The Locking Off Method
For Avid Media Composer, a great way for sharing workspaces without confusing involves “locking” media in a folder and then naming the folder.
A Word About Avid’s Media Management System
Love it or hate it (I refuse to get into another Avid vs Premiere vs FCP argument), Avid has a very specific way of organising its media, which really hasn’t changed that much since the company first started producing NLEs in the early '90s.
The system involves creating individual proxies for each piece of media that the NLE works with and storing them in a folder on the hard drive or shared network space. The path for these files is always Avid MediaFiles/MXF. There is a slight difference in how Avid works on a shared network or NEXIS, but in general, it creates a folder once every couple of thousand files and names them 1, 2, 3, etc.
Each time that you create a new file in Avid, a proxy of that file is created (and wrapped, using a file format known as .mxf) into the Avid MediaFiles/MXF/1 folder. There are two files inside the 1 folder that tell the Avid what is in the folder. They are known as the media database files. Once the 1 folder is full, it is updated to 2, and the process starts again. This makes it very easy for the Avid to understand what files it has at its disposal because all it has to do is check the media databases in a very specific location on each hard drive.
The Locking off Method
The locking off method takes advantage of the Avid’s sturdy file management system but also allows you to be more organised in your file management.
It is always good housekeeping to have separate patricians for the different types of media that you have. Rushes, Music and Renders should, ideally, be kept on separate patricians on your hard drive or shared network.
When you wish to share the next iteration of media from any of these patricians, the editor or assistant just needs to change the name of the 1 folder into something else. A good rule of thumb is to include the name of the production, the date and the person who’s media it is (I also like to make sure that the folders are alphabetical). Once the folder has been renamed, this essentially locks the contents of that folder in place.