CONSOLIDATION
• Used for copying and moving media
• Located in the Clip Menu
• Can consolidate master clips, sequences and subclips
CONSOLIDATE/TRANSCODE/DECOMPOSING A SEQUENCE
• In the Clip Menu
• It moves media files from one drive to another (copies files)
• Anytime I Consolidate or Decompose a sequence, make sure I duplicate my sequence and put it into it’s own Bin
• Select the Sequence and go to Clip – Consolidate. Add a handle and check Create New Sequence
• My new Bin will now have a new sequence and new clips
CONSOLIDATING A MASTER CLIP
MASTER CLIPS- The media for a master clip can be copied to a different drive or partition and the original media deleted. To do this, select Delete original media files when done in the Consolidate Window. When this is done, the original clip is automatically scattered over several partitions. Select a drive or drives
• You can also copy media files associated with a master clip and retain the original media. In this case, deselect Delete original media files when done and a new master clip will be made to go with the new media. (If the new clip is to be associated with the new media, the new clip has a .new extension to the name.
CONSOLIDATING A SEQUENCE
• Used for deleting media not used in a sequence by copying just the parts required and clearing the rest.
• It is IMPORTANT to DUPLICATE the sequence before consolidating. In case there is any possibility of going back and redigitizing the original clips, retain a copy of the unconsolidated sequence, which is linked to the master clips
TO CONDOLIDATE:
• Select the duplicated sequence in its bin and choose Clip – Consolidate
• Good idea to add handles to the new clips
• Choose a drive or drives (click and shift + click) from the list available
• You may have to split the sequence into 2 hard drives (depending on drive space). If you do this, then DO NOT select the Delete Original Media when done option, if any material appears in both parts of the program. Wait until everything is consolidated and then delete the original media.
CONSOLIDATING SUBCLIPS
• A great time saver if you’ve digitized long master clips with short sections of good material you use. Ie. if you digitize a whole tape and make the final selection on the computer. When finished, the system will have new master clips based on subclips that were consolidated.
o Load your source clip and make subclips of what you want to use (you don’t have to name them now if you don’t want to). Select all the subclips and choose Consolidate. Choose handles if you feel you need them.
o Choose a media volume for the new media files and choose OK
o The new media will be created by copying the old media so that you need a volume with enough space.
o The original media files can be deleted automatically at the end of the process or you can do this later..
• When the Consolidation is finished, each original subclip will now have:
o A new master clip the length of the subclip plus the handles
o A new subclip linked to the new master clip
The simplest thing to do now is to delete all the subclips and the original master clip and media, leaving a number of new master clips in the bin that reflect your choice of material. These clips can now be renamed if you didn’t name them when you made the subclips. It is best to do this before editing any clips concerned.
CONSOLIDATING - Used in 2 ways
Way #1 - When a project is done, and i want to get rid of all the media that I didn't use so I can free up drive space, I will copy it over to another folder either on the same drive or another one with just the stuff used in the final timeline/sequence with some handles.
In the Bin, I will click on the sequence and go to Bin - Consolidate/Transcode and make sure Consolidate is checked and then choose which drive I want to copy the media over to. Make sure Create New Sequence is checked with a Handle amount entered it and also check Skip media files already on the target drive and also check Relink selected clips to target drive before skipping. Then click on the Consolidate button. When it's done I can go back to the Media Tool and delete all the media that's not being used. Don't have automated functions delete my media for me.
When it's done the bin will show new clips made for me on the new drive I selected. My new master clips are now connected to my new sequence.
Way #2 - When I need to copy and move my clips to another drive for someone else to have or use or because I want to delete the clips from my first drive and be able to relink them to the new drive I'm coping them to.
In the Bin select the clips that I want to move and go to Bin - Consolidate (some of the choices are different than selecting on a sequence, such as no handles). Select the drive I want it to go to, check Create new sequences and Skip media files already on the target drive and click on Consolidate. A window will open asking me if I want to continue to work with these Master Clips or do I want the master clips to be linked to the media on the Target Drive. If I'm going to put this drive away or deleting the media than I'll want the clips to be linked to the media on the target drive.
LINKING - there's a master clip and there's the media which are 2 different things. The master clip is a bunch of data about the tape and start time and what not and the media is a much bigger file. The two are linked together and sometimes they break and I may want them to reconnect to other media.
If I'm going to delete my original media and I want to eventually be linked to the other drive I'm copying it to, in the pop up window chose Master clips are relinked to media on target drive and click ok.
TRANSCODING
This allows me to copy the media and change the resolution. If I'm working on a 24P project and my harddrive is getting filled up I can work with a more compressed resolution at 28:1 and then throw away the DV footage and work at the 28:1 and when I'm done I can recapture the DV footage at full quality and then go out to tape.
If I'm working on a 30 frame project I could use a 15:1 choice or if I have the Avid Mojo I could work at Uncompressed 1:1 footage which will take up a lot of space so I may want to copy everything at 1:1 and then Transcode to a compressed resolution such as DV25 and then take the DV25 on a laptop or take home and work that way and then bring the bins back and link it up and then work at 1:1 finishing up the project.
I can use the Consolidate command with master clips to create backup copies of important media files or duplicate a master clip and its media files for use by another person. For example, I need to copy audio media files to send the audio to another system for mixing, but I would also need to retain it for my use.
TO CONSOLIDATE OR COPY MEDIA:
1. Open a bin and select the master clips whose media files I want to consolidate
2. Choose Clip – Consolidate/Transcode
3. Deselect “Delete original media files when done” because I’m only copying the files and I don’t want to delete them
4. Deslect “Skip media files already on target drive” because I want to make copies even if some of my files are already on the target disk
5. If I want to consolidate audio and video to separate drives, deselect the video and audio on the same drive(s) check box
6. (Option) Select Do Audio Sample Rate Conversion
7. Select a target disk from the Target Drive(s) window. You can create a drive cue by Shift-clicking multiple drives
a. The system will alert me if the disk doesn’t have enough storage space
8. Click Consolidate. A dialog box will appear. When I copy media, an additional master clip is created for each media file. This ensures that all media has an associated master clip in a bin.
9. Select one of the options in the Copying Media Files dialog box and click OK
RELINK the consolidated master clips to the original media files or to the newly created copies of the media files. (My choice depends on which clips I prefer to have an extension). Both choices allow me to create a backup of the master clips and their media files on a separate disk.
If I choose “Master clips remain linked to media on original drive”:
• The system creates mew master clips (with the .new extension) which point to the new consolidated media files on the target disk
• The original clips (no extension) point to the original media files on the original disk (this option creates a backup of the master clips and their media files on a separate disk)
If I choose “Master clips are relinked to media on target drive”:
• The system creates new master clips and appends .old to the clip names. These clips point to the original media files.
• The original clips (those without the .old extension) point to the new consolidated media files on the target disk I chose in the previous dialog box.