Artist guide

This page follows a working day in Bernard: finding your task, starting it, working in your software, publishing a version, ticking your instructions, handling feedback and finishing. For logging in and the layout of the window, read Getting started first.

Bernard's interface is in English: labels are quoted as they appear, in italics.

My day in six steps

1. Open Bernard and leave it open all day (see Time is counted automatically).
2. Look at the notification bell and your retakes.
3. Find your Ready and Pause tasks.
4. Open the task's file: Bernard offers to set it to WIP.
5. Work, save versions, tick your instructions.
6. Set the task to Done.

Finding my tasks

In a spreadsheet, tick the My Tasks filter in the Filters menu to see only the tasks assigned to you. The filters My Items, Has Correction and Current Tasks are in the same menu. Save the tab (Save this tab changes) to keep this setting. The setup is described in Getting started.

Click on a shot: the Properties panel shows its properties (dates, brief, technical information depending on the studio) and its tabs. The node view shows the shot's workflow, that is, its tasks in order. Your task can be spotted there by its state and your avatar.

Understanding the state of my task

Each task has a state, displayed as a coloured dot in the spreadsheet and in the node view. The colours are those of your studio.

A task becomes Ready by itself when the tasks it depends on are Done. You have nothing to do for that: the Bernard server decides the states. If you ask for a change that the workflow does not allow, Bernard refuses it and the state goes back to what it was. For the full logic, see Workflows.

Starting a task

The simplest way: open the file.

1. Select the task (for example Tracking) and open the Files tab of the Properties panel.
2. Double-click the working file, or right-click › Open.
3. If the task is Ready or Pause, Bernard asks: "Do you want to change … state to WIP ?", reminding you of the task's instructions. Answer yes: the task goes to WIP.
4. Your software opens on the prepared scene. If the file is not on your workstation, Bernard downloads it first.

For a scene that does not exist yet (version 0) and whose type is known, Bernard offers to open an empty scene already configured with the Bernard identifier.

To open a file with the right software, Bernard uses the applications declared by the studio for each extension (see File management). Media (videos, image sequences) open in the studio's player; opening a media file to review it does not require setting the task to WIP.

Another option: change the state by hand. In the Properties panel, edit the task's State property, or change it directly in a spreadsheet cell.

Only one task in WIP at a time. When you set a task to WIP, your previous WIP task goes to Pause.

What can get in the way.

• You can only change the state of your own tasks, unless your role has the Can modify the state of tasks assigned to others (override assignees) permission: "you can't change this state because you are not assigned to the task".
• A task assigned to several people cannot be started: "more than one user are assigned to task". Ask production to fix the assignment.
• Aborted requires the Can manually abort tasks permission.
• A Waiting task cannot be started: wait until the upstream is finished.

Working in your software

Bernard's plugins connect your creation software (Maya, Nuke, 3DEqualizer, Blender, Houdini…) to your tasks. They prepare the scene, import dependencies, export to the next step. Their menu varies from one software to another: see DCC integrations.

Save with Save And Increment. This plugin command saves a new version of the file instead of replacing the previous one. This way you keep the history of your work, and your colleagues find each version in the Files tab. Do not use your software's usual save to publish your work.

Do not change the settings that Bernard prepared in the scene (group names, frame range, format) unless told otherwise: the studio may check them when you save.

Files and versions

The Files tab of the Properties panel shows the files of the task or shot, their current version and whether they are on your workstation. To add a version without going through a plugin, drop files onto the file's line or choose Add file (browse).... Open, Explore and Copy Path open, locate and copy the path. The detail is in File management.

Ticking my instructions

Instructions are guidelines that supervision attaches to a task. The Instructions tab lists them, with one box per instruction.

• Read each instruction, then tick it when you are sure you followed it. Bernard keeps track of who ticked what: it is your commitment on the work delivered.
• A ticked instruction is shown in green. Your box stays editable.
• If the task requires all its instructions to be ticked (the task's All Check Requested property), the switch to Done is refused as long as one is not ticked, with the list of those that are missing.

The Add a correction or note button in this tab opens the note window (see below).

Handing in my work: setting the task to Done

Before setting the task to Done, check:

1. that your instructions are ticked;
2. that there is no active correction left on the task: Bernard refuses Done as long as a correction is not ticked as done ("there is still active correction");
3. that your latest version is published (Files tab).

Then set the task to Done (State property, or spreadsheet cell). The next task in the workflow becomes Ready. If the next one is a validation task, the lead or supervisor handles it: see the Lead and supervisor guide.

Some of the following tasks are script tasks: a script launches by itself on the designated workstation when the task becomes Ready (quality control, automatic export…). If an automatic export causes a problem, do not change the scene by hand: put the task concerned back to Ready to relaunch the script, as your studio's workflow provides.

Notes and retakes

Reading feedback. When a lead, a supervisor or the client writes a correction (a retake) on your task:

• the task goes back to Ready, even if it was Done (unless you have already put the task back in WIP); the tasks that follow it go back to Waiting;
• a red dot with the number of active corrections is displayed on the task in the node view;
• you receive a notification, in Bernard and by email depending on your settings (see Notifications and emails);
• the task comes back into your Ready tasks (My Tasks filter).

Open the Notes tab of the Properties panel to read the correction. If it is about a file, a banner shows the file, the commented version and the verdict of the review; the Play button replays exactly that version.

Handling a correction. Do what is asked, save a new version, then tick the correction's box: it turns green and the red dot decreases. When no active correction is left, you can set the task back to Done. The box only appears if you have write permission on the property concerned.

Replying or writing a note. In the Notes tab, use Reply to reply, or Add a correction or note to write a new note.

1. Choose the Context: the whole shot, a compound or a task.
2. Keep Type on Normal for simple information or a reply. The Correction type creates a retake: it is used to ask for rework and is only available on a task (not on a compound or a whole shot).
3. Choose the Category and the recipients (To): coordinator, supervisor, lead… They receive a notification.
4. Write the text, drag images into the text area, then confirm with OK or Ctrl+Enter.

You can write a note at any time, even without a retake, to flag important information about the shot.

Time is counted automatically

You never enter your time. As long as a task is in WIP, the server counts the time for the assigned person, per day. For this count to be right:

• leave Bernard open while you work;
• only leave in WIP the task you are really working on (one at a time);
• set it back to Pause when you stop for a long time.

What Bernard does by itself:

Bernard's icon in the system notification area also offers Pause current tasks. Closing Bernard's window leaves the application running.

The day change happens at a time set by the studio (3 a.m. by default): night hours stay on the right day. To see what has been counted, open the task's History tab, or the time columns in the spreadsheet (Time Delta compares the budget with the time spent). If the time is wrong, it is up to your lead or production to fix it: depending on their role, they have the Edit Existing TimeLog and Append TimeLog windows. See Time, attendance and planning.

If something does not work

The application logs open with Ctrl+Shift+L (Bernard Log); attach them to your message if you contact support.