This IS the Avid L2: Re: Re: [Avid-L2] [FR] Source Use Identification + Match Frame Enhancement

Perhaps there is something about the macro they were using that contributed to the issue. I don't build the multigroups but I try to be aware of the process enough to help trouble shoot if I can. The way it was explained to me was that unless you manually entered the aux time code adding the appropriate ";" or ":" to match the sequence/base time code where they layered all the camera it would assume the aux time code was of a time code base matching what the clips native time code base was and if it didn't match the base time code the time code value was recalculated in a drop to non drop or vice versa manner. Perhaps there was something about the macro that caused the problem. Having not built the macro or spent any quality time multi grouping I took the AE who had a researched a solution to have found the answer. Perhaps I misinterpreted what he said but the bottom line was he found doing it manually and I assume not copying and pasting was the secret sauce he had found. I will see if he can clarify this for me when I see him again.

The one thing that I know for sure is our regular groupers could not use their macro short cuts unless all the clips had the same time code base. Hence the reason they modified the time code of the clips that didn't match the base time code. What I understood happened was for a few days the house time code generator was set to drop frame and all the tape cameras were set to non drop, which is what they all should have been set to. As a result of the mis match the audio recording to a digital audio workstation had drop frame code as did the file based Pelco cameras that were recorded on KiPro units. I think they modified the audio and pelco time code to match the non drop tape cameras. This allowed them to multigroup with the quick keys short cuts. Perhaps without modifying the offending drop frame time code elements the macros generated an error or as I previously said there was a recalculation that made multi grouping by aux time code inaccurate. I'll see if I can get clarification on this.

---In Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com, <namyrb@...> wrote :

I just tried it. It takes the TC base of whatever field you've copied it from (or at the very least, the mark in column). The last show I worked on had a problem camera that switched from Drop to nondrop back to drop after every other clip or so. It made it a pain to sync our autosequences, but adding aux TC was easy because we were copying the TC from our sequence's mark in column.

On Mon, Sep 8, 2014 at 8:07 PM, bigfish@... [Avid-L2] <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Trust me it does matter when they are not the same time code base. When entering aux time code Avid defaults to that being the same time code base as the clip. When there is a mismatch and say the camera is non drop but the audio stems came in drop frame then the sequence time code that would be drop frame goes into the aux time code recalculated to non drop and the multigroup gets messed up. However one of our more robust AEs took the time to troubleshoot and found if you typed in the aux time code and manually hit the ";" or ":" to tell Avid what the aux time code needed to be then it would multigroup properly based on aux time code. The other AEs didn't bother as they only wanted to use their macro they had inherited so they went and modified the time code base of the audio and the file cameras to non drop. Come online time it was a bit of a time suck but they managed it for the few days that were messed up.

---In Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com, <namyrb@...> wrote :

If you're getting the TC from your sequence's Mark In then it shouldn't matter.

On Mon, Sep 8, 2014 at 6:33 PM, bigfish@... [Avid-L2] <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Many of our AEs use the quick keys macros for subclipping to make multigroups. Unfortunately many just use them by rout and don't really understand what's going on. One issue the macros don't handle is when your base timecode, usually from the audio stems is not the same time code base as the cameras are. We shoot non drop on our reality series but for a few seasons production has f'd up the first few days of shooting and they have a mismatch of drop vs. nondrop. If you manually enter the ";" or ":" to indicate the time code type for the aux time code Avid will handle a mismatch. When using the quick keys macro their is no provision to manually add the ";" or ":" as needed. At this point our AEs decide to modify source time code so they all match. Needless to say this creates problems down the line so while the Quick key macro is powerful it helps to really know what it's doing so you can resort to manual methods when needed. I've been burned by this and I'm still healing. ;-)