Image sequences and spanned media

Some media is useful only as a set of files. A folder of numbered EXR frames is one shot, and a long camera recording may be split across several files. An application using PostProject can keep each set as one representation instead of making every file look like unrelated media.

For an image sequence, PostProject remembers the filename pattern, first and last frame, frame spacing, number padding, playback rate, and any gaps already known at import. It does not need to create a separate database object for every frame.

Availability describes whether the complete representation can be used:

  • Online means every required member is currently present.

  • Partial means some required members are present and others are missing.

  • Offline means no required content can currently be reached.

  • Ambiguous means several plausible replacements need a person to choose.

  • Error means the check could not finish safely, with an explanation.

For a sequence, a partial result includes the missing frame numbers. The application decides whether to stop, hold another frame, show black, or use a different policy; PostProject reports the facts and does not silently choose a playback workaround.

Spanned recordings preserve the order of their parts. Package-like media can also include named members such as essence, metadata, indexes, sidecars, or thumbnails. A missing required member affects availability. A missing optional member is still reported but does not make otherwise usable media partial.

Moving the folder or files changes their storage locators, not the identity of the asset or representation. Stored content evidence can help an application find the moved media. If several candidates are equally credible, the application should show them and ask for an explicit confirmation.

The CLI recognizes numbered EXR, DPX, TIFF, and TIF groups, numbered MOV, MXF, MP4, and MTS spans, same-stem XML/XMP/JSON sidecars, and the checked AVCHD card layout. Sequence rates cannot be inferred safely from filenames, so they remain explicit:

postproject media add production.pproj renders/shot010 --sequence-rate 24000/1001
postproject media add production.pproj /Volumes/CARD
postproject media add production.pproj clip.mov --recognize-companions

When a directory contains several unrelated numbered groups, recognition returns ambiguity instead of choosing one. Move a known sequence beneath a mapped media root and normal resolution searches for its directory as one resource; confirmation persists the new directory locator.