Populate database comment in digibase catalogs?

[thetourist]

Hi,

At the studio I work at, we have recently burned all of our sound fx CD's onto a networked hard drive for easier, quicker access at all workstations using the digibase catalog browser (availabe in the workspace browser). Now, we don't have to search a database, then patch in a disc changer, and re-record a sample. However, we have an old filemaker pro database with descriptions that were entered and refined by our engineers over the course of a number of years. These descriptions are much more thorough than the file names picked up by CCDB, when the CD's were ripped.

We would like to bring the descriptions that we generated in filemaker into the database comment field (one of a couple user defined) in a digibase catalog, in order to be able to search on those descriptions right from the catalog browser when pulling sfx into sessions.

Does anyone have experience with populating the database comment field through mapping from one database to another? What database applications, if any, can be used to work behind the scenes on the catalog.ddb?

In this case, I would like to use a database program (like filemaker) to transfer the comments from our filemaker database into the catalog.ddb that I have created for our SFX, which are now stored online.

I know the information can be cut and pasted from one place to another in the catalog browser itself, but that will take FOREVER if done manually for 30,000 files! What I would like to do is bypass the catalog browser GUI (graphical user interface) and populate the catalog database, most likely, using a third party database application. I tried using filemaker to open the catalog.ddb for the catalog I created, but filemaker can't open the file.

Alternatively, anyone have a different approach to the same end, besides hiring an intern for the drugery?

Thanks much,
Bob Meyer

[email protected]

[Frank Kruse]

You can merge the filemaker-DB and the sounds in soundminer and backup the descriptions into the metadata of BWAVs that PT will show in the workspace. It´s rather fast. Would take less than 10 min to do if you know what you´re doing. You have to make sure that each physical soundfile has one record of filemaker-data to make this very easy

But if you have soundminer you won´t go back to browsing with digibase anyway. BTW: searching through a 30000 record database in PT is extremely slow.

I highly recommend a dedicated librarian like soundminer.

frank.

[feakerboo]

I have to agree. We tried to get the digibase working with about 100k sound FX and it was way too slow. The soundminer with the soundminer server sounds like exactly what you need. This way everybody has access to the same files and databases. Soundminer will totally chang the way you cut. Its 10X faster than anything I've ever seen and it will greatly enhance your workflow, especially if you have multiple systems attaching to the library.

-feaks

[steppenwolf68]

you could possibly rename your files (nethertheless it would be a bit of work and not as elegant as the Soundminer solution))

-save your filemaker database as "tab delimited"
-get "A better Fnder Renamer" (just about 20$)
-import the SFX files you want to rename and also the "tab delimited"-file into "A better Fnder Renamer" and rename all the files (in one step).

[guitarmongoose]

I'd be cautious when using A Better Finder Renamer. It's a great program, but I would try to work in smaller chunks and be very careful that everything will be renamed correctly. I've noticed that sometimes the lists don't line up correctly. I know it's probably user error, but it's still scary renaming all of those files like that.

Whenever I use the program, I try to duplicate the files that I'm going to rename so that if something does go wrong, I still have the originals with their file names.

Soundminer and their Ripper program would be a lot easier.

-Brad

[Mike Thornton]

I had a simliar problem and I added a crude script in FMP to copy the Comments field out of FMP and paste it into the appropiate Finder Comments of each audio file.

You need a way of telling FMP where the audio files are and some way of telling FMP to go to the next file.

As I had ripped the CDs using iTunes all my audio files had a common naming protocol and each CD was in a seperate folder so I created a script that worked for a CD at a time. It was crude because my FMP skills are basic but it did work just about. Once you have all your 'data' in the Finder comments then you can use Digibase Pro to import from Finder Comments to Databse comments and hey presto. You also need to create a Catalog of your SFX folder in Digibase Pro too.

As to the speed of Digibase Pro I find the first search to be slow but after that it is pretty quick and I have a catalog of some 25,000 sfx files.

If your FMP programming skills aren't up to it then maybe invest in an FMP programmer for an hour or so and it will then be alot quicker than a file at a time.

Hope that helps,

Mike.

[thetourist]

Thanks to all of you who have weighed in on this question. I appreciate all of the thoughts and advice! Soundminer looks like a great product, this isn't the first time we've considered it the studio here. Unfortunately, I can't convince our owner to make the investment, so I'm going to have to focus on some of the other solutions put forth.

Mike,

Thanks for the rundown. I've read a few of your articles in SOS. As a matter of fact, It was through your series on ProTools for post that I got the idea to use digibase to track our sfx and get them off the CD changer. That was an excellent series of articles for that audience. I remember that you mentioned using filemaker as well in the article, so it was a very pleasant surprise to see your reply!

I'll have to see if I can setup a FMP script. I'm a former PC user and very adept at MS Access. Hopefully, some of those skills will translate here to FMP (not holding my breath) If not, I think your suggestion is spot on, a little investment up front on a programmer will save a lot of time and $$ on the back end. Thanks again for the help. I'm off to try my hand at FMP scripts.

Thanks,
Bob

[email protected]