Import Locators Tool

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If your editorial team is using Avid Media Composer and identifying shots using Markers (commonly referred to as Locators), [RE]DESIGN's Import Locators app keeps your latest editorial changes in sync with ShotGrid. The app helps identify the following common editorial changes:

• New shots (Shot exists in Locators, but not in ShotGrid)
• Reinstated shots (Shot exists in Locators, but is marked "Inactive" in ShotGrid)
• Omitted shots (Shot does not exist in Locators, but is marked "Active" in ShotGrid)
• Reel and Cut Order changes (These values are derived from the Locators' timecode values)

Here's a summary on how to use the Import Locators app:

1. In Avid Media Composer, export out your Locators.
2. Drag the Locator file (or a folder of Locator files) into the app 3. Review the summary report of editorial changes
3. Click "Import" to commit the changes to ShotGrid

Preparing and Exporting Locators

In Avid Media Composer, open the Markers window for your sequence, and ensure each Shot has a marker with the Shot name and a color based on the Shot type:

• Magenta for non-VFX Shots
• Yellow for VFX Shots that are not turned over
• Blue for VFX Shots that are turned over

Note: The app can be configured to allow for different colors and statuses you might need. It will ignore colors it doesn’t recognize.

Tip: The app will automatically try to detect the shot name, even if they have been appended with comments like “1 of 2” or “_bg_01”.

When you’re ready, export them as a tab-delimited text file to the folder of your choice. Repeat this for any other sequences.

Note: Locators should be annotated with Shot names as they appear in ShotGrid, and you should export one Sequence per reel.

Tip: If you’re planning to import multiple files, drag in the folder containing all the files instead.

Reviewing Summary of Editorial Changes

Open ShotGrid Desktop, browse to your project, and click the Import Locators launcher:

Note: You must have ShotGrid Desktop installed. 

Now, drag a single Locator file (or a folder which includes multiple Locator files) onto the app.

Once the Locators are loaded, the app will generate a report on the left-side and update the “Shot Summary” section on the right with details about the changes that will be made when the import completes:

• “Total Shots” shows the total number of unique Shots
• “VFX” shows the total number of unique VFX Shots
• “Non-VFX” shows the total number of unique non-VFX Shots
• “New” shows the total number of Shots that do not yet exist in the ShotGrid project
• “Reinstated” shows the total number of Shots to be imported that have a Cut Status of "Inactive" in ShotGrid
• “Omitted” shows the total number of Shots that have a Cut Status of "Active" in ShotGrid, but are not included in the shots to be imported
• “Repeated” shows the total number of Shots that occur more than once across the Locators “Warnings” shows the total number of issues found across the Locators

Tip: Be sure to check the “Repeated” section carefully, as this can reveal potential issues with the Locators, such as unintentionally using the same Shot name across different Locators. The "Warnings” section can also reveal Shots that may have been named incorrectly.

You can change which reels are used to compare the Shots, with the “Import Context” setting:

“All Shots” compares the information against all shots in the ShotGrid project

“Reel” allows one or more specific reels to be used for comparison (only Shots associated with selected reels will be considered)

“None” allows importing Locators without updating existing Shot information in the ShotGrid project

Tip: The “None” context is useful for doing a partial reel import, for example you just want to update a small section of a reel which is undergoing lots of changes.

Importing Editorial Changes into ShotGrid

When you’re ready to proceed, click the Import button:

The app will then perform the following actions:

1. Create a Cut with linked Cut Items for each Locator

2. Create any new Shots

3. Update the following fields across all Shots:

4. Cut Status

5. Cut Order

6. Reel

7. Non VFX Shot

8. VFX Edit Status

9. Repeated in Cut

Note: The Reel is detected based on the hour timecode, so a 01-hour timecode would correspond to a reel named R1.

You can modify how the importer works under “ShotGrid Import Options”:

• “Reuse Cut If Exists” will attempt to find an existing Cut in the ShotGrid project to update when checked. If it’s unchecked, or if no existing Cut is available, the app will create a new Cut.
• “Create Shots” will allow the app to create new Shots in the ShotGrid project when checked. If it’s unchecked, the app will ignore any new Shots in the import.
• “Template” will use the specified task template when creating new Shots.
• “Update Shot Fields” allows you to check which fields on Shots you want the app to update during import.

FAQ

How is this app different from the Import Cut app?

Because Locators do not contain Cut information regarding where Shots are cutting in and out, the main difference between the two apps is the Import Locators app will not update the Shot's Cut In, Cut Out, and Cut Duration fields, whereas the Import Cut app can. In general, the Import Cut app focuses on "micro" cut changes (e.g., specific to individual Shots), whereas the Avid Locator Importer covers more "macro" changes, from the perspective of the entire movie or reel.

For shots repeated in the cut, how do you update the Shot's Cut Order field?

The app updates the Shot's Cut Order field based on the first time a repeated Shot appears in the Locators. Similarly, if a Shot appears more than once across reels, the app updates the Shot's Reel field based on the first Reel the Shot appears in.

I want to compare my current Locators with a previous set of Locators I imported, is that possible?

No. Currently, the app will only compare the Locators with the Shots currently in ShotGrid.