File renaming on offload

Some camera types come with file naming mechanisms that can result in same filenames on different cards. It can be hard to manage these clips with identical filenames.

Silverstack has an option to rename files of selected camera devices by applying a renaming pattern during the offloading process. Using this feature leads to consistent naming of files on your offload destinations and consistent clip and reel names in Silverstack’s library and reports throughout the project.

How to use file renaming on offload

1. Set a name for the card that you are offloading. This name will be used:
   • as bin name in Silverstack’s library
   • as reel name in the clips’ metadata
   • as part of the new filenames
   • Optional: as part of your offload destination path (see KB: Offload Clips → Setting up the copy destinations)
2. Select a pattern to create new filenames. The new filenames will be used:
   • as clip names in Silverstack’s library and in reports
   • as filenames in all offload destinations
3. Optional: Save your offload settings in a template
4. Start Offload

Note: If necessary, the original filename of a clip can still be found in the right side bar (File tab → Source). 

Predefined Patterns

You can choose one of the following patterns to apply new filenames to your offload:

• Original Filename (no changes to original filenames, feature deactivated)
• [BinName]_[0000]_[BaseName]
• [BinName]_C[000]_[BaseName]
• [BinName]_[BaseName]_[ShootingDate]
• [BinName]_[0000]_[BaseName]_[ShootingDate]
• [BinName]_C[000]_[BaseName]_[ShootingDate]

These placeholders will be translated into the new filenames:

• [0000]: File index counter with 4 digits (guarantees unique filenames if source holds files with same name in multiple folders)
• C[000]: File index counter with 3 digits and “C”-prefix
• [BaseName]: Original filename without extension
• [BinName]: Card name as specified in wizard
• [ShootingDate]: From clip metadata in format yyyy-mm-dd

When selecting a pattern that includes a file index counter, you have the option to sort clips by name, timecode or creation date to make sure the counter reflects the shooting order of your clips.

Supported Cameras and File Formats

Silverstack automatically tries to identify the camera format of the files before offloading. To protect you from unintentionally renaming files from camera systems that provide proper naming out of the box, the feature is only enabled for these camera formats:

• GoPro Hero
• Nikon DSLR
• Sony A7s
• Canon DSLR
• “Generic Clips”

If another camera format is detected (e.g. ARRI Alexa), the renaming pattern is reset to Original Filename and the selection button is disabled.

At the moment, only files with extension .mp4 and .mov are supported for renaming. If the offload source does not contain any supported file format for renaming, the renaming pattern is reset to Original Filename and the selection button is disabled.

Workflow Considerations

If you use different camera devices in your production, where one device enables the renaming feature while the other one disables it (e.g. GoPro Hero and ARRI Alexa) the selected renaming pattern can be lost between offloads of these devices.

When starting the Offload Wizard, the previous offload settings are restored (including the renaming pattern). However, if the camera format of the current offload does not enable the renaming feature, the pattern is automatically reset to Original Filename, thus the selected renaming pattern of the previous offload is lost. Changes to previous settings are visualised with an asterisk (*), that is appended to the template name on the top right.

For using the renaming feature in productions with differing camera models, we recommend to create templates for each device (e.g. MyGoProOffloadSettings and MyAlexaOffloadSettings) and load the appropriate template before the offload is started.