Why Are Reel Names Necessary?

[Desmond Ford]

Why Are Reel Names Necessary?

Maybe I don't understand the significance of Reel Names, but why are they even necessary. I mean, if each file has a unique name, doesn't that obviate the need more file identification?

The reason I ask is because it seems like every time I have an issue conforming in Resolve, it has something to do with Reel Names. All my error messages are Reel Name related such as missing reel names, etc... and it's getting very frustrating. A lot of times in the conform page (Lower left corner window) under the reel name section there is nothing or just the date or identical numerical sequences...

So I think if I understood them better, I could better troubleshoot these issues I'm having. Can anyone enlighten me?

 

[Brad Schreiber]

Reel names were important when you mastered off of HDCAM cassettes (or other tape-based formats). Now that most media is mastered on file-based material, they are less important, though an end-to-end workflow should always be discussed by the DP, Post House, and Editor. Better to plug the leak before it starts.

 

[Nick Pasquariello]

File Names can repeat. Even in a system like Red, where the filename is Camera, Mag Number, Clip Number, Month and Day, Random 2-letter Hash, if you film again exactly one year later, you have a 1 in 676 (26 times 26) chance of repeating a file name.

Adding Reel Name to the metadate is just another way to keep things separate.

The problem you are having with Resolve is that not enough care is being taken when the footage is being initially put into editing to add Reel Names. We've had this problem a bunch with Canon footage being input into FCP7. If people pay attention at that step to add a Reel Name, then conforming becomes a snap at the back end. 3 seconds now will save hours later, as is always the case.

 

[Desmond Ford]

The problem you are having with Resolve is that not enough care is being taken when the footage is being initially put into editing to add Reel Names. We've had this problem a bunch with Canon footage being input into FCP7. If people pay attention at that step to add a Reel Name, then conforming becomes a snap at the back end. 3 seconds now will save hours later, as is always the case.

Thanks for the response, Nick!

Yes, I always have this issue with xml and footage coming from FCP7... generally from the same five editors. However, it's more often with Red and Alexa footage.

So I just have to tell them to make sure to include the reel names when they do their import or conform, or is it when they create their xml? What exactly should I ask them to do... I mean, where is the tab or checkbox that they have to select in FCP7 to accomplish this?

Or is it the responsibility of the DIT to include these in the transcodes? Since they always edit from the transcoded footage... usually ProRes 422.


Thanks again, this is huge!



dezzy

 

[MichaelP]

You also need to defined what will be used as REEL up front in the process as well. ProRes files from Arri Alexa for example carry a REEL ID that the camera embeds in the header and it has a filename as well. The embedded REEL is an 8 character subset of the full file name most likely designed to fit within the 8 character limitation of a CMX 3600 EDL. The same for R3D files. Version 9 brought a setting to just use filename making it easier to use that, but it is still something to check with your post editorial pipeline when making dailies.

Michael

 

[John Tissavary]

Like already mentioned, reel ID / Tape Name is legacy from film scanners & tape ingest. Up until a few years ago, that represented probably 99.999% of material graded in Resolve and other DaVinci products.

But you bring up an important point, and a big shortcoming in Resolve's conforming workflow. Once the user selects a conform assist method, it's locked in, and no other type matching seems to work anymore - i.e. if you select embedded reel ID, then any clip that doesn't have one won't get matched, even though it would have if you hadn't selected that assist method. This is just not how a large portion of edits arrive - they are quite often a jumble of correct and incorrect Reel IDs, good and bad clip names, overlapping timecode, etc... - especially on multi format edits with footage from a variety of cameras.

If users could select from a group of criteria to match from then I think conforms from problem edits could be managed better.

Here are criteria I'd like to see as selectable individually and in groups:

1) TC edge
1.5) TC TOD
2) Reel ID / Tape Name
3) Filename (not including path)
4) Filename & path
5) Clip name

I realize there's potentially some redundancy there, but there are situations where the clipnames get mangled by editors, cases where edgecode is used instead of TOD - etc... and in the end we can always resolve conflicts on the timeline.

I'd also like to be able to go through the XML / EDL one clip at a time and decide what to match. For instance, if most of the EDL / XML conformed well, but there are a number of shots that didn't, I'd like to conform only those on the next go, rather than conform the entire shebang and fish out the new matches.

