I am posting here (although I am on a PC) because my remote co-editor is on a Mac. He has all the original project media on 4 drives but copied it all to one drive when he sent me the project. Relinking the clips and sequences was extremely time-consuming at my end, and we assumed if I sent him EDLs of my cuts, relinking at his end would be as time-consuming.

So, when we had to generate a sequence quickly, we decided that we should consolidate and use the consolidated media instead of the original. In other words, I send him a bin with my consolidated sequence and the Avid MediaFiles folder it generated. Now, the problem arises when he copies the two into his project.

We assumed that he should create a bin in his copy of the project and copy my consolidated sequence and "new" clips into it. But where does he copy the consolidated media to? Each of his 4 drives has an Avid MediaFiles folder at the root. He has now attached a 5th for what I sent him, but what happens when I send him another one or he sends me one? We need a better way to exchange consolidated sequences and their media.

I've looked everywhere, even posted on Facebook, but got no answer. If it exists online or in an Assistant Editor's Handbook, I would really appreciate knowing about it.

If done properly, exchanging bins with master clips and sequences should be seamless between Windows and OSX. There are caveats but those are OS related like AMA link path, fonts and such. You should not need to consolidate a sequence every time you exchange bins that contain pre-existing media.

When relinking, the first and simplest way is to rebuild the Avid media database. Google that for more info. Simply put it just requires you to delete 2 files per media folder before starting Avid. If that does not work then manual relinking is an option.

Regarding the placement of a consolidated media folder...

First, understand the Avid MediaFiles structure.

Avid MediaFiles = a folder that must always be in the root level of any drive in order for Avid to detect media in it properly.

MXF = must be a subfolder inside Avid MediaFiles

numbered folder (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) = subfolder in MXF that contains actual media files (.mxf) and the media database files (.pmr and .mdb).

If you have 2 Avid MediaFiles folder and you want to combine their content, rename the numbered folder in Avid MediaFiles folder #1 to the next available number in Avid MediaFiles folder #2. Then copy the newly renamed folder over. I highly recommend deleting the .pmr and .mdb files of these newly copied folders before starting MC.

Thank you so much, Dom.

This is very helpful. I had two questions about what you said:

Dom Q. Silverio:

When relinking, the first and simplest way is to rebuild the Avid media database. Google that for more info. Simply put it just requires you to delete 2 files per media folder before starting Avid. If that does not work then manual relinking is an option.

I found a 2009 Avid KB Article that recommends deleting msmFMID.pmr and msmMMOB.mdb in ALL Avid MediaFiles folders as a regular housekeeping task. A recent "Troubleshooting Tip" by Josh Short says something similar. Would you recommend that?

Dom Q. Silverio:

Regarding the placement of a consolidated media folder...

First, understand the Avid MediaFiles structure.

Avid MediaFiles = a folder that must always be in the root level of any drive in order for Avid to detect media in it properly.

MXF = must be a subfolder inside Avid MediaFiles

numbered folder (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) = subfolder in MXF that contains actual media files (.mxf) and the media database files (.pmr and .mdb).

If you have 2 Avid MediaFiles folder and you want to combine their content, rename the numbered folder in Avid MediaFiles folder #1 to the next available number in Avid MediaFiles folder #2. Then copy the newly renamed folder over. I highly recommend deleting the .pmr and .mdb files of these newly copied folders before starting MC.

Each drive or volume can have only 1 Avid MediaFiles and only 1 MXF in it, right? So, can I replicate my co-editors set-up of 4 daisy-chained external drives by creating 4 volumes within one external drive and moving the numbered folders into those separate volumes? It seems to me I would have to do that in order for us to relink without sending media. I have an Ultimate subscription. I wonder if I can ask Avid Support to help me set this up.

hartfilms:

Would you recommend that?

Yes. That is rebuilding the media database.

hartfilms:

So, can I replicate my co-editors set-up of 4 daisy-chained external drives by creating 4 volumes within one external drive and moving the numbered folders into those separate volumes?

You do not need to simulate the drive configuration. Avid does not care if you have 10 drives or 1 drive. All it cares about is that a matching media for a particular clip is found and indexed properly.

Thank you, Dom.

Very helpful as usual.