Advanced Details: Reading "Movie" Files

< Previous | Contents | Manuals Home | Boris FX | Next >

Advanced Details: Reading "Movie" Files

Movie files such as AVIs and MOVs present some challenges to the unwary; the following sections provide education to better understand what can be read and how to configure movie reading. Apologies in advance that this topic is so complex, but that is the reality.

When opening movie files for the first time with the latest macOS and Windows schemes, you may encounter substantial delays comparable to the run time of the shot, as the file must be read or even fully decoded to locate the frames in it. This is an unfortunate consequence of the operating-systems vendors being focused on TV- playback applications, not on the frame-accuracy required for post-production.

SynthEyes writes an index file with a ".times"(Win) or ".mtimes"(Mac) extension so that the file will open quickly the following times.

Tip : You may be able to open movie files in SynthEyes that you cannot open in your downstream post-production software. If that is the case, use the image preprocessor to write an image sequence version of the shot, then use Shot/Change Shot Images to switch SynthEyes to use that version also. It will then export the sequence name for the downstream software, rather than the hard-to-read original.

 

©2024 Boris FX, Inc. — UNOFFICIAL — Converted from original PDF.