- Posts: 16
- Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2021 12:29 am
- Real Name: Kon Ray
We've been trying to setup a collaboration with a remote editor via BM Cloud Storage. Unfortunately, after almost two weeks of comprehensive testing, we’re ready to give up as it all seems to be too buggy at this stage. I get that Cloud Storage is still in beta, so I’m leaving the results of our test here with hopes Blackmagic might take them into consideration.
The workflow we tried to achieve:
1. Each project consists of two folders: Assets and Footage. The Assets folder contains MP3 and JPG files, and the Footage folder contains video clips.
2. I create a new project in the Cloud Library enabling “Allow Multiple Simultaneous Users“ and “Sync Proxies Only”.
3. Then I add both folders to the project. The proxies start to generate automatically and sync to the Cloud Storage. The Assets folder also syncs automatically.
4. Remote editor does their job. They might also add extra assets to the Assets folder, which automatically syncs back to us.
5. Once the editing is completed, I render the final video.
6. One month after the project was completed, I delete the footage from the Cloud Storage website to free up space for new projects.
The issues we have encountered:
1. It’s not possible to create a new project in Cloud Library without Cloud Storage integration.
Not all of our projects will be edited by remote editors, most of them will be done by in-house editors, but we still collaborate via Cloud Library with footage being stored on NAS. So it’s a waste of time to specify the Cloud Storage settings for each project when we use it in 5% of cases. Also, enabling the “Don’t sync media” option in the project settings still creates folders for each project in the Cloud Storage, which is an unmanageable mess.
Proposed solution:
Disable the Cloud Storage integration for all cloud projects by default. Remove settings related to Cloud Storage from the “New Project”, “Copy Project” and “Save Project As” dialog boxes. Keep all settings related to Blackmagic Cloud in the project settings.
2. It's not possible to delete top-level (project) folders on the Cloud Storage website.
Since many empty folders have been created in our Cloud Storage account due to the previous issue, we attempted to delete them. Unfortunately, the delete button doesn't appear for the top-level folders, making it impossible to delete them.
Proposed solution:
Ensure the proper display of the delete button for all folders on the Cloud Storage website.
3. Deleting files from the Cloud Storage website results in their deletion from the hard drives on all machines.
I'm not entirely sure how it's supposed to function, but we were planning to use Cloud Storage for ongoing projects only. When a project is completed, all related footage will be deleted from the Cloud Storage website to free up space for new projects. All footage on our hard drives has to remain intact.
Proposed solution:
Develop a straightforward way to free up Cloud Storage space without deleting files from hard drives.
4. Permissions Issue.
Remote editors can delete files from the Cloud Storage website, which will be automatically removed from all machines.
Proposed solution:
Implement user permission management for Cloud Storage. Take Google Drive as an example. When we share a folder in Google Drive we can choose the following roles:
- Contributor - can add and edit their files.
- Content manager - can add, edit, move and delete files.
- Manager - admin access.
5. No recycle bin on the Cloud Storage website.
Since Cloud Storage doesn’t have a recycle bin, it’s not possible to restore accidentally or maliciously deleted files.
Proposed solution:
Implement a recycle bin with only the admin having access to restore or permanently delete files.
6. No folder size is displayed on the Cloud Storage website.
Since the size column only contains values for files and folders lack size values, it's unclear which folders are empty.
Proposed solution:
Display the size values for folders.
7. Paste Project dialog doesn’t have the project name field.
Since we use project templates for almost every project, we often start with a Copy & Paste of an existing project. Unfortunately, the Paste Project dialog doesn’t have the name field. As a result, it automatically creates the “Project_Name (Copy)” folder where it places “.syncprojectinfo.json” file. Renaming the project in the Cloud Library doesn’t rename the folder on the hard drive, which creates a mess and unnecessarily complicates file management.
Proposed solution:
An ideal solution would be to remove Cloud Storage settings from the project creation dialogs as described in Issue #1. In the meantime adding the project name field to the Paste Project dialog can mitigate this issue.
8. Reuse Project Folder Issue.
If you attempt to create a project in the Cloud Library after creating the project folder on the hard drive first, you will be prompted with “Reuse Project Folder” warning. Naturally, we’d like to reuse it as we always prepare a folder with all footage and assets before creating a project. Unfortunately, clicking the “Reuse” button creates a new folder on the hard drive with the same name and adds the number “2” at the end. It happens in 50% of cases. Sometimes it adds “.syncprojectinfo.json” file into the existing folder which is the preferred behaviour.
Proposed solution:
Ensure clicking the “Reuse” button always reuses the chosen folder instead of creating a new one.
9. Davinci Resolve can’t resync files from Cloud Storage.
In case a remote editor accidentally deletes some files from a project folder on their hard drive, the Blackmagic Cloud Sync menu will still show that all files are in sync. Pausing and resuming the sync has no effect. So the only way to restore those files is to open the Cloud Storage website, download each missing file individually and place them into the project folder on the hard drive. This seems like a lot of work for something that can be done automatically.
