WISH LIST for DS / whatever
Avid want to replace it with
This is a pretty
exhaustive list, gathered from DS users worldwide who use DS for
many different purposes. This list is a good indication of what
users really WANT as opposed to what engineers might choose to GIVE.
It must be read in conjunction with a good knowledge of the current
DS feature set.
GENERAL / METADATA HANDLING
·
Igor volunteers to re-design the DS interface and make something
that does not look like “Dr. Frankenstein’s failed
attempt at combining WinXP, Old DS and MC together”. He thinks
that dark Grey would be nice color for a start.
·
Universal Object View (Like the GOV but “everything”).
This would enable simple retiming of effects inside trees for
instance. It’s actually a HUGE feature that would make an
enormous difference.
· Attic
· Improved Command
Mapping
· 24fps SD
· MC style 'Modify' command
·
Ability to make HD proxies within custom projects
·
Interface to external controllers other than just the MCS 3800
·
Process command available from Avid Explorer (Bin). eg select a
bunch of sequences and select “Process”
ANIMATION
EDITOR
· Automatic highlighting of curves for the
selected effect when multiple effects are displayed.
·
Ability to select multiple curves or slopes and adjust them
together. (UOV might facilitate this)
· Simple one-click
adjustment of keyframe interpolation type (Bezier/linear/constant)
·
Make Metacurve Region only affect selected effects
AUDIO
·
Auto-Crossfade for audio edits (to eliminate non-zero crosspoint
clicks)
· Ability to see audio fader curves in overlay
mode along with the audio waveform, á lá Xpress.
(Maybe in the animation editor?). Or Audio mixing clip based rather
than track based, offering curves in the timeline
·
Ability to save mixer settings and presets
· Ability to
display the audio tracks while working in a container
·
Ability to scale waveforms on the timeline any size you want, any
time you want
· Track mixing information to follow when
those tracks are converted to Audio Container
· Default
behaviour changed for Mono tracks in a Stereo sequence to be routed
Left and Right instead of Left only. Possibly a user option?
COLOR
CORRECTION
· RT Secondary CC
· Curves
animation in the CC
· BIG BALLS. If Avid can't make one,
interface to somebody else's
· Masking/tracking of masks
within the Colour Corrector
COMPOSITING / TREES /
EXPRESSIONS /
· New 3D compositing environment
with, amongst other things, the ability to import and export
commonly used 3D data (such as 3D Max shapes, Monet tracking data
etc). It also needs the ability to use 2D plugins (like T_Glow for
instance, or Primatte) within the 3D environment to individual
3D objects within the scene. This would be unique.
·
Scripting
· Ability to “bake” expressions
(make ‘em, save ‘em, use ‘em again)
·
Represent expression output with a curve in the animation editor
(view only)
· Ability to define curves in expressions
·
Node cloning (for instance, have the output of node “A”
appear in several places within the tree)
· Node builder
(like Macros in Shake)
· Custom parameter node (user
defined parameters with values and sliders to drive expressions).
For example, make a tree to create a picture frame around an image.
With a single expression node with 5 sliders you could control all
the major parameters of that frame – and you’ve achieved
a new effect.
· Composite Node layer order animation
·
De-containerize clips – just throw them onto Video tracks and
discard the tree. Take clip and track effects with them.
·
Pixel Value Sampling node (for use in expression nodes) which
samples values such as Red or Luma for a region. It could just
sample the whole image if the Mask input can be used to define the
region the sampling happens in.
· A simple connection to
'link' all parameters of an effect to another effect. (Instant
Expression of every parameter to every parameter)
·
Optionally Track Effects to follow tracks
when those tracks are “containerized”
CONFORMING
·
Decompose
· Much improved capture list tools, allowing
selection by tape, a "move to top" button etc.
·
Total Conform (yes, total)
EFFECTS
·
Particle Generator. Ideally this would be in the 3D environment, but
even the inclusion of Particle Illusion would be no bad thing.
·
Major improvements to the blue-green screen keyer
· A
“Force RGB Processing” option in YCbCr sequences
·
Better quality DVE on a par with hardware ARCs - Lanczos3 / Mitchell
filtering?
· “Track Level” effect (similar to
deflicker) with the ability to see and adjust the parameters that
are affected. (See Pixel Value Sampling in Compositing section)
·
Effect instancing. Apply many places, tweak all in one. For all
places where effects can exist (clip/track/timeline/tree). This
might be more easily addressed with the “parameter linking”
expression suggestion above.
· Clip/Track/Timeline Effect
bypass hotkey.
· Modifier key to bypass the numeric limits
when "sliding" a number in an effect.
· DVE
concatenation
· Optional ability
to work in Log space for DI workflow. ie do not linearize.
·
“Add all caches to the cache list” function within the
Cache List Browser
GRAPHICS
· Many
improvements required here, these are just some.
· Shape
animation available in the Animation Editor
· Variable
outer softness on graphics shapes. (You don't need variable inner
and outer - think about it)
· B-Splines
·
Expressions in graphics
· Improved EPS import, akin to
Photoshop import. Automatically cut holes in shapes etc. just as if
it was opened in Illustrator. Plus bring it up to current EPS
release.
· Underline
· Alignment Tools additions
to also allow equal spacing between objects vertically or
horizontally
· New controls – “Match Position"
and "Match Size”
· Text – Animations. eg
expressions for text
· Ability to export a vector shape
from a matte shape (e.g. do something else with it inside DS, such
as paste it into a Graphics effect as a shape)
· Motion
Blur
MEDIA I/O (Including DI)
·
Firewire support for both DV and HDV on Nitris
· P2
Support straight from P2 disk
- User definable duration for vtr
to keep rolling between clips during batch capture. Currently
hard-coded at 5 secs.
