Slow Project Load - Solutions?

[samuraicow]

I don't have a very large project:

• Project filesize: 800KB
  
• Footage: 85 files / 4k / ProRes HQ / ~250GB / no proxy
  
• Storage: Pegasus3 via Thunderbolt

Yet when launching the project, Premiere takes about 10 minutes to "load" all the media before I can begin any meaningful work. Doesn't matter if I have no sequences open on load or 10. No bins open. Nothing, yet I can see it reading from my Pegasus3 (at around 350MB/s) along the bottom of the screen as it loads each file. What is it doing that it needs to take so long every time I load the project? Resolve never has this issue. I just boot up and the timeline loads immediately.

[Michael Grenadier]

but this really seems like a network issue which may not be in Will's "wheelhouse."    Neil's one of the most experienced people here and in my book, what he says, goes.   Network administration is complicated...

[Michael Grenadier]

I'd ask Will if he has the experience managing a network...  

[FPS_Fish]

Sorry if I'm not being clear. Seting up and managing networks is Will's whole ballgame. This issue I'm having is isolated to a slow relinking problem after the project has opened. Again, once the media is relinked the performance of my network is smooth and reliable. If Adobe has no one else out there that is experiencing this issue, I'll defer it to being a local problem. Until then... 

[Michael Grenadier]

Networks for shared media are a complex issue and not sure if Will has that expertise...    It's not the same as sharing spreadsheets, etc.   Can't hurt to ask him if he's providing support with others working with Premiere and shared media.

[Michael Grenadier]

If I remember correctly, Avid has proprietary software and hardware to manage this... at least they used to.   It's not simple.  

[Michael Grenadier]

gotta say this issue should be sitting in your IT guy's lap...    I'm a one man band so I just connect media drives as needed, but I have butted heads with clients IT guys over the years...    By any chance are you using any "reserved" characters in your file or folder names?  Like /,\,*, etc.  These can cause issues...    They can be unpredictable and intermittent...

[Michael Grenadier]

And the demands a NLE editing system puts on a network are very different from other uses....     As I said, that's why Avid is the go to solution for shared media studios...   It's possible to make Premiere work, but as you're finding out, there may be issues.  With Avid, you get the support that you need (and you PAY for it).  

[FPS_Fish]

Yes. We used to edit exclusively on Avid systems (for over 20 years). And I still license the software only and use it on the same network without any issues.  Which is why I'm wondering if Premiere is the issue.

[R Neil Haugen]

Wondering if Whiz @Bruce Bullis might have an idea ... 

[FPS_Fish]

Ok...
I think I figured out a few things.

my proxies were a bit of a mess, organizationally. So I did a major cleanup of those. After which I detached and reattached the proxies so Premiere knew where to find them.
my folder structure for some cameras was a bit convoluted. I was wary of removing MXF media directly from my Sony's preferred camera subfolder arrangement. But some people advised that too many deep subfolders for PP to find something can slow it down.
Couple of people suggested that I remove odd characters in my file/folder naming. While I really only had the occasional ampersand, I still replaced them so Linux on the Synology NAS wouldn't have a hissy fit.
Speaking of Linux, Synology and hissy fits, while on a Zoom chat with Will from SpaceRex he noticed I was using custom icons in my folder sets. He casually mentioned that Linux didn't really like them - but didn't go as far as saying "get rid of them". Now, I love custom icons. Mac finder operations are a lot easier to sort out with visual cues. So I have a standard set of folders with custom icons that I copy over for every new project. I've been doing this for decades. But I was noticing (and frequently disregarding) how much longer the Premiere "tree" would take to list folders with my custom icons when I was impprting, relinking or searching within Premiere's Finder operations. So I experimented and stripped them off.

All these things made an impact in terms of performance.
But none more than stripping the icons.
While Relinking was still happening after the project was open - it was able to relink files a whole lot faster. It still said it would take 21mins, but rather than actually taking 7 or 8, it took a manageable 2mins! I'm not at all sure I know why this would be the case because the relinking background operation wasn't needing to display the icon. But apparently Linux on the Synology NAS just did not like them at all - I guess. Maybe.

It's still very early and I don't want to claim victory quite yet. But this is very encouraging.

[FPS_Fish]

I adjusted a couple of other things this morning.

In the Mac's Finder view options I turned off "Calculate All Sizes" and "Show Icon Previews".
Don't think my NAS likes that very much.
Probably wouldn't be so bad if it didn't have to redo the preview each time we opened a folder up.

Plus I found a Synology post that says I should use a Terminal command to force the Mac OS to ignore any hidden DS_Finder files.

To speed up SMB file browsing, you can prevent macOS from reading .DS_Store files on SMB shares.
This makes the Finder use only basic information to immediately display each folder's contents in alphanumeric order.
Use this Terminal command:
defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores -bool TRUE
Then log out of your macOS account and log back in.

Not sure if it has made an effect ...yet.

[Michael Grenadier]

great couple of posts...    Thanks for the detailed explanation of what you've been doing to try and solve the problem.   Had no idea custom icons could be a problem, although I've never customized an icon...    Keep up the good work.  

[FPS_Fish]

It is peculiar. But there's no point in argueing with an Linux OS. It is what it is. 

[Kevin-Monahan]

Would you say that your issue is solved then, @FPS_Fish? Let us know, please.

Thanks,
Kevin

[Director Lfii]

It worked for me when I checked the disk space and realized I have low space.  I created more space and launched premiere pro again and it worked. 

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi @samuraicow,

I'm trying to wrap things up in this thread. Did you ever solve this issue? Others here solved it by adjusting items related to their network drives. Is the same true with you? Please let us know so we can close this thread.

Thanks,
Kevin

[FPS_Fish]

I wanted to wait and see if the adjustments I've made were long lasting.

And I think I can safely say the performance issues I had a while back have not returned.

(Knocking wood as I type this)

In summary:

-ensure MacOS finder view options do not calculate file sizes

-ensure MacOS finder view options do not display previews

-remove any and all custom icons

-run a terminal command that prevents the Mac from reading DS_Store files on the NAS

-keep your proxies organized 

-consider stripping out complex folder structures from original camera footage (e.g. Sony Cameras) if your workflow doesn't need them (mine does not)

-and, if necessary and/or for peace of mind, contact Will @ SpaceRex and have him optimize your system settings

I hope what i have learned helps other people out there with similar issues.

><((º>

[samuraicow]

My original issue was not with a network drive but with a DAS. I was never able to resolve the issue, but as it's been 3 years since my initial posting, I've obviously moved on. I haven't run into this issue with subsequent projects, however. Not sure if it was just something specifically corrupted with that project file or what. Thanks for following up, though!