Proposed solution:
Automatically resync files from Cloud Storage at the start of the project, or at least add a button to the Blackmagic Cloud Sync menu to manually force a resync.
If you have any other issues we have missed or know of any workarounds for the issues I have mentioned, feel free to leave a comment.
The workflow we tried to achieve:
1. Each project consists of two folders: Assets and Footage. The Assets folder contains MP3 and JPG files, and the Footage folder contains video clips.
2. I create a new project in the Cloud Library enabling “Allow Multiple Simultaneous Users“ and “Sync Proxies Only”.
3. Then I add both folders to the project. The proxies start to generate automatically and sync to the Cloud Storage. The Assets folder also syncs automatically.
4. Remote editor does their job. They might also add extra assets to the Assets folder, which automatically syncs back to us.
5. Once the editing is completed, I render the final video.
6. One month after the project was completed, I delete the footage from the Cloud Storage website to free up space for new projects.
The issues we have encountered:
1. It’s not possible to create a new project in Cloud Library without Cloud Storage integration.
Not all of our projects will be edited by remote editors, most of them will be done by in-house editors, but we still collaborate via Cloud Library with footage being stored on NAS. So it’s a waste of time to specify the Cloud Storage settings for each project when we use it in 5% of cases. Also, enabling the “Don’t sync media” option in the project settings still creates folders for each project in the Cloud Storage, which is an unmanageable mess.
Proposed solution:
Disable the Cloud Storage integration for all cloud projects by default. Remove settings related to Cloud Storage from the “New Project”, “Copy Project” and “Save Project As” dialog boxes. Keep all settings related to Blackmagic Cloud in the project settings.
2. It's not possible to delete top-level (project) folders on the Cloud Storage website.
Since many empty folders have been created in our Cloud Storage account due to the previous issue, we attempted to delete them. Unfortunately, the delete button doesn't appear for the top-level folders, making it impossible to delete them.
Proposed solution:
Ensure the proper display of the delete button for all folders on the Cloud Storage website.
3. Deleting files from the Cloud Storage website results in their deletion from the hard drives on all machines.
I'm not entirely sure how it's supposed to function, but we were planning to use Cloud Storage for ongoing projects only. When a project is completed, all related footage will be deleted from the Cloud Storage website to free up space for new projects. All footage on our hard drives has to remain intact.
Proposed solution:
Develop a straightforward way to free up Cloud Storage space without deleting files from hard drives.
4. Permissions Issue.
Remote editors can delete files from the Cloud Storage website, which will be automatically removed from all machines.
Proposed solution:
Implement user permission management for Cloud Storage. Take Google Drive as an example. When we share a folder in Google Drive we can choose the following roles:
- Contributor - can add and edit their files.
- Content manager - can add, edit, move and delete files.
- Manager - admin access.
5. No recycle bin on the Cloud Storage website.
Since Cloud Storage doesn’t have a recycle bin, it’s not possible to restore accidentally or maliciously deleted files.
Proposed solution:
Implement a recycle bin with only the admin having access to restore or permanently delete files.
6. No folder size is displayed on the Cloud Storage website.
Since the size column only contains values for files and folders lack size values, it's unclear which folders are empty.
Proposed solution:
Display the size values for folders.
7. Paste Project dialog doesn’t have the project name field.
Since we use project templates for almost every project, we often start with a Copy & Paste of an existing project. Unfortunately, the Paste Project dialog doesn’t have the name field. As a result, it automatically creates the “Project_Name (Copy)” folder where it places “.syncprojectinfo.json” file. Renaming the project in the Cloud Library doesn’t rename the folder on the hard drive, which creates a mess and unnecessarily complicates file management.
Proposed solution:
An ideal solution would be to remove Cloud Storage settings from the project creation dialogs as described in Issue #1. In the meantime adding the project name field to the Paste Project dialog can mitigate this issue.
8. Reuse Project Folder Issue.
If you attempt to create a project in the Cloud Library after creating the project folder on the hard drive first, you will be prompted with “Reuse Project Folder” warning. Naturally, we’d like to reuse it as we always prepare a folder with all footage and assets before creating a project. Unfortunately, clicking the “Reuse” button creates a new folder on the hard drive with the same name and adds the number “2” at the end. It happens in 50% of cases. Sometimes it adds “.syncprojectinfo.json” file into the existing folder which is the preferred behaviour.
Proposed solution:
Ensure clicking the “Reuse” button always reuses the chosen folder instead of creating a new one.
9. Davinci Resolve can’t resync files from Cloud Storage.
In case a remote editor accidentally deletes some files from a project folder on their hard drive, the Blackmagic Cloud Sync menu will still show that all files are in sync. Pausing and resuming the sync has no effect. So the only way to restore those files is to open the Cloud Storage website, download each missing file individually and place them into the project folder on the hard drive. This seems like a lot of work for something that can be done automatically.
Proposed solution:
Automatically resync files from Cloud Storage at the start of the project, or at least add a button to the Blackmagic Cloud Sync menu to manually force a resync.
If you have any other issues we have missed or know of any workarounds for the issues I have mentioned, feel free to leave a comment.