The MediaHub consists of two panels: the browser and the MediaHub tabs. Use the browser to locate the files to import, or the location where to export your clips. Use the MediaHub tabs to set you media and sequence import options.
MediaHub options are saved on a project-basis.
- MediaHub Browser
- General Tab
- Format Specific Options Tab
- AAF & XML Import Options Tab
- EDL Import Options Tab
- Jobs Tab
MediaHub Browser
The MediaHub file browser displays two sections:
- The Autodesk Network lists other Smoke, Flame, or Lustre workstations on the network, and can be used to import files from those workstations.
- The Local Devices displays the hard disks, external disks, and other storage devices that appear under the Devices category in the Finder. Use the Local Devices to access local storage.
Tip: Network volumes connected to your workstation appear in Local Device.
General Tab
- Cache Source Media button
- Enable to create a managed copy of the media in the application storage; this copy is a transcoded version of the original media, using the Cached Media Compression Format as the transcode target. Disable to link to the media of the imported clip, without transcoding or copying the media.
Enabling Cache Source Media ensures that the application is the sole owner of the media, preventing the media from being modified by an external source. With Cache Source Media disabled, the application decodes the clip on-the-fly and there is no transcoding.
You can always change your mind after importing a clip: right-click the clip and select to transcode the media and copy it to your local storage. Right-click and select to get rid of the transcoded copy and refer back to the original media.
- Generate Proxies button
- Enable to generate proxy media for imported clips.
- Clip Options for Versions box
- Applies only to multi-versions clips. Sets if Generate Proxies and Cache Source Media settings apply to the current version or to all versions of a multi-version Open Clip.
- Multi-Channel Processing box
- Sets how multi-channel clips are processed on import. Multi-Channel Clip creates a single multi-channel clip. Matte Container (Full) creates a matte container containing every channel. Other options create one clip or matte container per channel, with alpha channel included or discarded depending on the selected option.
- Cached Media Compression Format field
- Displays the compression format applied to clips imported with Cache Source Media enabled. Defined for the project, in the Cache and Renders tab of the Project dialogue box.
You access your project's settings in .
- Resolution Presets box
- Select a resolution for the new clip. Select Custom to specify a non-standard resolution.
- Fill box
- Select a fit method to be applied to the selected clip.
Select: To fit: Centre/Crop The source image, centred, over the destination resolution frame. If the source is larger than the destination, it is cropped. If the source is smaller than the destination, it is surrounded by a black border. Crop Edges One edge of the source into the destination resolution frame without stretching or squashing the frame. Excess parts of the source frame after resizing are cropped. If the source—after the one edge is resized—is wider than the destination, its overhanging left and right edges are cropped. If the source is taller than the destination, the upper and lower edges are cropped.
Fill The source, width, and height, into the destination resolution frame. This process, if the source and destination resolutions do not have the same aspect ratio, can distort the image. Letterbox The source to the destination resolution frame without squashing or stretching it, and without cropping the source. If the source is wider than the destination, black bars fill the top and bottom of the destination frame. If the source is narrower than the destination, black bars fill the right and left sides of the frame. In all cases, the entire source frame is fit into the destination frame.
- Resize Filter box
- Select the resize filter to apply to the clip; all but the Impulse filter are rendered using the GPU. This box does not appear if you select the Centre/Crop fit.
Select: For: Lanczos Excellent and sharp results. Recommended for upscale and downscale. Expensive to compute. Shannon Excellent and sharp results. Results are sharper than Lanczos in small details. Recommended for upscale and downscale. Expensive to compute. Gaussian Medium quality and softer results. Quadratic Medium quality and softer results. Bicubic High-quality results, but not as sharp as Shannon. Use for both upscale and downscale. Mitchell High-quality results, but not as sharp as Shannon. Use for both upscale and downscale. Triangle Low quality results that are fast to compute. Use for downscale. Impulse Very low quality results that are fast to compute. Use for downscale. - Width field
- Displays the custom width resolution of the clip. Editable.
