"Too many great stories never make it to screen..." Cascade Studio AI Platform

  There is another new shinny gen AI toy out: Cascade from Cascade Studio (UK.)

"Too many great stories never make it to screen – and we built Cascade to change that," said Simon Windsor, CEO of Cascade Studio.

 Well, I would argue that they are way too many stories that made it to the screen, most of them far from great.

 Democratizing filmmaking is wonderful.  We've seen this with hardware. Affordable cameras and gear have allowed more good and more bad stories to be made. There is always a contingent of stories that sit anywhere between terrible and half-baked.

 The surge in stories made collides with more shitty content that distributors are willing to add to their catalogs in large numbers. This avalanche of available to watch meh stories have a grinding effect on audience perception and attention.

 What great stories are we talking about? Great to whom?

Cascade turns VISION and CRAFT into a FINISHED STORY.

 OK, well it does not say into a GREAT FINISHED STORY. See even if the story is great, it doesn't mean the finished product will be. A story is a premise, they are potentially great. Someone somewhere thinks there is potential in a story.

 CRAFT is the essence of know-how to turn a story into a finished product. So craft in this way is you toiling at Cascade tools, throwing all your willingness, learn as you go knowledge, and incidentally paying good money for the privilege of learning the craft. Potentially this craft will be locked into this platform and not transferable.

Look at all these great models you can use with your subscription!

Strictly limited by the number of generations, video quality, quantity, and storage space.

 The COHERENT WORKFLOW, (you have to trust that it is), is forced on you by Cascade. Nevermind the cliché cool frog driving the cool convertible and smoking the... cool cigar.

Your workflow? More like Cascade's workflow.

Everything in one place = locked into Cascade platform.

Cascade agents galore.

For a company claiming to be THE FUTURE OF FILMMAKING, it recycles all the old components. My bad, there is a new "Editior". Love it!

The future of filmmaking with Cascade looks more like a clunky video game making engine.

I doubt young people will be attracted to this.
 

The Showcase is pitiful. Certainly undermines the great stories premises.

 It also reveals many other problems at first glance. Like a car and driver that can't seem to choose which side of the road they should drive onto. Or seemingly fiery fighters that can only make faces and grunts and are endlessly picking and hitting (and missing) at their opponents in rudimentary moves or semi stillness.

 If that's what you can do with Cascade, something is not right. Execution (literally, by the platform) promises to destroy the best of ideas.

 What do you think? Indy filmmakers, studios, agency, brands?  Is Cascade a great idea? Does it look promising to you? Are you willing to invest time and money in learning this new platform? Do you believe Cascade can help bring your ideas to fruition? Will you be able to differentiate yourself on such a NATIVE PRODUCTION PLATFORM?

 I'd like to know, hit the comments!

Cloud Storages Compared - Part 5

   See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 for comparisons and details of different cloud storage functionalities.

 In this post I am evaluating how cloud providers deal with symbolic links. If you don't want to read, I'll save you the rest: THEY DON'T DEAL WITH THEM WELL. Read on for the best approach to this problem.

What are symlinks?

 Final Cut Pro use symbolic links (symlinks) to manage media within Libraries. They are Aliases files that point to a file stored externally. In FCP case, Media files. If I backup my FCP Libraries to the cloud, I don't want symlinks to be screwed with.

 In this example I created a simple FCP Project with a Folder "Test FCP Project" containing 5 folders: "Original Media", "FCP Libraries", "FCP Cache", FCP Backups", and "FCP Media".

 The last 3 are necessary for each FCP Library to work properly. I added the first 2 as it is the way I like to organize my projects, and they are self explanatory.

 When you look into the FCP Library "Test FCP.fcpbundle", by right clicking and choosing Show Package Content, you will see that FCP uses a symbolic link of the "O Estudio.mov" media that is stored externally in the "Original Media" folder I created specifically for this project. That's the way I like to work. Store Media separately, not in the fcpbundle Library itself.  Makes projects management and backups more efficient. I want my FCP Libraries as lean as possible, and that means no media ever stored within the Library itself.

