Nomad is a utility that can help you gather and copy source media and proxy files from EVO in preparation for remote/work-from-home offline editing.
EVO version 7.0.1 provides support for an updated Nomad client. If you'd like to upgrade from EVO v.6, see this article: Can my EVO be upgraded to EVO OS v.7?
This article discusses how to use SNS Nomad v2 to prepare a remote workflow (v1 article here).
You can also see Nomad in action in this video:
Nomad Remote Video Editing Tutorial
- Prior to using Nomad v.2
- Using Nomad v.2
- Using your files
- Using Nomad Delta
- Using SNS Cloud VPN
- Using VPN Accelerator
- Settings
Prior to using Nomad v.2:
Nomad was created using the ShareBrowser public API so the following must first be verified:
Minimum EVO component version requirements: ShareBrowser 6.1.5, Slingshot 1.5
Minimum system requirements: macOS 10.14, Windows 10 Professional
Note:
- For your media to be found by Nomad it must first be indexed by EVO.
- If you would like to use Preview or Edit-Ready Proxies from ShareBrowser, you must also be creating proxies when indexing.
- If you're using Nomad over a VPN, you'll need access to the EVO over ports 80 and 8577. For more information see our article on ports that are used with EVO and ShareBrowser.
- If you're using SNS Cloud VPN, the client is now integrated into Nomad, so the standalone client may be removed (you'll still need the client configuration file exported from your VPN Dashboard).
- Indexing was likely set up when your EVO was deployed, but if it was not, it can be configured on the Slingshot > Index/Proxy (/#/slingshot/index-proxy) page of your EVO. If you're currently using the ShareBrowser Web App, and you see can previews, then all of this is already configured.
Using Nomad v.2:
Download Nomad from here: Mac, Windows
Run Nomad on a Mac or Windows machine that has a connection to EVO, whether local or VPN.
Import a Premiere Project, a directory, or a ShareBrowser bin by clicking on one and browsing to the location, and then set the destination.
Ensure all media is accessible by the workstation (EVO shares are mounted).
Content on EVO must already be indexed in order for Nomad to locate it.
Click Start, and Nomad will then scan the specified Premiere project, directory or ShareBrowser bin for all matches according to the selected criteria. Depending on the size of the job requested, this process may take several minutes. When completed, a new window will appear, with the expected output of each operation listed, which can be reviewed before the job is actually run.
Review the proposed job, and edit the settings if needed (click Cancel, then click the gear); otherwise, click Start Job to begin the import tasks.Confirm all intended files are received.
Using your files:
Once your materials have been copied, the output can be delivered to edit machines anywhere for offline editing using their existing projects. Editors can render to local storage, or if they have a VPN connection, directly back to EVO. The new Nomad Delta feature can also be used to compare the original project to the modified offline version and export the updated project back to EVO, complete with links to the original media.
If you are using the proxies in an existing project, you should be able to attach them as proxies or re-link them as necessary in your NLE.
In Adobe Premiere Pro specifically, you can open the project while the files are online and attach the local preview proxies as proxy files. This will allow you to switch between high resolution media and proxy files.
Note: By default, EVO preview proxies are created with 2 audio channels. Certain applications will not attach proxies if the audio channels do not match. If your source media is different (no audio, mono, 5.1 channels, etc), you may want to regenerate your preview proxies without modifying the number of audio channels. This can be done by clearing the "Audio Channels" field in the Media Proxy preset (the default preset used for preview proxies). When this field is empty, EVO will preserve the original number of audio channels. Edit proxies default to preserving the number of audio channels.
Note: When adding a Premiere project for cross-platform use (e.g. running Nomad with UNC mounts on Windows for editing on Mac), open the project in Premiere, verify the files link, and then save the project to ensure paths will match on the other operating system.
Using Nomad Delta:
When you're finished working with an offline Premiere project, and would like to update it on EVO, save the changes to your local system first:
Click the Delta symbol (Δ
) in Nomad, and select the original online project, the new offline project, and the remote destination to send the updated project back to EVO, with online media links already in place.Click Start when ready to upload.
Locate the new project on the remote destination in the user-named folder.
Using SNS Cloud VPN:
Nomad requires the workstation have access to EVO, whether the connection is remote or local. If SNS Cloud VPN is used to access EVO, the connection is simplified in Nomad v.2.
Note: an existing VPN client application may still be used; however, only one client configuration should be attempted (use either standalone client or the integrated Nomad client, not both).
Click the shield icon, and then click the plus sign to configure your VPN client connection.
Using VPN Accelerator:
To install the plugin, log in to EVO Administration and click the support (life raft) icon at the top right of the page.
- Click on ‘OS DATA’
- Scroll down to the ‘Installed plug-ins’ card
- Locate the three-dot menu at the top right of the card, click it and select ‘Install plug-in’
- Upload the plug-in and accept the license agreement
Once the plugin is installed, log out of the interface to be redirected to the splash page (#/splash).
Locate and log in at the VPN Accelerator card, and then enter the EVO Administration username and password.
A list of VPN-connected clients and their status will be displayed:
It should now be possible to enable an accelerated connection to EVO from the workstation's Nomad application, or from within the plug-in on EVO by clicking Preferences to adjust peer settings.
Select the peer(s) you wish to connect, and then click Save. After a few moments the Status should show Direct.
Note: If establishing accelerated links between two EVOs, the VPN Accelerator plug-in must first be installed on each system.
Settings:
Proxy skip list
In some cases, it makes more sense to get the original file than a proxy, even if a proxy already exists. This can save some re-linking when working with the project if it's looking for a specific file type and not considering a proxy version. For any file type that meets these criteria, enter its extension in the box. If multiple file types are specified, these should be comma-separated with no dots or spaces. For example: mxf,wav,mp3
.
File options
Download other files
This is checked by default, and will tell Nomad to download the original file if no proxy is found for it. This may not be ideal for every export instance, considering transfer times and storage capacity at the destination. If the box is unchecked, Nomad will only gather the proxies it finds, and will not copy any original files.
Note: When using Edit-Ready Proxies (Slingshot 1.4+). Nomad will first attempt to download the Edit-Ready Proxies. If those don't exist, it will attempt ShareBrowser Preview files. If there are NO previews or edit proxies, then it will follow this checkbox.
Use Original Extension
This is checked by default, and will rename the proxy file according to its original extension. This can also ease relinking, since the NLE will expect the path to the original file to match.
Add "_Proxy" suffix to proxy files
A downloaded proxy version may be difficult to distinguish from original media by name alone, so this option will add the distinction to the imported filename.
Overwrite local files
This is unchecked by default. If files chosen for copy already exist at the destination, Nomad will skip these. If the same file names chosen for copy already exist in the destination folder, checking this box will instruct Nomad to replace them with the new copies. This only considers the exact names of the files and does not consider size, so if a file has been altered but its name unchanged, checking this box will ensure a fresh copy.
Proxy options
Prefer preview proxies
By default, if both preview and edit proxies are found, Nomad will download the edit proxy, and if no edit proxy is found, it will attempt to download the preview proxy.
This logic can be reversed so Nomad will prefer preview if found, and attempt edit if no preview is found.
Ignore preview proxies
If both preview and edit proxies are found, only edit proxies will be downloaded.
Ignore edit proxies
If both preview and edit proxies are found, only preview proxies will be downloaded.