecode break with a reel number like 05A. On the next part of the tape after a timecode break, label the reel number as 05B. If another timecode break exists, label it 05C.]
To my mind, this is incorrect. I would not name a master source reel "05A" at the git-go Somebody further down the line will panic and go looking through the asset management system for missing Reel 05!
How do you know as you log whether you have breaks up ahead or not? (What? A camera report?? Hah!) If it turns out you don't encounter any, you're stuck with a logged reel 05A.
Always start with a "whole" master source reel number, such as 005, and be prepared to jump across the first break and label that reel section 005A, and after the second, 005B, and etc.
In either case, each "reel" is treated as a totally separate disk in the Batch list, and each reel letter signals the batch redidger to throw the deck into local, advance across the break, then back in remote, select the lettered reel for continued batch capture.
Such things are important. This is also classic Avid strategy for breaks; the process is just the same.
3) the other thing to watch for, as I encountered in an explicit offline to online test workflow, were Time remap effects (not available when Andrew wrote this), which choked during redidge, at least on the CineWave system I tested a few years ago. Expect the need to rebuild these too.
In all other respects, this is a good rundown and I appreciate the time Andrew took building it.
- Loren
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