FAQ: Developing Tank Explained
This FAQ covers the most common questions about Developing Tank: dailies automation, VFX tracking, the Editor's Binder, billing, file handling, and team access. Browse by topic, or write to us if your question isn't here.
Upload Errors: Quick Troubleshooting
If your upload fails, check these common blockers first:
- Unsupported export settings from Avid
- Missing or malformed metadata in the source file
- File corruption during export or transfer
- Workflow-specific format or size limits
Then review the detailed FAQ below, including “Why did my file fail to upload or process?”
Developing Tank is post-production workflow software for Avid-centric teams. It reads editorial files and sequence data to automate repetitive work: dailies prep, VFX shot tracking, turnover packages, continuity and omission reports, and scene tracking. It also includes the Editor\'s Binder, a digital 2-up view pairing lined scripts with facing pages, organized by scene or shoot day. It does not use AI.
No. Developing Tank uses deterministic automation and professional scripting, not generative AI. Your data is handled with logic, not guesses.
Developing Tank supports common Avid editorial files including AVB, AAF, EDL, and ALE. File support varies by workflow, so the upload page will show which formats are accepted for each task.
Upload supported Avid files from the day. Developing Tank can build scene bins, organize clips, prepare groups, apply offspeed retimes, and populate report data from the metadata already in your project.
Yes. It detects offspeed material such as 48, 72, 96, and 120 fps clips, calculates the required retime for the project frame rate, and prepares the material for editorial review.
Upload a sequence and Developing Tank identifies VFX shots from your markers. On every subsequent upload, it compares the cut, flags what changed (new shots, extensions, trims), and remembers shots that were deleted from the cut, so a shot pulled in an early version and restored later comes back as the same shot. Speed ramp data (retime percentage, source timecode, frame count, keyframe slope) is included per shot for VFX vendors.
Yes. Developing Tank flags shots that are new, extended, shortened, deleted, or otherwise changed between sequence uploads so the team can review differences before sending vendors updated turnover packages.
Yes. Developing Tank generates full turnover packages rather than pull lists alone. Select your shots, set handle sizes per shot where you need to, and export a ZIP with EDL, AVB, CSV, and PDF outputs, plus an audit history of what went into each run.
Yes. VFX and tracking data can sync with Google Sheets so producers, coordinators, and vendors can review familiar sheets while the database remains the source of truth.
Yes. Project collaborators can be invited with access levels such as viewer, editor, or admin, depending on what they need to review or change.
Post-production automation uses software to remove repetitive manual tasks such as file parsing, metadata entry, report generation, retime calculations, and tracker updates while leaving creative decisions to the editorial team.
The free tools (EDL Editor and EDL to Excel Converter, ALE to CSV Converter, AAF Retime Tool) are open to anyone, no account required. Full project workflows require a membership. Sign up to get started.
Developing Tank is open to everyone, so sign up and get started right away. Members get full workflow automation for dailies, VFX tracking, continuity reports, and more. Become a Member.
The Editor\'s Binder is a digital replacement for the physical 3-ring binder editors keep in the edit bay. It pairs lined scripts side-by-side with facing pages in a 2-up book view, browsable by scene or shoot day.
The Binder supports lined scripts, facing pages, continuity notes, camera reports, sound reports, and other set documents. PDFs and images can be uploaded and linked to specific scenes or shoot days.
It stays in the tracker. Developing Tank\'s deleted marker memory means that if an editor removes a VFX locator in one cut, the shot is flagged as deleted but not erased from the database. If the shot comes back in a later cut, it\'s recognized as the same shot.
Yes. For shots with speed ramp effects, Developing Tank captures the retime percentage, source timecode, frame count, and keyframe slope per shot and communicates these values in the handoff output.
A turnover run is a full export package for VFX handoff rather than a list of shots. It includes the selected shots, handle sizes (configurable per shot), and a ZIP bundle with EDL, AVB, CSV, and PDF outputs.
Uploaded files are used only for the workflow you request and are not sold or shared with third parties. You keep ownership of your production data.
The most common causes are unsupported file exports, missing metadata, file corruption, or a workflow-specific format mismatch. Try exporting again from Avid and confirm the upload page accepts that file type.
Spreadsheets and FileMaker can store tracking data, but they still rely on manual updates. Developing Tank reads the sequence and updates the tracker from the editorial source files.
No. Developing Tank is a cloud-based software platform for post-production video editing workflows in Avid Media Composer. We automate dailies preparation, VFX tracking, and turnover packages for film and television post-production teams. We have no affiliation with analog film developing equipment, darkroom chemistry supplies, or Patterson tanks used in traditional film photography.