· Read/interpret Varicam flags
·
Video Routing remembered by Nitris as part of the deck preset.
·
BWF (Broadcast Wav) export
· Define what to do in the
event of a timecode break (make new clip, stop, log and keep
going)
· Ability to batch insert to tape only where media
exists on the timeline.
· Batch Export to file for where
sections exist on the Timeline. Possibly as a render queue where
different output settings can be applied
· Much improved
file import, allowing redirection and correction of aspect ratio
information etc at the time of recapture
· Batch
Capture/Import as an import queue where different input settings can
be applied
· Ability to record from tape without setting
an out. Mark in, digitize away
· Ability to see
progression/evaluation of time for batch captures
·
Ability to pause whilst batch capturing to allow manual searching on
the tape, or to skip individual clip.
· Capture Settings
to persist with the project.
· Link Settings separate from
Capture Settings to enable to you to specify how DS links to media.
The present system causes confusion as some Capture Settings affect
Links, and some don’t.
· Avid File Folders should be
able to split non-consecutive sequences, i.e. sequences of files
with one or more breaks in them, into separate folders, rather than
simply informing you the sequence is broken (the '!' in the icon).
The present system means that an operator must manually define each
file sequence, and import them separately. DS should give the
operator options to import one clip (with breaks), one clip (without
breaks), or multiple clips.
· Capture settings should have
presets that can be saved and loaded in the project
·
Outputting to .dpx files could be simplified by an option in the DPX
dialog box to make the filename the same as the timecode/frame
number the cursor is on (in a similar vein to 'use Timeline
Timecode'). This would mean that, assuming you have put your
sequences in the right position on the timeline, outputting single
frames could be done by a simple ‘Snapshot to File’,
without any risk of finger trouble. Ideally, the operator should be
able to mark frames to output with a locator, then script the output
of these frames, so that all the marked frames on a timeline could
be outputted in one go. The Timeline timecode should also make it
back to the DPX header
· When outputting to Tape or Ref
Movie, a new option – “The Timeline includes unprocessed
effects. Would you like to process these before output?"
·
Enable Nitris to display After Effects images in the broadcast
monitor (like Mojo and Adrenaline)
· Keycode support.
·
3:2 pulldown removal when capturing
MEDIA
MANAGEMENT
· Improved sifting and sorting of
source clips (eg "find all unused clips" or "find
anywhere this take has been used" (More than Reverse
Matchframe)). Perhaps similar to iTunes Clip Sorter
·
Ability to change Master Clips after they've been logged. (eg add
audio tracks, change DF/NDF etc) Basically bring over all of the MC
Modify Bin commands.
· Source Side Audio to remember
volume settings when pasted onto timeline
· Multiple Tape
Archive
· Multiple Format Archive
· Print Bin
·
Explorer Thumbnails should be playable and interactively re-sizable,
and should remember their position
· ALL Explorer windows
to remember size, position and options
·
Match tool that works on an open bin in whatever listing view is
current
· Ability to recapture a clip that has media. DS
should give the option to "Delete and Recapture?”
·
Optionally recapture a clip and have the
new clip propagate to all instances on the timeline.
· A
Unity-type environment that really works well with DS allowing
collaborative working with other DSs and the rest of the Avid family
of products.
· Ability to see Sequence Length from the
Avid Explorer (Bin) window
· Ability to see effects in the
MediaTool with all sort of nifty and ground breaking tools like
delete, copy, replace of instance, etc
· Sequence tree
view should also show the contents of the SED, be editable and show
effects.
· Restore the ability (pre v5?) to easily open a
sequence as a source in the Avid Explorer (without having to add the
name of the sequence to the path). And have this view show the
effects used in the sequence.
METADATA
IMPORT/EXPORT
· AVX2 support
· OMF
export fixed to not give 6Gb files for a 30 sec cut!
· OMF
export data on par with Media Composer (transition support).
·
OMF import fixed so that it just works 100% of the time
·
AAF with Media support
· Export of AFE/AAF
·
Import and Export of After Effects/Combustion composition data
·
Import and Export of Monet/3D (etc) tracker data
·
Outsource Container for multiple-pass layers
PLUGIN
SUPPORT
· OFX support
· AVX2
support
SOURCE SIDE EFFECTS
·
Options to “Convert SSE to Clip Effect for just this clip”
and/or “Just change this effect for this clip”. Another
approach would be a simple marker-based division of effects, so that
you could for instance use a source-side color corrector more like a
telecine/traditional CC. You would chop up your material by dropping
in marks, and then park in between any two marks and set your color
correction for that segment
· Ability to use Source Side
Effects to color code clips in timeline
TIMELINE
·
Improved handling of longform edits on the Timeline
·
Composite (transfer) modes for video tracks directly in the
timeline
TRACKING
· Planar Tracker
(á lá Monét)
· Improvements to the
standard tracker
· Tracking info that is savable,
recallable wherever it would be useable
· Tracker Effect
with unlimited tracking points that simply track.. Connect it to
DVEs and/or other effects subsequently.
· Give the option
to average multiple points before applying elsewhere.
VIEWER
·
More user control of viewer grids, safe areas, etc.
· Make
viewer grids etc available on the client
monitor/output
Revised: May 17, 2007 3:21
pm