One of my highest hopes for the new 'we've changed everything' Smoke was having XML export as an option along with the excellent XML import capability. Unfortunately it seems this will not be happening. Which got me to thinking about why that must be.
One of Smokes great strengths as a finishing tool is that it's based on a Framestore architecture for its media, even though it now allows and references native media, anytime it processes something it does so to an image sequence. Whether that be a series of dpx or a series of single frame prores qts, as is now supported.
I was amazed to see this with my own eyes at NAB, but sure enough within its folder structure Smoke creates a series of 1 frame MOVs when using prores as an intermediary codec.
This is actually one of the strengths of Smoke, so when you change a few frames of a clip, it just replace literally those frames. It doesn't have to keep a render scratch with a bunch of discarded frames in a container file. It's very efficient.
But this is also why fcp7 XML out could hardly work. While smoke is built around handling image sequences, FCP is not... And FCP7 XML is particularly not. If you managed to get an image sequence imported natively in fcp, something which is a feat onto itself, and you exported out an XML, you see that every single frame is a unique media event. It doesn't recognize the sequential relationship of the media. It just sees a bunch of stills.
This would be nearly useless for going to DaVinci Resolve for example. Each frame would be treated as a clip, it would be a nightmare to grade. But Resolve itself is all too happy to work with image sequences. As is After Effects or Nuke, or many other apps I'm anxious to be able to get in and out of with smoke projects.
One thing I've learned watching the Resolve software develop is how anxious and eager they are to support any NLE that wil let them. So the answer here could be simple... rather than try to twists Smoke media handeling to suit an FCP7 XML export (as Adobe has done with Premiere & 3rd party tools allow with Avid) why not just create a Smoke XML schema? I'd call it SMAXML! Build it however you'd need, so that it could reference Framestore media as well native container files. Put additional metadata in about how the media is handled. Maybe some information about how effects and transforms are applied. But mostly, give us the ability to create something resembling our sequence in other apps, and then give us a way to refresh our sequence on the way back.
Autodesk doesn't have to find a way to export fcp7 XML, they can roll their own. Just make it open and watch all the 3rd parties come out of the woodwork to support you. It would open up many other potential uses, software like predit, plural eyes, Boris soundbite would have a much easier time getting media and metadata into and out of smoke.
Just a thought.
Online Editor | Colorist | Post Super | VFX Artist | BD Author
http://JuanSalvo.com