- Height field
- Displays the custom width resolution of the clip. Editable.
- Aspect Ratio Presets box
- Select a standard frame aspect ratio. Select the Set to w:h option to set the clip to use square pixels. Select Custom to define a custom frame aspect ratio in the Aspect Ratio field.
- Aspect Ratio field
- Displays the custom render/output aspect ratio. Editable
- Bit Depth box
- Select the render/output bit depth of clips.
- Scan Mode box
- Select the scan mode of clips.
- Still Duration field
- Specify a duration for stills, repeating the last frame as required. The result is the same as if you had trimmed out the stills in the Timeline to the specified duration.
- Pixel Ratio box
- Use From Source to import using the information specified by the file. Use Square Pixels to ignore the file specification and use the Width x Height ratio, when file metadata is not set correctly.
- Pixel Ratio slider
- Use to set the Width x Height ration, when the Pixel Ratio is set to Square Pixels.
- Colour Management Mode box
- Select the type of colour management to apply: Tag Only (tag the media with a colour space but do not process the pixels); Auto Convert (convert from an input colour space to a working space); View Transform (apply or invert a viewing transform as part of the import); or Use LUT (manually apply a LUT or Colour Transform and then tag the result).
- Invert button
- Invert the colour transform to convert from the original destination back to the original source colour space. In Custom mode, available in the Colour Management node, you may also invert individual component transforms by clicking in the Invert column to toggle it.
- Format box
- When Importing: Select Colour Transform unless you're applying a legacy format 1D or 3D LUT. When Exporting: View Transform applies viewport colour management to the export; Input Transform applies import colour management (or its inverse) to the export; Colour Transform is for CTF and most other formats except a legacy 1D or 3D LUT; Tag Only overrides the colour space written to an OpenClip XML file.
- Applied LUT field
- Displays the type of conversion LUT applied to the clip, either imported using Import, or edited using Edit.
- Import button
- Open the file browser to select a colour transform for import.
- Colour Management Access button
- Click to configure colour management settings.
Browsing Setting
- Essence Mode button
- Enable to browse the directory structure of Sony (XDCAM, XDCAM HD, and XAVC), P2, XDCAM EX, or Canon clips. Use Essence Mode to import specific video and audio media tracks from a clip.
Format Specific Options
- Show All Formats button
- Disable to display only the format of the file selected in the MediaHub browser. Enable to view or edit import options for any of the available file formats.
- File Format box
- With Show All Formats disabled, File Format displays the format of the file selected in the browser; if more than one file is selected, File Format displays the formats of the selected files. With Show All Formats enabled, select the file format to view or edit its import options.
- Options Category box
- Select the set of options to view or edit.
AAF & XML Import Options
Media Options
- Link to Files button
- Enable to create a sequence with segments that link to the original media. Disable to import an unlinked sequence. If Search and Import Files is also enabled, the application first tries to relink to the media using the file paths, and then searches for what could not be relinked using only the file paths.
- Preferred Media button
- Select which one of either offline intermediates or original sources to import when both are found by the application. Only used when importing AAF sequences.
- Consolidate on Import button
- Enable to limit the handles to the amount specified in Maximum Handles. Disabled if Search and Import Files is enabled but the Match Criteria is not Tape-Source Timecode.
- Maximum Handles field
- Displays the maximum number of handles (head and tail) allowed for each event in the sequence. If the sequence also sets the amount of handles, the application imports the sources using the lowest number of handles set between Maximum Handles and the sequence. Editable.
- Save Sources Separately button
- Enable to import each source referred by the sequence, and to save them in a Sources folder.
Relative Search Options
- Search and Import Files button
- Enable to search and import the media listed in the sequence, using the selected Match Criteria options but not the file paths the sequence might contain. The media found is imported as segments of the sequence. If Link to Media Files is also enabled, the application first tries to relink to the media using the paths, and then searches for what could not be located.
- Directories Up field
- Use to expand the search to parent directories. The application searches for media to match by going down any folder structure, starting with the directory from where the sequence file is imported.