 Inside the FCP Library, there is an automatically created "Original Media" folder, containing the symbolic link O Estudio.mov recognizable by the small arrow in the icon, the Alias Kind, and the small size compared to the actual file it's referencing. FCP needs this symbolic link to point at the actual media file stored externally and load it in the Library.

 Mega. Unfortunately cloud storages are not good with symbolic links. This is what happens when I upload the Project file to Mega, on the web app it seems normal:

 Looking into the Library "Test FCP.fcpbundle" reveals that the symbolic link is gone. Mega has ignored it:

 If I now download the Test FCP Project file from Mega to my computer this is what I get:

  Empty folders "FCP Backups" and "FCP Media" have not been downloaded, they do not exist anymore.

 When opening the fcpbundle Library, the symlink inside 6-22-26 has been deleted, with its containing folder "Original Media", that is now empty. "_Temp", and "Motion Template" folders, automatically created by FCP and empty at the start have also been deleted.

 This proves that you cannot store Final Cut Pro Libraries without first creating an archive, i.e. compressing / zipping the folder or files. If you don't, you will loose symlinks and empty folders, messing up the structure of your project, and of the Library itself.

 With Mega, and most cloud providers as we will see in this post, you must first Compress the folder/file and create a ZIP archive prior to uploading or backing up. That's the only way to keep the project integrity.

Locally, with Mega desktop app, or if drag and dropping the Library to the Mega sync drive, symlinks will trip Mega, and the sync will immediately stop. At least Mega pops an alert on the desktop app when it encounters symlinks, the web app doesn't even alert you.

 You can only choose to ignore the symlink to continue syncing, and in doing so you will loose it as it won't be backed up. 

 Again in order to hide the symbolic links from Mega, and keep the project and library exactly structured as the original, you must Zip the project folder, or Zip the Library before dropping it inside Mega sync Drive / folder or on the web app.

 GoogleDrive web ignores symlinks, they do not get uploaded. No alerts. GoogleDrive does not delete empty folders. 

No more symlink when uploading from the web.

GoogleDrive desktop app / sync folder on the other end looks like it keeps the symlink intact.

Symlink present in Google Drive local sync folder.

And symlink also present on the web - when uploading via the Mac desktop only.

 Alas when round-tripping, downloading the fcpbundle from the web GoogleDrive, Final Cut Pro crashes on trying to open the Library. Something happened during round tripping and the symlink got damaged. It looks different upon download. 

Symlink not recognized as Alias. Something happened and it got damaged.

So as with Mega, compressing / Zipping is the way with Google Drive, even though the presence of symlinks do not trip the sync.

 kDrive on the web ignores symlinks. No alerts. kDrive does not delete or ignores empty folders. kDrive Desktop app feign to be fine with symlinks: when you drop a fcpbundle into the local synced kDrive it shows the symlink present, only for the sync to FAIL. And it does not clearly say it's failing because of the symlink, and it's put on pause indefinitely.

Symlink gone on kDrive

 Internxt sneakinly and silently plain ignores and does not upload the complete "Test FCP.fcpbundle", not on the web, not on the desktop app/local drive. No alert on the web nor on the desktop app. It's not backed-up.

Entire fcpbundle gone from Internxt

 Jottacloud uploads without warning, ignoring symlink, and its enclosing Original Media folder, on both the web and the desktop app. Dragging the Library to the local synced folder shows both the symlink and folder, but they stay local and are not synced to the cloud.

Symlink gone from Jotta in the cloud.

 FolderFort behaves the same as Jottacloud.

 pCloud web ignores and does not upload the symlink. If you try to copy the Library to the locally mounted pDrive, it flashes an error code 100078 and doesn't upload anything. Empty folders are respected.

 iCloud. Dropping the folder into the iCloud local drive shows the symlink present. On the web, iCloud recognize the fcpbundle as a Final Cut Pro Library. Downloading the bundle still has the symlink present, yeah! The roundtrip works.

iCloud respects symlinks.

