Relinking Media

In Conform, you can easily relink an unlinked sequence that stores the path to the media (display the path by Alt-click the segment). Most AAF, FCP XML, DLEDL, as well as native sequences, store these file paths.

To relink segments of a sequence to their media:

1. Display the sequence in the Conform tab.
2. Do one of the following:
   • Select Link to Media File from the Set Search Location drop-down menu.
   • Click Link to Media File if the button is already displayed.

Flame relinks all unlinked segments to their media.

To relink a segment to its media:

1. In the Events list, select the unlinked segment that you need to relink.
2. Click one of File Location, File Name, or File Type to select it.
3. Press Enter.

   Flame scans the File Location for files matching the File Name and File Type fields, and displays the result of the scan in the Conform folder.

4. Click Link to Media File to relink the segment to the file.

Available Options

Limit Handles

Enable Limit Handles when using Link to Media Files to limit the number of relinked handles, performing a consolidate on relinking. And if you ever need to access more than the consolidated handles, unlink the segment, disable Limit Handles, and click Link to Media Files: the full media is now relinked to the segment.

Save Sources

Enable Save Sources to save a copy of the source in the Sources reel. The source saved is what is relinked to the segment and thus respects the Limit Handles setting.

Tip: When you import a sequence (AAF, FCP, XML), consolidate the handles on import, and enable Cache Source Media to improve performance. When you need the original full-resolution media, or the media with the discarded handles, unlink the sequence, and then relink using the previous procedure. Every segment is now restored to the full-resolution, not cached, original media.

Multi-Channels and Relinking

You can relink content to multi-channel clips (OpenEXR or Photoshop .psd) using Conform. The next procedure is useful if your sequence contains segments using for source a layer of a multi-channel clip. It is still applicable, but less useful, for alphas; in this case you should look into Conforming with Matte Containers.

Tip: Alt-click the clip or the segment to display the path to its media.

If the media of the unlinked OpenEXR or .psd is at the location specified by the clip:

1. From the contextual, open the clip as a sequence.
2. Go to the Conform tab.
3. Select the segment to relink.
4. Click Link to Media File.

   The segment is now relinked to its media.

If the media of the unlinked OpenEXR or .psd is at a location differing from the one specified by the clip:

1. Open the clip as a sequence.
2. Click the Conform tab.
3. Set only File Name as Match Criteria.
4. Click Set Search Location to locate the media files.

   Make sure that Clip Options is set to Include Alpha Clip so Conform also finds the different channels in the media files.

   Note: You no longer have to use both File Name and Name as in previous releases to find the media. You can still use Name for advanced matching but it is no longer required for standard filename Conform.
5. Once you have located the files, click Set.

   You can now proceed with matching sources and segments as usual.

Conforming With Matte Containers

You can promote a segment to an RGBA matte container when conforming. It allows you to keep comp information in your conformed sequence.

When importing a sequence (EDL, AAF, and FCP XML):

• Set, in the MediaHub, General > Clip Options > Alpha Channel Processing box to Matte Container with Comp: every segment referencing an RGBA media file is promoted to a matte container with one RGB track and one alpha track.
• Select only the File Name match criteria in the Conform tab, or Flame cannot conform the RGBA content.

Note:

• When importing an FCP XML sequence, all content created from Photoshop .psd layers is conformed as a matte container.
• The contents in Final Cut Pro should have been imported and the segment needs to use the layer name for clip name. If the clip name is derived from the PSD media file, the match is done using the flat PSD layer.

To relink a segment to RGBA material and promoting that segment to a matte container:

1. In the Conform tab, click Set Search Location.
2. In the Set Directory, set the Alpha Channel Processing box to one of the following:
   • Include Alpha Clip: This imports RGB and alpha channels as separate clips. In the Conform list, paired clips (RGB clip + its alpha) are displayed as a Multiple, yellow, entry.
   • Create Matte Container: Creates a Matte Container for the clip. And segments referencing linked clips are promoted to Matte Containers when matched.
   • Ignore Alpha Channel: Only the RGB part of the media is used to create the clip, and the conform sequence shows a regular (non-container) segment.
3. Once you have located the files, click Set.

   You can now proceed with matching sources and segments as usual.

Note: If a segment is already a matte container, using the Create Matte Container effectively create a matte container within that original matte container. Select the Include Alpha Clip and Flame automatically assigns the correct channel to each of the matte container tracks.

Working with Media Location Path Translation

Path Translation allows you to fix problems with media that was relocated after it was imported in Flame.

Use path translation for:

• Clips in the Workspace: If the file system location of the clip's source has been modified, add a translation path to fix the issue without having to use Conform or re-import the contents. Restore a broken connection between a clip and its media. This break can happen when the media referenced by the clip is moved from its location. The original paths to the media are not changed, but translated by Flame. This means that if you open the workspace on the original workstation, the sources remain linked.
• Batch setups: Loading a Batch setup with Import, Read File, and Write File nodes uses the path translation to modify the location of media files, Open Clip files and Batch setup. The data from the setup files is not modified, to protect its integrity: a user on the original file system will not be impacted.
• Conform: When you import an AAF or an FCP XML file with Link to Media Files enabled, Flame tries to reconnect the segments to their sources, using the paths defined within the sequence file. Oftentimes in a collaborative environment, with varying OSes and volume mount points, or with dead drops, the paths in the imported sequence cannot be resolved by Flame.

  Usually, the AAF is produced on a macOS or Windows, where external volumes are mounted under /Volumes/ or a drive name. On Linux, such volumes can be mounted on any point. Path translation allows you to convert a path from one format into another. Once path translation is set up, linking and relinking to sources should be seamless.

Applying Media Location Path Translation

You can edit the Source and Destination paths of the /opt/Autodesk/cfg/pathTranslation.cfg file directly from Preferences > Storage > Media Location Path Translation.

From there, you can Create, Duplicate, or Delete a rule using the buttons at the bottom of the table. When you create a new rule, it is set to /SourcePath and /DestinationPath by default, so it has no effect on the media. This path can be modified using the following methods:

• Click on the Source or Destination path cells of the selected rule to edit the path directly within the table.
• Select either Browse Source or Browse Destination to manually select a path for the selected rule using the MediaHub Browser

The refresh button can be used to manually refresh the list. This can be useful in the event that the pathTranslation.cfg has been modified using a text editor outside of Flame while Flame is running.

Note: The environment variable DL_LOCK_PATH_TRANSLATION_TABLE can be used to set the table (empty by default) within Flame to be read-only. A message is displayed below the table when it cannot be edited in Flame because either the file permissions were modified or the environment variable is set. These settings are not Project or User-based. They are System based.

Note: This mechanism is similar to Lustre's Wiretap path translation function.

Applying Media Location Path Translation Manually

You ca also set up the path translation in a configuration file, where you define pairs of paths.

To set a path translation pair:

1. Open a shell window. You do not have to close Flame.
2. As root, open the following file in a text editor:

   /opt/Autodesk/cfg/pathTranslation.cfg

3. Define a Source path and a Destination.

   For example, we need Flame to search for media files seen from an offlining Mac at /Volumes/SAN, but seen from the conforming Linux workstation at /ProductionSAN:

   • <PathTranslationTable>
   • <PathTranslation src="/Volumes/SAN" dst="/ProductionSAN" />
   • </PathTranslationTable>
4. Save and close the file.

   Flame can immediately start translating a source path found in pathTranslation.cfg to its destination path when you import a sequence or use Link To Media File in Conform.