Note: When setting the Directories Up field, keep in mind that the application navigates through the whole directory structure. This means that the higher up you go in the folder structure, the longer the conform takes.
- Match Criteria button
- Opens the list of criteria used to identify the sources of the imported sequences.
- Keep Clip Name button
- Enable to overwrite the name of the segment with the name of the relinked clip. Disable to keep the segment name already present in the sequence.
- Keep Source Settings button
- Click to read and use the source Colour metadata of R3D files.
- Keep Group as Container button
- Enable to convert Clip Groups into Containers. Disable to convert the Clip Groups into uncontained clips, laid down as tracks on the timeline. Even if this option is disabled, containers can be created to preserve the editorial structure of the imported sequence. Applies only to AAF imports.
- Mark Unknown Effects button
- With this option enabled, unsupported effects and transitions are displayed as pink segment markers with a comment stating the name of the original effect and transition, when importing an AAF. If this option is disabled, no segment markers are shown in the imported sequence.
- Convert CDL to Look button
- Enable to create Look Timeline effects for segments with ASC CDL data. When disabled, any ASC CDL data present on a segment is imported as a segment comment, without creating a Look effect.
Match Criteria Window
The Match Criteria window enables you to manually select the criteria used to match segments. It has two modes: Active and Strict.
- Active: Enables the Match Cirteria. When Strict is not selected along with Active, the Advanced column determines the number of characters in the criteria that are required for a Match. You can modify the number of characters used by Name, Tape and File Name when Strict mode is disabled, by changing the corresponding values in the Advanced column.
- Strict: When enabled, the entire string for that criteria must be present for a Match. In Strict mode, the Advanced column is not taken into account.
Source Timecode, Handles, Resolution, Bit Depth, Frame Rate, UMID, and File Type default to Strict mode when activated.
The Match Criteria window can remain open while tending to other parts of the Conform tab. This allows you to modify the Match Criteria and see the update live in the Conform list. Match Criteria are saved when the Close button is pressed and the Match Criteria that were selected when the dialog window was opened are restored when the Cancel button is pressed.
You can save the selected Match Criteria as a preset, by simply clicking the Add Preset button. You can delete presets using the drop-down arrow, to the right of the button.
- Name
- The name of the clip referenced by the sequence.
- Filename
- The filename specified in the sequence as a match criteria.
- Source Timecode
- The source timecode specified in the sequence as a match criteria. Enables Consolidate on Import.
- Tape
- The tape name specified in the sequence as a match criteria.
- UMID
- The starting SMPTE UMID in the sequence as a match criteria. This is only used with MXF files and is ignored in all other cases.
- Resolution
- The resolution specified in the sequence as a match criteria. If this option is disabled, the Flame applies a Resize FX to the media found to make it match the resolution specified in the imported sequence, if required.
- Frame Rate
- The frame rate specified in the sequence. Disable to disregard the frame rate; try slipping the clip and using a timewarp in the timeline after loading the timeline to correct any frame rate discrepancy.
Be careful when using the Use Frame Rate search option with FCP XML files, especially if the FCP sequence is using multiple frame rates. With Use Frame Rate enabled, Flame uses the frame rate of the sequence's edits as a match criteria to relink to the correct sources: if the frame rate of the considered source is 24 fps while the edit is at 30 fps, that source is not a potential candidate. Whether or not Flame relinks the considered source to the edit has nothing to do with the frame rate of the sequence.
But, if you are importing an FCP sequence, Flame timewarps the edits so that they match the frame rate of the imported sequence. For example, an FCP sequence @60fps contains edits @50fps: Flame timewarps the edits to 60 fps as it imports the sequence. Whether or not edits are relinked to their sources has nothing to do with this: if Use Frame Rate is enabled, Flame only relinks the above edits if the sources are matching the edits' original frame rate, in this case 50fps.
EDL Import Options
Media Options
- Link to Files button
- Enable to create a sequence with segments that link to the original media. Disable to import an unlinked sequence. Only applies to DLEDL.
