Share
 
 

Using the Media Panel

Displaying and Hiding the Media Panel

The Media panel is available for display at all times unless viewing a clip in Full Screen mode. The panel can be displayed on the left or right of the screen depending on the setting in General Preferences.

Note: If the Media panel is currently hidden, press Shift+Esc to redisplay it. In the Media panel View Mode box, you can select to display full height or width, or hide the Media panel.

Tiles and List View

The Media panel can be set to display clips in one of two modes using the View Mode box:

List View
The List view provides detailed information about each clip in the Media panel, including file location and creation date. Widen the Media panel to show more information or extend to full-width by pressing Shift + ~.
Tiles View
The Tiles view makes it easier to visually identify clips when working in Batch, identifying clips in Conform, or loading the right clip from a library to a reel. The thumbnails can be resized using the Size field. Clips can be freely dragged and sorted in Tiles view.

Tips:

  • Use Ctrl + Space + Up to enlarge the thumbnail size.
  • Use Ctrl + Space + Down to reduce the thumbnail size.
Tip: Alt + click a clip to display extended clip information.

Tab Navigation

The top of the Media panel displays a number of tabs. Click a tab to focus on a specific area of interest in the Media panel.

All
Displays all areas of the Media panel: Desktop, Libraries, and Batch.
Desktop
Displays each instance of Batch, along with their schematic reels, shelves, and iterations.
Note: While Flame Assist does not have an explicit Reels view on the Desktop, it nonetheless maintains the Reels structure from material imported from Flame, in the Media panel.
Libraries
Displays only the Libraries and Shared Libraries folders.
Batch
Displays only the currently-active Batch, along with its schematic reels, Batch shelf, and iterations.
Conform
Only available while working in Conform, replacing the Batch tab described above. Displays only media available for the conform, filtered by match criteria.
BFX
Only available while working in Batch FX, replacing the Batch tab described above. Displays only media used in Batch FX.

Dual Panel View

Use Dual Panel View to manage clips, folders, reels, libraries. Dual Panel View allows the display of different areas of the same Workspace, making it easy to move material around.

To display the Media panel in dual view:

  1. Set the Media Panel button to Full Width (Shift+~).
  2. Click Dual Panel View to display two instances of the Media panel.

Dragging Clips into the Media Panel

Drag and drop clips from libraries into different areas of the Media panel to perform operations on working copies while leaving the originals intact:

  • Drag clips to reels and edit directly in the Viewing panel using a mouse or tablet. For more information, see Gestural Editing on the Desktop.
  • Drag clips to the schematic reels in Batch groups to apply procedural effects. For more information, see Procedural Compositing with Batch and ConnectFX.
  • Drag clips to shared libraries to make them available to other applications and workstations on the network.

Sorting Clips and Sequences in the Media Panel

Whether in Tiles or List view, use the Tree: (name and creation date) and Clip: (many clip sorting criteria) sorting options at the top of the Media panel to sort the complete hierarchy. Right-click either option to select sorting criteria.
You can also apply a localised sort to any object of the Media panel using the Localised Sort option in the right-click contextual menu.
  • The Media panel sorting options available at the top of the Media panel applies to all entries that are not under a localised sort.
  • In the Media panel, an icon appears next to the container to indicate that a localised sort is being applied. You can click on the icon to cycle through Ascending, Descending, or Not Sorted. Alt-click the icon to clear the localised sort.

Assigning Colours

Assign custom colours to Batches, reels, folders and libraries to further organize material and enhance workflow in the Media panel. To do this, right-click a target, select Colour, and choose from the provided options.

Searching in the Media Panel

To perform a simple name search, enter text in the field at the bottom of the Media panel and press Enter. A Name Search Results area appears near the bottom of the Media panel to display the search results.
If you need a more advanced Media panel search, click the magnifying glass icon to open the Find in Media Panel window.

Here are some tips for advanced searches:

  • Many options are available in the first criteria box, such as Name, Resolution, Tape, and Comment. Other criteria is displayed to further refine your search, depending on the selection in this box.
  • Click Get Information From Selected Clip to fill the current search field with the information from the currently selected clip.
  • Click Search Closed Libraries to also search the contents of closed Libraries and Batch Groups.
    • A Library or Batch Group remains closed if the Advanced Search cannot find any match.
    • A Library or Batch Group is opened if the Advanced Search finds a match.
  • The contents of a Batch Group's Iterations folders are searched even if they are hidden in the Media panel.

Objects With the Same Name

If you add a clip or container to a location where another identically named item already exists, you are presented with options to either cancel, add, rename, or replace. You can also choose to apply your selection to all the selected items at once.

Select: To:
Cancel Cancel the operation (not available for clips).
Add Add the entry without changing its name. You end up with more than one entry with the same name.
Rename Rename the newly added item.
Replace Overwrite the existing item in the destination.
Tip: There is a Duplicate Name Check preference in Preferences > General > Media Panel where you can decide if you want to get this message for clip, containers, both, or neither. By default, it is set to both.

Tips for Working with the Media Panel

  • Dragging a clip from a library to Batch Group entry within the Media panel creates a new reel with the clip name.
  • Drag a library or a library folder to a reel to copy all of its contents onto the reel.
  • Drag a reel from the Desktop area to a library to make a copy.
  • After deleting an element from the Media Panel, the current Source clip is no longer selected. Instead, a sibling of the deleted element is selected. In the case where there is no sibling left, the parent container is selected.

Reels and Folders in Libraries

Reels and folders can be created directly in a library to help organize materials. They can contain only clips. Reels and folders can be opened, closed, moved or deleted.

A Reel group is identical to a Batch group on the Desktop, and can contain only reels.

To restore a reel from a library, do one of the following:

  1. Drag and drop the reel on the Reels header to add it to the list of reels.
  2. Drag and drop the reel on top of another reel to add the contents of the dropped reel.
  3. Drag and drop the reel from the library on top of the reels displayed in the Desktop Reels view.
Note: In all cases, the reel remains in the library.

Was this information helpful?