Hi All!   I am working on a sci-fi short with a lot of green screen shots and wanted to get advice from cutters with more experience.

I find that I have so many layers of compositing in my timeline that it really slows down my working speed.  Just to cut together two shots seems to take for ever because I have to build the two shots first.  Then there's the rendering...Oy!

I have avoided using video mixdowns as much as I can, because they don't translate when it comes time to online.

So my question is two fold:

First, how much temp compositing do you guys bother to do during offline, when you know all the effects are being redone, outside of Avid, for the online?

and Second, is there a way, other than video mixdown, to have a single segment in the timeline, refer to a seperate sequence.  (FCP has this ability, allthough I don't know if it translates to EDL or into the online.)

Thanks in advance for your advice!

flicmaker

There is no "reference sequence" in MC per see.  There is in Avid DS. 

One work around would be to do a "pretend" ref sequence:  Set up seperate sequences for certain effects.  Give it a really good, unique name.  Do a QT reference to a desktop folder designed for such.  Import that into the final sequence.  It will still need to import and create new media.  Any change in the sub sequence - delete media in the master, and reimport. 

Now, I am just making this up, so it may or may not work for you.  But it is a way of thinking differently. 

Good luck,

Jef

You need a faster PC with faster discs.

No, the problem is not playback.  I can play the sequences fine.  The problem I am asking about is the speed at which I work.  If this were a normal dramatic or comedic short I would have maybe three or four tracks depending on titles or reformatting, etc.  And I would be able to zip through this, cutting it in very little time.  But with so much green screen work I can't begin to make decisions about editing until I have done what seems like a lot of compositing first.  I have ten to twelve video tracks in the places where I haven't resorted to the video mixdowns.

So it sounds like DS is designed to do more of what I am trying to do in MC.

I would still like to hear from editors about how much compositing they do in the offline stage.  Especially if it is all getting redone by an effects person for the online.

flicmaker

flicmaker:

The problem I am asking about is the speed at which I work.

If this is a reference to system response time slowing down significantly when working in the 10 to 12 layer regions of what I suppose is a very long timeline, you can use the "playlength" function to restrict how much media on either side of the position bar gets loaded for playback. For example, a playlength of 1 will cue up 30 seconds of media on either side of the bar. This will speed up the overall system response time.

DS is definitely designed to do this - and more.  It is a capable offline cutting tool as well.  But more expensive.

As to offlining for effects- I would say the level of effect needed in offline is directly related to the ability of the director to visulize the shot.

To me, it is all about timing.  If simple - quick render - effects tell me enough to pass the plates onto the effects people, then that is great.

But some directors can not even start to comment on a shot untill it is almost done!  So, I think you have to gauge the comfort level of all involved and work from there.

Good luck,

Jef