# PROTOCOL — Master MOC > [!abstract] About > **PROTOCOL** is the pipeline documentation of **Alternatives Productions** — a collaborative studio that brings rotating artists together around short projects. This MOC is the top-level entry point for everything pipeline-related: naming conventions, USD workflow, task tracking (Kitsu), and render-farm submission (Deadline). > [!info] Pipeline in one line > Full **USD** workflow — scene building in **Solaris**, rendering via **RenderMan**, publish/version via **Prism**, tasks in **Kitsu**, farm in **Deadline**, compositing in **NukeX**, grading in **DaVinci Resolve**. ## 🧭 Reading Order for Newcomers 1. [[FOUNDATION/PROTOCOL Naming Convention|Naming Convention]] — **read this first.** Every asset, texture, shot and publish in the pipeline follows these rules. 2. [[USD/USD MOC|USD MOC]] — how USD is used across the studio (theory + practice). 3. [[KITSU/KITSU MOC|Kitsu MOC]] — how tasks, shots and assets are tracked. 4. [[DEADLINE/DEADLINE MOC|Deadline MOC]] — submit your renders to the farm. --- ## 🏷️ Foundation - [[FOUNDATION/PROTOCOL Naming Convention|Naming Convention]] — camelCase rules, asset / texture / material / HDA / shot / render / Prism product / ShotGrid naming. - [[FOUNDATION/OSMIUM PIPELINE STEP.canvas|OSMIUM Pipeline Steps (canvas)]] — visual diagram of the pipeline steps. --- ## 🌐 USD — Universal Scene Description The core data layer of the pipeline. See the full [[USD/USD MOC|USD MOC]] for the complete index. - [[USD/Notes/USD KNOWLEDGE/6.30 USD Theory|USD Theory]] — layers, variants, prims, stage, purpose, kind, components, assemblies, payloads. - [[USD/Notes/USD KNOWLEDGE/USD terms and definitions|USD Terms & Definitions]] — glossary. - [[USD/Notes/USD KNOWLEDGE/USD Extension|USD File Extensions]] — `.usd` / `.usda` / `.usdc` / `.usdz`. - [[USD/Notes/USD KNOWLEDGE/USD From 0 to pro - L4 WS|USD From 0 to Pro — L4 Workshop]] — extended course. - [[USD/Notes/USD Practice/USD Environment Setup|USD Environment Setup]] — environment variables and setup. - [[USD/Notes/USD Practice/USD Maximizing Performance - by pixar|USD Maximizing Performance — Pixar]] — optimization. - [[USD/Notes/USD Practice/USD Jemalloc use|USD Jemalloc Use]] — memory allocator notes. --- ## 📋 Task Tracking — Kitsu See the full [[KITSU/KITSU MOC|Kitsu MOC]] for the complete index. - [[KITSU/Notes/Kitsu for Artists|Kitsu for Artists]] — day-to-day artist workflow in Kitsu. --- ## 🚜 Render Farm — Deadline See the full [[DEADLINE/DEADLINE MOC|Deadline MOC]] for the complete index. - [[DEADLINE/Notes/DeadLine Basics By Loris Eck|Deadline Basics — by Loris Eck]] — installation and first submissions. - [[DEADLINE/Notes/Deadline For Alternatives Productions|Deadline for Alternatives Productions]] — AltProd-specific configuration. - [[DEADLINE/Notes/Render to Deadline without Prism|Render to Deadline without Prism]] — farm submissions outside the Prism workflow. - [[DEADLINE/Notes/Deadline Error List|Deadline Error List]] — troubleshooting. - [[DEADLINE/Notes/Reconfigure Deadline|Reconfigure Deadline]] — resetting or migrating a Deadline setup. - [[DEADLINE/Notes/DeadLine Roadmap|Deadline Roadmap]] — planned improvements. --- ## 🧱 Software Stack | Software | Version | Role | |------------------|----------|----------------------------------------------| | Houdini | 21.0.512 | Scene building, FX, lookdev (Solaris / LOPs) | | RenderMan | 27.2 | Rendering in Solaris / Karma context | | Prism Pipeline | v2.1.1 | Asset & shot management, publishing | | Kitsu | — | Task / shot / asset tracking | | Deadline | — | Render-farm submission & management | | NukeX | 16.0v6 | Compositing | | Maya | 2026 | Modeling / rigging / animation | | DaVinci Resolve | 20 | Color grading and DCP | --- ## 🔗 Related - [[../THE PROTOCOL VAULT|THE PROTOCOL VAULT]] — vault landing page. - [[../KNOWLEDGE/KNOWLEDGE MOC|KNOWLEDGE MOC]] — software & theory knowledge base (lookdev, lighting, compositing, DCCs…). - [External — Naming Convention live doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1njKUUPvJuuMr5Qkx6wCVdkwkJpKYPStI8DLkxrXI9j8/edit?usp=sharing) — leave comments there for retake requests.