Melvile Tools

Blender add-on for the Melvile pipeline (Walking The Dog). It brings together:

• Sanity Check: checks a file against the production specs and fixes what can be fixed.
• Rename: batch renames objects and materials to the naming convention, with consistent numbering.
• Shot Viewer: a window to review, switch, create and delete the shots of a sequence, with quick access to the character and prop rigs.
• Get Oid: asks Libreflow for the id of the open file.

Most values the tools rely on (prefixes, shot naming, frame rate…) live in config.py and can be overridden per studio without touching the code. See Configuration.

---

Contents

• Installation
• Where to find the tools
• Sanity Check
• Tools panel
• Rename
• Shot Viewer
• Configuration
• Troubleshooting
• For developers

---

Installation

Tested on Blender 5.2. The Shot Viewer relies on sequencer features added in Blender 5.

As an extension (artists): build the package, then in Blender go to Edit > Preferences > Get Extensions > Install from Disk… and pick the .zip.

blender --command extension build --source-dir path/to/wtd-libreflow-addon

From source (development): put the wtd-libreflow-addon folder in the addons folder of your Blender scripts directory, then enable Melvile Tools in Edit > Preferences > Add-ons. Reload Scripts (F3) picks up code changes in every file.

Preferences

Edit > Preferences > Add-ons > Melvile Tools:

Setting	Use
Character Reference	JSON file exported from the master character, used by the character checks (see Character reference). Falls back to the WTD_CHAR_REFERENCE environment variable.
Config Override	JSON file overriding values of config.py (see Configuration). Falls back to the WTD_SANITY_CONFIG environment variable.

---

Where to find the tools

Open the sidebar of the 3D Viewport (N) and click the WTD tab.

Panel	Editors
Sanity Check	3D Viewport, Video Sequencer
Tools (Get Oid, Shot Viewer button)	3D Viewport
Rename	3D Viewport, Shader Editor
Shot Viewer	Only in the Shot Viewer window

---

Sanity Check

Checks the open file against the specs of a production context (the kind of file it is), reports the problems and fixes the ones that can be fixed automatically.

Quick start

1. Pick the context at the top of the panel (for example Asset: General or Shot: Layout).
2. For asset contexts, the Asset name is read from the file name. Type it in if the file is not named yet.
3. Click Run Checks.
4. Click Fix All to fix everything that can be fixed, then look at what is left.

The counters under the buttons sum up the result: passed, warnings, errors, skipped and crashed checks.

Contexts

Context	For	File name expected
Asset: General	Props, sets, generic assets (modeling and lineart)	prp_name_mod.blend, set_name_lineart_v002.blend…
Character: Modeling	Character modeling	chr_name_mod.blend
Character: Lineart / Shading	Character lineart and shading	chr_name_lineart.blend, chr_name_shading.blend
Shot: Layout	Shot layout	sq010_sh0010_layout.blend
Shot: Animation	Shot animation	No checks yet

The context and the disabled checks are saved in the .blend.

Buttons

Button	Action
Run Checks	Runs every enabled check of the context.
Fix All	Runs the fix of every failing check that has one, then runs all checks again.
Report icon (right of Fix All)	Writes the last report to the text datablock WTD_Sanity_Report (open it in the Text Editor). Useful when there are more issues than the panel shows.
Export Character Reference	Character: Modeling only. See Character reference.

On each check row:

Element	Action
Checkbox	Enables or disables the check for this file.
Arrow	Unfolds the description and the list of issues.
Status icon	Not run, passed, info, warning, error, skipped or crashed. The number in brackets is the issue count.
Arrow-cursor icon	Selects the objects of the issues. For geometry issues, it enters Edit Mode with the faulty vertices, edges or faces selected.
Wrench icon	Fixes this check. It is shown only when the check failed and has a fix. Hover it to see what the fix does.
Refresh icon	Runs this check only.

In the unfolded list, each issue has its own select button. For naming checks, the name can be edited right there.

Ctrl+Z undoes every fix.

Checks

✔ means the check has an automatic fix.

All contexts

Check	What it checks	Fix
Units	Unit system, scale and length unit follow the specs.	✔
File name	The file is saved and its name follows the pattern of the context.