 Unfortunately, Apple iCloud, for all its automation (or maybe because of it)  is a really aggravating cloud service for the advanced user:

 #1, SHAME ON YOU! APPLE for not implementing direct download of a folder. Apple forces people to sign to iCloud. You cannot share an anonymous link. DropBox used to do that and I hated it, this is beyond stupid.

No download, only share.

 #2 How convoluted do you need to make this Apple? Can't you just give us a "create download link" at the browser level? Is it too much to ask? Really?

OK Apple, forcing my hand, I'll share.

OK, I copy the link and send it to friend.

Apple forcing 3rd party to sign in to iCloud. BAD BEHAVIOR!

No anonymous direct download link??! WTF Apple???

 #3 iCloud on the web sends an error message: "Can't upload folders". Seriously Apple? What is this? That's a serious and aggravating limitation. If you drop just the fcpbundle Library to iCloud web, it works fine, the symlink and entire structure is respected, including empty folders. So iCloud is perfectly capable of dealing with folders. Incredibly cringe. 

 OneDrive on the web behaves the same as kDrive. Empty folders present, symlink gone. No alerts.

Nope, symlink is not uploaded via OneDrive web, no alerts.

Empty folders are present.

Symlink is gone.

OneDrive desktop app on the other end leaves everything intact including the symlink! Copying the fcpbundle back from OneDrive local sync drive to another location on the local Mac drive keeps the symlink, and Final Cut Pro opens the Library just fine!

Uploading from the desktop app by just drag and dropping into OneDrive sync drive.

No alerts or error messages.

Symlink present when uploading to the cloud only, and round-tripping back to the Mac.

Although its icon looks different now, Final Cut Pro has no problem opening the Library.

Symlink present on the web as well after desktop syncing the Library.

 That's a big Surprise. OneDrive has found a way to deal with symlinks.  On the desktop solely though. That said, it appears that you cannot "Free up space" with a fcpbundle. It stays on the sync local OneDrive no matter what you do:

Free up space does not work. fcpbundle stays stubbornly local.

 Drime ignores symlinks and does not upload them. Empty folders are preserved. No alert on the web app.

Upload complete??? I don't think so.

 The desktop app flashes an error: Something went wrong! And is unable to sync. No further explanation. As long as the symlink is present on the local Drime drive, the sync will fail.

Sync failure because a symlink is present on the Drime local sync drive.

Drime is unable to sync, but doesn't help you figure out why.

 Dropbox fails to upload the symlink, and also fails at uploading empty folders on the web. At least it presents a log of the errors, for the empty folders only, no mention of symlinks:

DropBox displaying Microsoft / Apple syndrome:

why have user click once when you can force them to click many times?

Empty files cannot be uploaded. OK, a symlink mention would have helped.

Empty folders gone.

No symlink.

Icedrive ignores both symlinks and empty folders, no alerts whatsoever.

Empty folders gone. 100% upload... I don't think so.

No symlink.

 Sync uploads empty folders just fine, and flashes an error: cannot upload empty file. Does not mention symlink per se, but better than most. Of course no symlink is present in the cloud.

Error message. Empty files cannot be uploaded.

Symlinks cannot be uploaded would have helped.

All empty folders present.

No symlink.

Recap.

 Except for iCloud and OneDrive, no love for symlinks from any of the cloud providers in this list. Solution: Compress / ZIP your fcpbundle Library, or your entire project before syncing/uploading it to the cloud.