My plea is, I guess, total user control over each entry . Resolve assumes that editors hand off edits in good shape. Most of the time this is true. But quite often it's not, and in those cases Resolve is missing the tools needed to finish the conform efficiently (i.e. not eye-matching).

JT

 

[Nick Pasquariello]

Thanks for the response, Nick!

Yes, I always have this issue with xml and footage coming from FCP7... generally from the same five editors. However, it's more often with Red and Alexa footage.

So I just have to tell them to make sure to include the reel names when they do their import or conform, or is it when they create their xml? What exactly should I ask them to do... I mean, where is the tab or checkbox that they have to select in FCP7 to accomplish this?

Or is it the responsibility of the DIT to include these in the transcodes? Since they always edit from the transcoded footage... usually ProRes 422.


Thanks again, this is huge!



dezzy

To be honest, I'm not sure; when you Log and Transfer footage from a CF card (for us, mainly 5D, C300, and C500), you can type in a Reel Name in that window. Since Red and Alexa files are dealt with outside this workflow, I'm actually not sure. Since we work on commercials that are shot in 1 day (and are 30 seconds long), even if something doesn't link properly in Resolve, we just conform that clip or 3 by hand. Annoying, sure, but also manageable, so we never went back and figured out the better workflow.

 

[John Tissavary]

If you have problems with Alexa or Red footage from editors, it's possible that something they are doing in their workflow is not up to par. I have conformed hundreds of shows from these two cameras and only ever have problems when offline transcodes are made with incorrect settings, and/or editors rename clips and blow away important metadata.

Reel ID is embedded in R3D, Arri prores 4444, and arri raw files, so there should never be a problem if the offlines were created with this metadata in tact.

JT

 

[jake blackstone]

Like already mentioned, reel ID / Tape Name is legacy from film scanners & tape ingest. Up until a few years ago, that represented probably 99.999% of material graded in Resolve and other DaVinci products.

But you bring up an important point, and a big shortcoming in Resolve's conforming workflow. Once the user selects a conform assist method, it's locked in, and no other type matching seems to work anymore - i.e. if you select embedded reel ID, then any clip that doesn't have one won't get matched, even though it would have if you hadn't selected that assist method. This is just not how a large portion of edits arrive - they are quite often a jumble of correct and incorrect Reel IDs, good and bad clip names, overlapping timecode, etc... - especially on multi format edits with footage from a variety of cameras.

If users could select from a group of criteria to match from then I think conforms from problem edits could be managed better.

Here are criteria I'd like to see as selectable individually and in groups:

1) TC edge
1.5) TC TOD
2) Reel ID / Tape Name
3) Filename (not including path)
4) Filename & path
5) Clip name

I realize there's potentially some redundancy there, but there are situations where the clipnames get mangled by editors, cases where edgecode is used instead of TOD - etc... and in the end we can always resolve conflicts on the timeline.

I'd also like to be able to go through the XML / EDL one clip at a time and decide what to match. For instance, if most of the EDL / XML conformed well, but there are a number of shots that didn't, I'd like to conform only those on the next go, rather than conform the entire shebang and fish out the new matches.

My plea is, I guess, total user control over each entry . Resolve assumes that editors hand off edits in good shape. Most of the time this is true. But quite often it's not, and in those cases Resolve is missing the tools needed to finish the conform efficiently (i.e. not eye-matching).

JT

That is why I prefer the FilmLight way of conforming. Baselight uses every combination of criteria and reports success rate of conform. All colorist has to do is to select the conform with the highest percentage. No need to keep trying it manually.
As far as going event by event, as you know, Scratch and FilmMaster presents you with the list, reporting success or failure of conform of each event. This way it is easy to see which ones had failed to reconnect. You then can go and change criteria in only those events, that had failed.

 

[John Tissavary]

I do like the filmlight conform, forgot about that one as I haven't used it in ages. Yes, Scratch was exactly what I had in mind. What's funny is that sometimes Resolve matches better, with less options. But when it doesn't, that's it, no way to work through it except on the timeline.

 

[Nick Shaw]

Got to love Baselight's statistical conform.