Asset contexts (General, Character Modeling, Character Lineart / Shading)

Check	What it checks	Fix
Naming convention	Objects, mesh data, collections, materials and node groups carry the type prefix (GEO_, COL_, MAT_…). No Blender default names (Cube, Material…), no .001, no spaces or accents. Mesh data is named like its object.	✔ when a name can be derived
Collection structure	No object directly in the Scene Collection, no empty collection, the required collections exist.	✔ removes empty collections
N-gons	Only triangles and quads.
Concave faces	No concave quad or n-gon.
Non-manifold geometry	No wire edges, edges with more than two faces, flipped normals, bow-tie vertices or open borders.
UVs	Every mesh has a UV map and no negative UV coordinate.
Modifiers	Only Subdivision Surface and Multiresolution. Lineart / Shading files also allow Line Art and Thickness.	✔ applies the others
Transforms applied	Rotation and scale of geometry objects are applied.	✔
Unused nodes	No node disconnected from the output in materials, worlds and node groups.	✔ deletes them
No animation	No action or NLA track assigned (drivers are fine).	✔

Character: Modeling

Check	What it checks	Fix
Inner mouth & eyes naming	Inner mouth and eye objects carry exactly the names of the reference character.
Body vertex order	The body has the same vertex count and order as the reference character.
Body vertex groups	The body has the required vertex groups.	✔ creates them empty

Character: Lineart / Shading

Check	What it checks	Fix
Color management	Display, view transform, look, exposure, gamma and colorspaces follow the specs.	✔ (except the working space)

Shot: Layout

Check	What it checks	Fix
Frame rate	Matches the production frame rate.	✔
Resolution	Resolution, percentage and pixel aspect match the production format.	✔
Shot start / end	The frame range matches production tracking. Skipped until the Libreflow / Kitsu connection is set up.	✔
Duplicated names	No local datablock with a .001 suffix.	✔ when the base name is free
Set positions	Instanced set collections sit at the world origin.	✔
Sound versions	Sound files exist and are the latest published version.	✔
Sound track active	Scene audio, sound strips and their channels are not muted.	✔

Character reference

The character checks compare each character to a master character:

1. Open the master character file, set the context to Character: Modeling and make sure the asset name is right.
2. Click Export Character Reference and save the JSON in a shared location.
3. Set that file as Character Reference in the add-on preferences, or in the WTD_CHAR_REFERENCE environment variable for everyone.

---

Tools panel

Get Oid For Open Scene

Asks Libreflow for the object id (oid) of the open file and shows it in the status bar. Blender must have been started from Libreflow, so that the Kabaret connection is available.

Shot Viewer

Opens the Shot Viewer window.

---

Rename

Renames the selected objects, or their materials, following the production naming convention. Numbering stays consistent across renames.

Names are built from these parts, joined with _. Empty parts are left out:

prefix _ name _ side _ number _ suffix
GEO    _ box  _ center _ 001  _ mesh     →  GEO_box_center_001_mesh

Settings

Setting	Use
Objects / Materials	Rename the selected objects, or the materials used by the selected objects.
Name	The new name. Leave it empty to keep each item's current name and only bring it to the convention: box2 becomes box_….
Prefix	None, By Type (GEO_ for meshes, CRV_ for curves, MAT_ for materials… the same prefixes the Sanity Check expects) or Custom.
Side	Orientation token: center, left, right, front, back, top, bottom, or none.
Suffix	None, By Type (mesh, curve, mat…) or Custom.
Order	The order numbers are given in: current name, or position along X, Y or Z. Ordering along an axis numbers a row of pillars from one end to the other.
Rename Data	Objects only. Gives the object data (mesh, curve, light… Maya's "shape" node) the same name as its object.

The box under the Rename button previews every change (old name → new name) before you click.

Numbering

• It continues after the existing names. Rename three objects to pillar and you get pillar_001 to pillar_003. Rename two more later and they become pillar_004 and pillar_005.
• Each pattern counts separately. pillar_left_… and pillar_right_… each have their own numbers.
• Renaming again is safe. Objects that already follow the pattern keep their number when ordered by name, and new ones are numbered after them. Ordering along X/Y/Z renumbers them all by position.
• Items in a linked library also count, so local numbers never repeat a library's numbers.

Examples

Selection	Settings	Result
temp, temp2, whatever	Name pillar, Prefix None	pillar_001, pillar_002, pillar_003
two more objects	same	pillar_004, pillar_005
box, box2	Name empty, Side center, Suffix By Type	box_center_001_mesh, box_center_002_mesh
same	+ Prefix By Type	GEO_box_center_001_mesh…
materials of the selection	Materials, Name wood, Prefix and Suffix By Type	MAT_wood_001_mat…

Good to know

• With Name empty, the tool strips the old prefix, side, number, suffix and .001, and trailing digits (box2 → box, GEO_box_center_002_mesh → box). A name like tree_v2 therefore becomes tree_v. Type the name in such cases.
• Data shared by several objects (instances made with Alt+D) is renamed after the first of them, and only when all of them are being renamed.
• Linked (library) objects and materials are not renamed.
• Ctrl+Z undoes the rename.

