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Workflow recipes

Workflow recipes

These are complete graphs for real jobs. Each shows how the nodes wire together, when to reach for it, and the settings that matter. They build on each other — start at the top and you'll have the whole vocabulary by the end. Every diagram uses one convention: a cable means "run after," a stacked group under a node means an add-on or a parallel branch.

Dashed chips are add-ons riding on a Copy node (verification and manifests fused into the copy). Solid chips are separate nodes. See the node reference for each node's full settings.

1. Everyday verified offload

sourceCard → copyBackup disk + Verify (checksum)
When: the default single-card dump you do all day. In Simple mode this is just a source, a destination and the Verify toggle.

One Source, one Copy, the Verify add-on on. IngestDeck copies the card, reads the destination back and confirms every byte. This is the foundation; everything below adds to it.

2. 3-2-1 backup — one card, several disks, one manifest

sourceCard → copyWorking + Backup + Shuttle + Verify + ASC-MHL
When: you need the same footage on three disks with a signed manifest, in one pass.

A single Copy node with three destinations copies each serially (turn on Smart order to write the fastest disk first). The Verify add-on confirms all three; the ASC-MHL Report add-on writes a manifest that continues the card's chain of custody. One node, one result, three verified copies.

3. Two cards at once, into one copy

sourceCard A sourceCard B → copyBackup disk + Verify
When: two readers, one target — you want both cards ingesting at the same time.

Wire two Source nodes into one Copy. Each source becomes its own parallel read lane, so the cards read concurrently into the destination instead of one-then-the-other. Each card lands in its own folder at the destination.

4. Relay — shuttle first, eject the card, then archive

sourceCard → copyFast SSD + Verify → ejectCard copyArchive HDD (relay)
When: you want the camera card back on set fast, but still need a slow archive copy.

The first Copy verifies the card onto a fast SSD. Once that's confirmed, the card can eject — while a second Copy set to relay source context keeps filling a slow archive HDD by reading from the SSD, not the card. Add a Verify add-on to the archive copy and the manifest still proves the archive matches the original.

5. Ingest and generate proxies in one pass

sourceCard → copyBackup + Verify convertH.265 proxies → editorial
When: editorial wants review proxies while you offload the originals.

Fan the Source out to two branches: a verified Copy of the originals, and a Convert node writing H.265 proxies to the editorial disk. They run in parallel. In the Convert output settings, pick the codec, quality and a half- or quarter-res scale — IngestDeck only offers routes a real encoder can run.

6. Verify, sign, and eject — the safe-to-wipe run

sourceCard → copyBackup ×2 + Verify + ASC-MHL → ejectCard
When: the card must come back to the loader ready to wipe, with proof it's backed up.

The Eject node only fires after the verified, signed copy completes — so a card is never ejected (let alone wiped) until IngestDeck has proven every byte reached both backups and written the manifest.

7. Audit an existing card — no copy

sourceArchived footage → verifyvs its ASC-MHL
When: you want to re-confirm footage that already carries a manifest — nothing is copied.

Wire a Verify node directly to a Source. IngestDeck finds the card's existing ASC-MHL, re-hashes every recorded file with its recorded algorithm, and fails on any mismatch, missing or unreadable file. A pure integrity audit — perfect for checking an archive drive before you trust it.

8. Compare two drives before wiping one

sourceDrive A → compareagainst Drive B
When: two disks should be identical and you need to prove it before reusing one.

The Compare node reads both trees and reports counts, sizes and — if you turn it on — content hashes. The result is a browsable, two-sided diff: what's only on A, only on B, or different. It fails red on any mismatch, and it ignores system junk so nothing false trips it.

9. Offload with a production PDF report

sourceCard → copyBackup + Verify → pdfReportDaily report
When: production wants a PDF summary of each offload dropped alongside the media.

Point a PDF Report node at the finished Copy. It renders your saved report template — per-run facts, hashes, production metadata — and writes the PDF into the copy's run folder. Keep the Verify add-on on the copy so the report carries confirmed hashes.

10. The full dailies graph

sourceCard A sourceCard B → copyBackup ×2 + Verify + ASC-MHL convertProxies → waitAllJoin → ejectBoth cards
When: the whole shoot day, one click. Copy, verify, sign, proxy, then eject — safely.

Two cards ingest in parallel into a verified, signed Copy and a proxy Convert at the same time. A Wait-all barrier joins both branches, so the Eject only fires once everything — copies, verification, manifest and proxies — has finished. Save this graph as a template and the whole day is a single click tomorrow.

11. The watched offload station

source(empty — armed) → copyRAID + Verify + ASC-MHL → ejectthe card
When: cards arrive all day and nobody should have to configure anything — the loader just drops.

Any of the graphs above becomes a standing station: leave the Source empty, press Arm, and every card dropped onto the Source node runs the whole graph — then the station re-arms for the next card. Cards dropped mid-copy queue up behind it. The full model (waiting jobs, re-arm loop, Simple's version) is in the Watch mode chapter.

12. The template day

Not a graph shape — a habit that compounds:

  1. Day 1: build carefully, then ⌘S

    Build the production's graph (say, recipe 10), fill the Info panel with the show's metadata, save it as a template named after the production.

  2. Every morning: load, re-bind, arm

    New tab → load the template. Disk selections come back as placeholders by design — drag today's cards and disks onto the Source and Copy nodes (roles and benchmarks are already remembered per disk), rename the tab to today's date, press Arm.

  3. Every evening: the tab is the record

    The tab's Results segment holds the day's runs; History holds them forever. Tomorrow gets a fresh tab from the same template.

Mix and match. Add a Delay to stagger disks, a second relay Copy for a third location, or a Compare to double-check an archive. The rules in the node reference tell you what can connect to what.