Cloud Provider	Upload symlink on web app	Upload symlink on desktop app / sync folder	Alert Message	Sync stops	Upload and respects empty folders
iCloud	Yes	Yes	No	No	No, iCloud cannot upload folders of any kind via web. What a disgrace.
OneDrive	No	Yes	Yes	No, but cannnot free up local space with fcpbundle	Yes
Mega	No	No	Yes, but only on desktop	Yes	No
GoogleDrive	No	Yes, but after downloading from the web it is in fact damaged	No	No	Yes
Internxt	No, entire fcpbundle gets ignored	No	No	No	No
kDrive	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
DropBox	No	No	Yes	No	No
Drime	No	No	Yes, only on desktop	Yes	Yes
JottaCloud	No	No	No	No, but symlinks do not get synced	No
PCloud	No	No	Yes, only on desktop	Yes	Yes
FolderFort	No	N/A	No	No	No
Icedrive	No	Not tested	No	No	No
Sync	No	Not tested	No	No	No

Could Storages Compared - Part 4

 Check Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of my exploration of cloud storage providers, with real life testing and comments.

 Since I am an editor, and I use Final Cut Pro among other tools, in this post I am looking into uploading and downloading ".fcpbundle" files, which are the program files for Final Cut Pro. On macOS, the bundles are recognized as a single Final Cut Pro Library file that the software can open and save.

 In actuality, a ".fcpbundle" file consists of an enclosing folder with a series of files and subfolders inside. This one is very stripped down, they can grow in size and content depending on the project you are working on and its advancement.

 In terms of cloud storage though, with the exception of iCloud, these ".fcpbundle" files are identified as regular folders. 

 When round tripping (upload + download) a ".fcpbundle" file to the cloud, weird things can happen due to the nature of the bundle and files contained within. See below my testings of how cloud providers handle these particular files.

 ROUND-TRIPPING FINAL CUT PRO LIBRARY FILE

A) Uploading into local sync folder, downloading from the web

All cloud providers via their macOS desktop sync work fine. Except for FolderFort since they do not have a macOS app available at the moment. The downloaded library can be opened by FCP no problem.

 Although it cannot be opened if the Library resides into the local cloud folder of all the providers using the Apple File Provider scheme, see Part 2, i.e. with iCloud Drive, DropBox, GoogleDrive, OneDrive and Internxt. The Library must first be first dragged to another location, opened, saved, and then uploaded again to the cloud.

 With the clouds that are not following the macOS File Provider scheme: Mega, Jottacloud, Drime, kDrive, the Library can be opened and saved in-situ by FCP. Which makes sense since these cloud folders are behaving ore or less like local folders.

 As with pCloud, if you try to open the Library while it resides on the pCloud virtual drive, FCP will CRASH. So with pCloud, one has to copy the library to a proper local folder, and then save it again to pCloud when done.

B) Uploading and downloading from the web

Crazy as it sounds, iCloud FAILS. iCloud does not upload the Library correctly on the web. In my example, the Library is 193KB. It is only 30KB after upload on iCloud via the web. It is empty, even though it is stamped by iCloud as a "FCPBUNDLE file". As a result, this file downloaded onto my Mac cannot be opened by FCP. In essence you cannot use iCloud web to upload a FCP Library or you will loose it. This is mind boggling since Final Cut Pro is an Apple product, I can't understand how Apple is OK with this.

DropBox, Internxt, and Sync FAIL. They refuse to upload the Library claiming it's empty. Which in a sense is better than what iCloud is doing. At least you cannot be fooled into believing that your Library is safely uploaded to the cloud. 

 OneDrive, Jottacloud, Drime, Mega, Icedrive, pCloud, and FolderFort all upload the Library like champs on the web, nothing is lost. Download works fine as well.

TO RECAP THIS FCPBUNDLE TEST:

Cloud Provider	Proper desktop app upload	Opening, saving FCP Library from sync cloud folder	Proper web upload /download	Using Apple File Provider scheme	Recognized as fcpbundle
iCloud	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
OneDrive	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Mega	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
GoogleDrive	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Internxt	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
kDrive	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
DropBox	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Drime	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
JottaCloud	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
PCloud	Yes	Absolutely not	Yes	No	No
FolderFort	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No