---

Shot Viewer

A separate window to review the shots of a sequence through their camera. You can switch shots, add and delete them, and grab the character and prop rigs.

How shots are stored

• The edit is a scene whose Video Sequencer holds the sequence.
• Each shot is a scene strip in that sequencer. The strip points to a scene (where the set and characters live) and optionally to a camera (Strip > Scene > Camera). Without a camera on the strip, the scene's active camera is used.
• Several shots can use the same scene with different cameras and frame ranges.

Opening it

WTD tab > Tools > Shot Viewer.

This opens a new window with its own Shot Viewer workspace (a tab in the top bar):

• Top: the 3D view, looking through the shot camera.
• Bottom: the Sequencer showing the edit, with each shot as a strip and the playhead showing where you are in the sequence.
• Sidebar (WTD tab): the Shot Viewer panel.

The window starts on the shot under the edit playhead. The file does not need any shots yet: the current scene becomes the edit, and you can add shots right away.

Your main window stays on the edit scene. You can keep working there, or put the viewer on a second screen.

Moving through the edit

To…	Do…
Jump to a shot	Click it in the shot list (name, camera, frames in the edit).
Go to the previous / next shot	Previous / Next.
Find a shot by name	The filter field at the bottom of the shot list.
Scrub the sequence	Drag the playhead in the Sequencer at the bottom. The 3D view switches to the shot under the playhead (scene, camera and frame), and the list follows. This is Blender's Sync Scene Time option, the checkbox at the bottom of the Sequencer.
Play one shot	Press play with the mouse over the 3D view. With Loop Shot on, playback loops on the shot. The edit playhead follows along.
Play the whole sequence	Press play with the mouse over the Sequencer. The 3D view follows from shot to shot.

Loop Shot works by setting the preview range of the shot's scene to the shot frames. Unticking it removes that preview range from the shot scenes.

Adding a shot

Click + next to the shot list:

Setting	Use
Name	Pre-filled with the next free shot number (sh0010, sh0020…).
Scene: New, Shared Content	A new scene using the same collections as the scene shown in the viewer (set, characters…), without copying them. Cameras placed directly in that scene's top collection are not carried over.
Scene: New, Empty	A blank scene with the resolution and frame rate of the edit.
Scene: Existing	Reuse an existing scene for its whole frame range. New Camera decides whether the shot gets its own camera or uses the scene's.
Duration	Length in frames, for new scenes. New scenes start at frame 1001.

The new shot is placed at the end of the edit and gets its own camera CAM_<shot name>. The camera copies the lens and position of the camera you were looking through, so you start from the current framing. The viewer then jumps to the new shot.

Deleting a shot

Select it and click −:

Option	Default	Use
Close Gap	On	Moves the following strips back so the edit has no hole.
Delete Camera	Off	Also deletes the shot camera, unless another shot uses it.
Delete Scene	Off	Also deletes the shot scene, unless another shot uses it. The edit scene is never deleted.

Ctrl+Z undoes adding and deleting shots.

Selecting rigs

The bottom of the panel lists the armatures of the shot, grouped into Characters, Props and Other:

• Click a rig: selects it and enters Pose Mode.
• Shift+click: adds it to the selection, to pose several rigs at once.
• The rig(s) currently selected are highlighted.

A rig counts as a character or a prop when its name, one of its collections, or the library file it comes from starts with chr_ / prp_ (see SHOT_VIEWER_RIG_GROUPS in Configuration). Hidden rigs cannot be selected.

Good to know

• The Shot Viewer workspace is saved with the file. Opening the viewer again reuses it.
• After reopening a file, check the Edit field at the top of the panel if the edit is not found automatically.
• Reversed strips and strips with a changed speed are not supported.

---

Configuration

All production values live in config.py. Values marked TODO there are placeholders waiting for the real production specs.

To change them without editing the code, write a JSON file with the keys to override and set it as Config Override in the add-on preferences, or in the WTD_SANITY_CONFIG environment variable. Dictionaries are merged with the defaults, so only the keys you change need to be listed. Every other value replaces the default.

