User Guide

User Guide

This guide covers the daily workflows for artists using the Ramses-Fusion plugin.

The Main Panel

The plugin interface is divided into five logical sections:

Tip

The context header at the top (showing project, sequence, shot, and step) is clickable. Click it anytime to refresh the panel and re-sync with the Ramses Client/active Fusion comp.

1. Project & Scene

• Browse Shots / Tasks: The "Switch Shot" wizard. Use this to find your assigned tasks. If a composition doesn't exist yet, it will offer to create one from a template or as a new empty file.
• Sync Project Settings: Applies the project's resolution, FPS, and frame range to your current comp. It also adds the _PREVIEW and _FINAL Saver nodes if they are missing.
  • Color Coding: The _PREVIEW node is colored Green, and the _FINAL node is colored Red for easy identification in the flow.

• Open Ramses Client: Launches the external Ramses application for full production management.

Warning

Project Mismatch: If you open a file belonging to a different project than the one currently active in the Ramses Client, the header will turn red and display a PROJECT MISMATCH warning. You must switch the project in the Client.

2. Assets & Tools

• Import Published: Bring in assets or renders from other pipeline steps. The browser lists each published version's deliverables as separate rows, so you can pick exactly what you need — a render, an image sequence, or a .comp. Published .comp files (e.g. SynthEyes tracking exports) are merged into your flow instead of loaded as footage (see Assets and Loaders).
• Replace Loader: Swap the source of a selected Loader node with a different version or a new asset. Outdated Loaders are highlighted orange in the flow (see Assets and Loaders).
• Save as Template: Saves your current composition into the Step's template folder, making it available for others starting new shots in the same step.

3. Saving & Iteration

• Save: Overwrites your current version.
• Incremental Save: Saves a new version (e.g., v001 -> v002).
• Add Note: Attach a descriptive comment to your current version in the Ramses database. These notes are visible to production and appear in the Version History list.

• Version History / Restore: Browse previous versions and roll back if needed.

4. Review & Publish

• Create Preview: Generates a movie file (usually ProRes 422) for supervisor review. It is saved into the shot's _preview folder, where the Ramses Client and Ramses-Out pick it up. The format can be customized via Step Configuration.
  • The small button to its right opens the current preview in your system's default media player. It's only enabled once a preview file actually exists for the current shot/step.
• Update / Publish: The final step. This implements a Split Publish workflow:
  1. Validation: Your comp is checked against the database (resolution, frame rate, frame range, and that the render anchors exist and are connected). See If validation stops you below.
  2. Final Master Render: The plugin automatically enables the _FINAL anchor and renders the output. The destination (Project Export folder or Step Published folder) depends on the Step Configuration.
  3. Render Verification: The plugin counts what actually landed on disk. For a sequence, every frame of the range must be there and non-empty — a render that died halfway will not pass.
  4. Composition Backup: Only if the render is verified, the plugin saves a numbered backup of your current .comp file into a version-specific subfolder within the Step's _published directory (e.g., _published/005_DONE/).
  5. Database Update: Increments the version in Ramses and updates the status (e.g., to "Done").

If validation stops you

You do not have to go and fix everything by hand. When the plugin can repair a finding itself — the frame range and format, or missing render anchors — it says so and offers to do it:

• For a blocking error, the dialog's button reads Fix It and names what it will change.
• For a warning, the repair comes as a checkbox you can leave ticked.

Either way the plugin re-checks afterwards, so a repair that didn't take will stop you again rather than let a bad publish through.

Tip

Note Propagation: Any note you add during an Update / Publish or Status Change is now correctly attached to the new version in the database, and the archived filename is synchronized with the new status immediately.

Important

Transactional Safety: If the render fails, the output is invalid, or the sequence is missing frames, the plugin will abort the publish process. No files will be moved, and the database will not be updated. This ensures the "Published" state always reflects a complete render.

5. Settings & Info

• Step Configuration: (Leads/Admins only) Configure YAML rules for rendering.
• Plugin Settings: Set paths for the Ramses executable and default start frames.

Vertical or horizontal

The ⇄ button at the top switches the panel between two layouts:

• Vertical (the default) shows the five sections above, each with a collapsible header, plus the user/version footer.
• Horizontal collapses everything into one slim toolbar row — useful docked above the flow. The actions keep their section colour tint (Scene blue, Assets purple, Work teal, Review green) and the freed width goes to the status line.

Both drive exactly the same actions. The Settings section and the collapsible headers exist only in the vertical layout; toggle back if you need them.

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Standard Workflow

Starting a New Shot

1. Open the Switch Shot wizard.
2. Select your Step and Shot.

• Performance: The wizard is optimized to load hundreds of shots nearly instantly.
• Smart Filtering: By default, the list skips only shots marked "Nothing to do" in the database. Shots on Standby (including freshly-added ones that haven't been started yet) stay visible, so new work never disappears from the list.

3. If the shot is empty, select a template or "Empty Composition".
4. Click OK. The file will be created and saved automatically in the correct pipeline path, and its status will be auto-updated to WIP.
   • Claiming: If the shot wasn't already assigned to anyone, creating it here assigns it to you automatically — so an "up for grabs" shot becomes yours the moment you start it. If a lead already assigned it to someone, that assignment is left untouched.

Tip

Whose shot is this? When you open, save, or render a preview on a shot that's assigned to someone else, the feedback line at the bottom of the panel shows a reminder in amber (e.g. assigned to Jane Doe). Your own shots and unassigned shots show no such note — so if you see it, double-check you meant to work on that shot.

Working and Iterating

• Use Incremental Save frequently.
• Before rendering, use Sync Project Settings to ensure your resolution and frame range match the database.
• If you need to communicate progress, use Add Note.

Submitting for Review

1. Ensure your flow is connected to the _PREVIEW Saver node.
2. Click Create Preview.
3. Use the side-button next to Create Preview to open the render in your default media player and check it before submitting.
4. Once you're happy with it, use Update / Publish to change the status to "Ready For Review".

Finalizing (Publishing)

1. Ensure your final output is connected to the _FINAL Saver node.
2. Click Update / Publish.
3. Select "Publish Final" and set the state to "Finished".
4. The plugin will render the final master and backup your composition.