If you need more context when reviewing a version in Flow Production Tracking Create, you can now enter the Sequential Media View to see the media on either side of the current shot. This view allows you to get insight on continuity issues, hook-ups between shots, and use the surrounding media to make informed decisions while reviewing and giving feedback on a version.

The general workflow is a mode you can enter, where you can load your desired sequential media (e.g. a cut, sequence or other grouping entity) into a multi-clip timeline, which has tools to control what frames are shown and played. There are also filters to control which representations of the media are in the multi-clip timeline, along with per-clip overrides.

Working with sequential media is done in four key areas:

• Multi-clip timeline
• Media selector
• Global filtering menus
• Version override menu

Multi-Clip Timeline

The multi-clip timeline adds the ability to display sequential media as clip thumbnails for each piece of loaded media, while offering methods for controlling what is displayed and played.

Play range: The multi-clip timeline introduces the notion of a playback range, or play range, which enables you to define a range of frames within the timeline to be played and act as the looping region. This is visually indicated with blue brackets on either side of the play range, defining the play range start and play range end. This works with both sequential media—like cuts and sequences—as well as individual versions.

When entering the Sequential Media View, the play range is automatically set to 2 shots before and 2 shots after the origin shot. The play range can be manually modified by hovering over a bracket—which changes the cursor—and then selecting down and scrubbing left or right to shrink or grow the play range, as desired.

Selecting the play range icon toggles between playing only the play range or playing all of the frames.

Isolation: You can also isolate the view of the play range, so only these frames are displayed in the timeline. When entering the Sequential Media View, the play range is automatically isolated, meaning all other frames are out of view.

Selecting the isolation icon toggles between displaying only the play range, or displaying everything.

Media Selection

To load sequential media into the multi-clip timeline, select the pull-down menu in the viewer UI, next to the Compare tool. This option will display all the available sequential media.

The first section of the pull-down menu shows the entity you are grouping by, as defined in the tracking settings menu (which could be a Sequence, Episode, or a custom entity that has been linked and set as the hierarchy). The second section of the pull-down menu displays a list of all the available cuts that include the shot.

Global Filtering Menus

Once a piece of sequential media—say a cut—has been loaded, the name of the loaded context is displayed in the header, along with drop-down filtering menus that allows you to globally change the representation of all the versions in the multi-clip timeline.

You can filter the versions loaded in the multi-clip timeline based on two things: the Pipeline Step and Status of the versions. The pull-down menus for both the Pipeline Step and Status display a list of highlighted available options, and greyed out unavailable ones. Active filters are applied globally across all versions in the timeline.

Version Override Menus

Filtering globally by a single Pipeline Step or Status does not always cover all cases that arise when reviewing a specific version. Constantly changing global filters may force reviewers to remember images while trying to answer questions. Therefore, clip-based overrides can help. By right-clicking on a clip in the multi-clip timeline, a list of available versions is displayed, allowing you to select the specific version you'd like to “pin” in the timeline, overriding the global filters. Pinned versions have a small, grey icon of a pin displayed above the clip in the multi-clip timeline.

You can also follow the same process to “unpin” a version, at which point it will revert back to respecting the global filters, and the grey pin icon will disappear.

To access the sequential media view, first enter the Task View for a shot by clicking on a Task from My Tasks or My Reviews, or from the list of Tasks in a Playlist.

If sequential media related to the loaded Version is available, you’ll see the ‘Cuts’ pull-down menu displayed in the top right of the UI, next to the Compare button.

The first section of the Cuts pull-down menu shows which entity you are grouping by, as defined in the tracking settings menu (which could be a Sequence, Episode, or a custom entity that has been linked and set as the hierarchy). The second section of the pull-down menu displays a list of all available cuts that include the shot. If you haven’t yet imported a cut for your project, visit How to import a Cut here.

Manage what you are viewing in the multi-clip timeline using the tools described in the Overview section above.

To exit the Sequential Media View, with the multi-clip timeline, and return to a single Version timeline, select the X at the far-right of the sequential media header.

The Sequential Media View is suspended when comparing Versions or making a Note on a Version. When you exit Compare, or send your Note, you’ll return to the Sequential Media view.

Working with Playlists

You can also enter the sequential media view while reviewing a playlist.

When entering the Playlist view, the timeline will be populated with the clips in the playlist displayed in the column on the left-hand side (i.e. each shot is independent from the shots around it). So, what you are seeing is not sequential media.

If you want to see the sequential media for a shot, stop on the shot or select the shot on the left-hand side, and access the sequential media view from the Cuts pulldown. Once a piece of sequential media is selected, all the other shots in the playlist will be grey and only the sequential media in the play range will be played back.

If you switch to a different shot, you’ll be taken out of the Sequential Media view, and will have to go through the selection process again when you want to review a shot in the context of sequential media. Even if you return to a shot you previously viewed with sequential media.

Manage what you are viewing in the multi-clip timeline using the tools described in the Overview section above.

To exit the Sequential Media View, with the multi-clip timeline, and return to a single Version timeline, click the X at the far-right of the sequential media header.

The Sequential Media View is suspended when comparing Versions or making a Note on a Version. When you exit Compare, or send your Note, you’ll be returned to the Sequential Media view.