- Consolidate on Import button
- Enable to limit the handles to the amount specified in Maximum Handles. Only applies to DLEDL.
- Maximum Handles field
- Displays the maximum number of handles (head and tail) allowed for each event in the sequence. If the sequence also sets the amount of handles, the application imports the sources using the lowest number of handles set between Maximum Handles and the sequence. Editable. Only applies to DLEDL.
- Save Sources Separately button
- Enable to import each source referred by the sequence, and to save them in a Sources folder. Only applies to DLEDL.
EDL Options
- EDL Frame Rate box
- Select the frame rate applied to the imported EDL. Defaults to the project's.
- EDL Conversion button
- Enable to convert the EDL to another frame rate using the settings defined by the Conversion box.
- Conversion box
- Select the option that corresponds to the type of conversion that you want to apply to the EDL. The conversion scripts that appear in this list depend on the frame rate of the EDL you are loading.
- Multi-Assemble button
- Enable to assemble into one sequence multi-selected EDLs. In the imported sequence, each EDL will appear on a different video track, based on the selection order.
If you drag-and-drop a folder with multiple EDL, it creates either a single video track sequence or a single sequence with multiple video tracks, based on the Multi-Assemble option. With Multi-Assemble enabled, the alphabetical order defines the video track assigned to each EDL.
- EDL Detection Mode button
- Select Automatic Detection to let the application multiple EDL into a single sequence. Select Selection Order to construct a the sequence based on the selection order. Select Custom Grouping to build the sequence through an EDL assembly window.
- Fix Timewarp Match Frames Errors button
- Enable to fix match frame errors. When you import an EDL that contains dissolves or timewarps, a match frame error may occur. This can cause an unwanted cut at the point where the timewarp begins in your EDL. Match frame errors occur when the in point of the second edit in a dissolve is not the same timecode as the out point of the previous shot.
- Keep Clip Name button
- Enable to overwrite the name of the segment with the name of the relinked clip. Disable to keep the segment name already present in the sequence.
- Convert CDL to Look button
- Enable to create Look Timeline effects for segments with ASC CDL data. When disabled, any ASC CDL data present on a segment is imported as a segment comment, without creating a Look effect.
- Pulldown Removal button
- Enable to remove 2:3 pulldown when loading the EDL. The resulting sequence is @ 23.976 or 24 fps, depending on the setting of the Pulldown Original FCM box.
- Pulldown Original FCM box
- Select the Frame Code Mode that matches the EDL that you are loading. If you are loading multiple EDLs, the same mode is used for all of them.
- Varicam button
- Enable if the EDL is links to material with a Varicam. You must also select a frame rate from the Varicam Frame Rate box.
Jobs
The Jobs tab displays ongoing and completed background processes. Use the Jobs tab to monitor the import and export processes.
- Actions box
- Select from the list an action to perform on the selected job.
When aborting the processing of a file sequence, frames already processed are retained. For example, if the Status column reads 20 of 44 when you click Abort, 20 of the 44 frames of the clip remain. Aborting a streaming file cancels the whole process, there is no partial processing.
Pattern Browsing
Pattern Browsing allows you to define a filesystem structure based on tokens to browse clips in MediaHub. To facilitate browsing, Pattern browsing supports custom tokens. Custom tokens are arbitrary names that resolve to a given value.
- Pattern Browsing button
- Enable to use pattern browsing. This allows you to use tokens to define a file system structure and use it to browse clips in MediaHub.
- Pattern field
- The pattern used to browse in MediaHub. Tokens are identified and bound by curly braces ( { } ).
- Add Token button
- Select a token to insert in the Pattern field. Name, Frame, Version, Track, Polarity, Width, and Height have implicit meanings. Shot Name, Sequence, Artist, and Task are freeform tokens. Use Custom... to add your own tokens to the Pattern field.
Name, Frame, Version, Track, Polarity, Width, and Height are displayed in the