Trouble exporting EDL of RED footage from FCP for Blackboard Baselight

[mark_p]

Hi fellow RED users,

I've exported an EDL of a FCP edited short film for use in a Blackboard Baselight colouring suite.
Some shots refuse to show in the conform.
We've removed transistions, attributes and still no luck.
The RED file code names have not been changed.
The EDL seems to be fine and all the shots seem to be dealt with in the same way, but some just don't show in the conform.

Has anyone experienced this problem, and if so did you manage to solve it?

Cheers,

Mark P

 

[jake blackstone]

Hi fellow RED users,

I've exported an EDL of a FCP edited short film for use in a Blackboard Baselight colouring suite.
Some shots refuse to show in the conform.
We've removed transistions, attributes and still no luck.
The RED file code names have not been changed.
The EDL seems to be fine and all the shots seem to be dealt with in the same way, but some just don't show in the conform.

Has anyone experienced this problem, and if so did you manage to solve it?

Cheers,

Mark P

First of all, there is no such thing as "Blackboard Baselight colouring suite". It's just Baselight colouring suite. Blackboard is a control surface.
Anyway, I would just open EDL with any text editor and compare the two shots, one that shows up and one, that doesn't. Usually, it's something, like speed change, that can cause the shot not show up. You can see the speed change in EDL with M2 code. I'm surprised, that Baselight operator wouldn't be able to figure out such a simple problem. It got to be a freebie with an assistant in a middle of the night

 

[M Most]

Hi fellow RED users,

I've exported an EDL of a FCP edited short film for use in a Blackboard Baselight colouring suite.
Some shots refuse to show in the conform.
We've removed transistions, attributes and still no luck.
The RED file code names have not been changed.
The EDL seems to be fine and all the shots seem to be dealt with in the same way, but some just don't show in the conform.

Has anyone experienced this problem, and if so did you manage to solve it?

As Jake pointed out, the system is Baselight. Blackboard is the control surface.

The files should show up unless they are in a subdirectory that is not in the search path. If you're working from an EDL, and you're using the file name as the reel name in Baselight, you need to make sure that the R3D filename is referenced in a comment for each shot. If it is not, it will likely not be found. You can also use reel name from file header, which will usually find the R3d files just fine as long as the time codes are unique. Transitions in the EDL likely have nothing to do with your problem. It's much more likely that it is either the directory path or the lack of file name in the comment lines. We've probably conformed more than 120 episodic shows in Baselight from R3d files, and the problems i mentioned have essentially always been he culprit. That, or the files themselves are not there.

 

[Frank Cueto]

I have seen our Baselight fail to link a file when the source footage and the format of the scene dont match, UNLESS (BIG IMPORTANT ONE) you have a mapping from the source footage format to the scene's format.

Make sense?

 

[Frank Cueto]

Side note, once you add the propper mapping, it should be able to find it. IF that's your issue at least.

 

[Frank Cueto]

By any chance the shots that dont show up are from a diferent resolution, timecode base or aspect ratio (ANA)from the ones that DO show up?

 

[M Most]

I have seen our Baselight fail to link a file when the source footage and the format of the scene dont match, UNLESS (BIG IMPORTANT ONE) you have a mapping from the source footage format to the scene's format.

Make sense?

Hmm, good point. As I recall, we actually have had that problem, both with 2:1 footage and 2K footage in scenes that were formatted for different 4K formats. The problem popped up recently when we added new Baselight systems and hadn't yet copied over our scene formats from the existing systems.

 

[Frank Cueto]

Yes Mike, Baselight will fail to load footage via EDL/XML if the footage is a diferent format than the one from the scene. Unless that footage's format has been mapped to the scene's format.

Another one, we submitted a bit back a bug, specially with quicktimes, XDCAM/p2 files. BL will fail to conform an EDL/XML, it will give you something like a 10-20%. Then you shutdown the SYSTEM, restart, and then all of a sudden everything works fine. We have found this issue when outputting form FCP an edl and footage via Media Manager and the re-compress option. As I said, recognized as a bug by filmlight, and supposedly being worked on.

Anyhow, sure sounds like they dont have the proper mappings.

 

[mark_p]

Thanks everyone.
A great response.
We are back in the suite Monday and we'll try all the recomendations.
I'll reply with what we found cured our problem.
1000 thank yous.

 

[Frank Cueto]

So what was the fix?

 

[Martin Tlaskal]

Thanks everyone.
A great response.
We are back in the suite Monday and we'll try all the recomendations.
I'll reply with what we found cured our problem.
1000 thank yous.

I'm sorry I didn't notice the thread earlier, but the advice you were given was spot on - Baselight won't match against material without a mapping from that format to your working format.

If you have any issues, post here or PM me.

-Martin

 

[Martin Tlaskal]

Another one, we submitted a bit back a bug, specially with quicktimes, XDCAM/p2 files. BL will fail to conform an EDL/XML, it will give you something like a 10-20%. Then you shutdown the SYSTEM, restart, and then all of a sudden everything works fine. We have found this issue when outputting form FCP an edl and footage via Media Manager and the re-compress option. As I said, recognized as a bug by filmlight, and supposedly being worked on.

Hi Frank,

Try the latest website version - pretty sure we've fixed that one.

-Martin

 

[mark_p]

Frank,
As yet we are still stummied.
Not a clue.
I used proxies and apple pro-res in the timeline (yes...I know now) but that does not seem to be the problem. We're having another go at it next week.
Mark

 

[mark_p]

Hi Frank,

I found the from you on the apple forum.
I have already given the facility all the native red raw files which are now accessible by their Baselight. Do I still need to go via Monkey with my XML??
I had several shots which were cut into different sections with different speed changes that ran into each other directly. (I'd made speed changes within a shot but using cuts and then changing the speed of each section)
I also am suspicious it didn't like my speed changes.
Working at 25fps so a 50% speed change means 12.5fps etc.
I'm going to try an XML and see if that brings more luck with the conform.

Cheers,

Mark



10-16-2009, 05:25 PM
Hi,

We do this everyday here on our Baselight system.

The way we have gone about it is very straight forward.

1) Use red rushes to transcode all de R3d's to ProRes.
2) Edit in FCP as usual.
3) Feed the XML from your edti to Monkey Extract ro copy only the used R3d's (based ont he XML) to the Baselight's storage
4) also export a H264 version of the project (this is for a edit/conform confidence test)
5)Load the xml into the Baselight and point the Baselight to the folder where you copied the files.
6) Conform =)
7) use that h264 as reference because repos and such dont come thru the XML yet.
8) enjoy how simple it really is.

 

[mark_p]

We are still having big problems conforming the EDL from the FCP project in Baselight.

(a bit embarrassing as they have been so kind lending the facility and their personal time for our short film... they have only just bought in Baselight too)

I think simply the EDL from FCP does not work due to the way I cut the film.
I cut a few shots up and used speed changes within the sections, which the EDL seems to give false time code to.
(It also refused freeze frames and reverse shots, but we expected that and they are easy to fix)
I am going to try importing an XML from FCP into Baselight tonight.
Any advice on making it work smoothly??
The facility already have all my native RED raw files on their system.

We are going to then take the graded conform to Smoke.
Would exporting a DLEDL do that smoothly? Is that the right way?

All the best, and thanks again,