Raylight workflow for Mac/FCP ???

I

Indywannabe

Well-known member
I would appreciate your recommendations for Raylight workflow for the Mac.

The Raylight documentation is a little confusing on project and file organization and what needs to be where.....ARGHHH!

What I do now is:

- P2 dump using Duel Systems adapter into a Macbook pro (and/or into PC laptop pcmcia and later xfered to the Mac)
- External HDD that has FCP project folder/files for edit
- Backup copy of MXFs on 2nd HD

What I need to know is how to structure the MXFs and Raylight files so that they all stay together on an external HD for the master working copy and a backup copy of the MXF source files on a 2nd external HD.

...or do I only need the backup copy of the MXFs once Raylight has done it's magic?

The expectation is that Raylight will remove steps and simplify the overall workflow.

The objective is to keep the entire FCP project in a single folder on an external hard disk...or at least as much as I can...so the folders can be archived in total.


I also need to know which files to import into FCP 6 and which FCP import method.

Thanks so much for your assistance.
 
Indywannabe said:
I would appreciate your recommendations for Raylight workflow for the Mac.

...

The objective is to keep the entire FCP project in a single folder on an external hard disk...or at least as much as I can...so the folders can be archived in total.


I also need to know which files to import into FCP 6 and which FCP import method.

Thanks so much for your assistance.
Click to expand...

Here is an excerpt from the Raylight/Mac 2.07 documentation (not published yet)

Suggested Workflow

Here is a suggested workflow to improve your productivity and take advantage of the features of Raylight.

1. The cameraman or assistant camera uses a Mac laptop computer and P2 CMS software (free from Panasonic) to backup the card onto hard drive and rename the clips, and fill in any metadata items such as ProgramName (e.g. "MyFeatureFilm"), UserClipName (e.g. "Scene 23 Take 5"), etc. and give a name to the P2 card, i.e. "MyShootDay1". This job can be simplified if you upload some of these metadata items via an SD card so they are used by default, see http://www.dvxuser.com/jason/P2-Name-article

2. The backup drive or the P2 Cards are connected to the editor's computer.

3. The editor scans with Raylight using the UserClipName, Volume Name, and Program Name options. The shots are automatically organized into a "MyFeatureFilm" folder in the Raylight folder. Inside the "MyFeatureFilm" folder there will be a "MyShootDay1" folder (the name of the P2 Card). This process only takes a few seconds.

4. Inside the "MyShootDay1" folder will be a number of .MXF.mov Raylight link files, beginning with "Scene23 Take 5 0001FG.MXF.mov" where 0001FG.MXF is the first clip that was shot on that day for example. If an external drive is used for editing, then the Raylight links should be copied to the drive and backed up along with the card images at some point in the editing process (for example at night after the first day of editing).

5. The link files are imported into FCP using File->Import, like regular quicktime files.

6. If the drive is moved to another computer, the links will still function as long as the structure of the drive is not changed and the volume name of the drive is not changed. Also the other computer does not need to have Raylight installed. The link files, once they are created, are completely handled by Quicktime without help from Raylight.
 
Thanks for the response. I'm building my folder structures now.

It's the whole "app-does-something-automatically-and-puts-stuff-somewhere" thing that is hard for me to deal with.

For example, once I scan stuff using the checked options (especially Remove Pulldown and Set Frame Rate) can that be rescinded or changed?

Will Raylight warn me when I try to do the wrong pulldown/frame rate option? Do I need to check either of those at all considering that FCP 6 is supposed to detect that?

What if I have multiple frame rates etc. in my project? Do I need to take care to perform separate manual scans?

On the whole, though, I'm comfortable with the quicktime links being placed into the Contents folder with the Video, et al.

I do wonder about the ongoing housekeeping and the significance of files in the Raylight system folder "user/shared/Raylight/etc."

The other key item is the ability to hand over files to another organization that can archive or reuse in another project. I assume Raylight does not complicate that.

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Indywannabe said:
Thanks for the response. I'm building my folder structures now.

It's the whole "app-does-something-automatically-and-puts-stuff-somewhere" thing that is hard for me to deal with.

For example, once I scan stuff using the checked options (especially Remove Pulldown and Set Frame Rate) can that be rescinded or changed?
Click to expand...

Yes, by rescanning with the correct options and the "overwrite" option

Will Raylight warn me when I try to do the wrong pulldown/frame rate option?
Click to expand...

No, however it will not try to do something that is impossible like remove
pulldown from 24PN.


Do I need to check either of those at all considering that FCP 6 is supposed to detect that?
Click to expand...

If you shot with pulldown then yes, you need to select remove pulldown.

If you want to avoid trouble, always shoot either 720/24PN or 1080i/24PA
and leave the pulldown option on. It will then process correctly in either
case.


What if I have multiple frame rates etc. in my project? Do I need to take care to perform separate manual scans?
Click to expand...

Yes

On the whole, though, I'm comfortable with the quicktime links being placed into the Contents folder with the Video, et al.

I do wonder about the ongoing housekeeping and the significance of files in the Raylight system folder "user/shared/Raylight/etc."

The other key item is the ability to hand over files to another organization that can archive or reuse in another project. I assume Raylight does not complicate that.

Thanks
Click to expand...
See my previous post.
 
Thanks mvb.

Raylight seams to be worth it...if only to avoid glitches with the Mac.

I've watched your product really advance over the year. You've done an amazing job.

What new developments can we look forward to in the roadmap?
 
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