{
  "FPS": 25,
  "RESOLUTION": [1920, 1080],
  "RENAME_SIDES": ["center", "left", "right"],
  "SHOT_FRAME_START": 1001,
  "SHOT_VIEWER_RIG_GROUPS": {
    "Characters": "(?i)^(?:chr|ch)[_-]"
  }
}

Unknown keys are ignored and reported in the system console.

Keys by tool

Tool	Keys
Sanity Check: scene	FPS, FPS_BASE, RESOLUTION, RESOLUTION_PERCENTAGE, PIXEL_ASPECT, UNIT_SYSTEM, UNIT_SCALE_LENGTH, UNIT_LENGTH, COLOR_MANAGEMENT
Sanity Check: files	FILENAME_PATTERNS, VERSION_PATTERN
Sanity Check: naming	OBJECT_PREFIXES, DATABLOCK_PREFIXES, NAME_BODY_PATTERN, MESH_DATA_MATCHES_OBJECT, DEFAULT_NAMES, DUPLICATE_NAME_TYPES
Sanity Check: assets	REQUIRED_COLLECTIONS, MAX_FACE_SIDES, CONCAVE_TOLERANCE, NON_MANIFOLD_ALLOW_BOUNDARY, UV_NEGATIVE_TOLERANCE, ALLOWED_MODIFIERS, ALLOWED_MODIFIERS_LINEART, APPLY_TRANSFORM, APPLY_TRANSFORM_TYPES, TRANSFORM_TOLERANCE, FORBIDDEN_ASSET_OBJECT_TYPES
Sanity Check: characters	CHAR_REFERENCE_PATH, CHAR_BODY_NAME, CHAR_PART_KEYWORDS, CHAR_BODY_VERTEX_GROUPS
Sanity Check: layout	SET_COLLECTION_PATTERN
Sanity Check: panel	CATEGORY_ORDER, MAX_ISSUES_DRAWN
Rename	RENAME_SEPARATOR, RENAME_PADDING, RENAME_SIDES, RENAME_TYPE_SUFFIXES (plus OBJECT_PREFIXES / DATABLOCK_PREFIXES for By Type prefixes)
Shot Viewer	SHOT_VIEWER_RIG_GROUPS, SHOT_NAME_FORMAT, SHOT_NUMBER_STEP, SHOT_FRAME_START, SHOT_DEFAULT_DURATION

---

Troubleshooting

A check says "crashed". The check hit an unexpected error. Unfold it to read the message, and send it with the file to the pipeline team. The other checks still run.

"Shot start / end" is always skipped. The connection to Libreflow / Kitsu (providers.get_shot_frame_range) is not set up yet.

The character checks are skipped. Either no character reference is set (see Character reference), or the character name is unknown: type it in the Asset field, or name the file chr_<name>_mod.blend. Body vertex groups stays skipped until production lists the required groups (CHAR_BODY_VERTEX_GROUPS).

Rename: the preview shows nothing. Nothing is selected, the selection is linked from a library, or (in Materials mode) the selected objects have no local material.

Shot Viewer: a rig is not in the list. Only armatures in the shot's view layer are listed. A collection instance that has not been overridden does not expose its armature: make a library override first.

Shot Viewer: the 3D view does not follow when I scrub. Check that Sync Scene Time is ticked at the bottom of the Sequencer in the viewer window.

---

For developers

Layout

Path	Content
__init__.py	Registration
config.py	Production values and the JSON override loader
providers.py	Hooks to production tracking (Libreflow / Kitsu)
core/	Sanity check framework: Check, Issue, contexts, runner
checks/	The checks, one folder per family
ui/	Sanity Check operators, settings and every panel
rename.py	Rename tool (logic, settings, operator)
shot_viewer.py	Shot Viewer (logic, settings, operators)
tools_ops.py	Libreflow tools (Get Oid)

Adding a check

Subclass Check in any module under checks/. A class that defines its own id is registered automatically:

from ...core import Check, Issue, contexts


class NoSuzanne(Check):
    id = "no_suzanne"
    label = "No Suzanne"
    description = "Monkeys are not allowed in production files."
    category = "Objects"
    contexts = contexts.ASSET

    def run(self, ctx):
        for ob in ctx.objects("MESH"):
            if "Suzanne" in ob.name:
                yield Issue.for_id(f"{ob.name} looks like a monkey", ob)

    # Optional: makes the wrench button appear.
    def fix(self, ctx, issues):
        ...

• run yields Issues. No issue means the check passed.
• Raise SkipCheck("reason") when the check cannot be evaluated.
• fix may return messages describing what it could not fix.
• Read config values at run time (config.FPS), never at import time, so that overrides apply.