Noobie question: can I delete a file?

Okay, clearly (based on my other post) you can see that I am cleaning up a messy disk. So, here's my question:

I shot a short on film, had it telecinied, and now have it in .mov form on my computer. Parts of it were letterboxed, and others were not, so I went in and letterboxed the scenes that needed it.

That FCP file references the original, non-letterboxed file.
The letterboxed output is what I use when making DVDs.

Is it the same quality as the original mov file? Or should I save that, so if I ever need to do some more edits, I can go to the source?

Or, would editing the letterboxed version amount to the same thing?

(I have the telecinied version on a DVD, so even if I threw it away, I could retrieve it. But if I delete it off my hard drive, I'll also delete the FCP file, because why would I need that if the letterboxed version is going to become the new master file.)

Thanks,

Mike

PS. I stopped editing for 6 months to do something else, and it's amazing what I've forgotten!

hi , Mike

"I stopped editing for 6 months to do something else, and it's amazing what I've forgotten!"

so you're an oldie, but a noobie?


"Parts of it were letterboxed, and others were not, so I went in and letterboxed the scenes that needed it."

i would have letter boxed the whole thing, for consistency.
but if you got it to work, great.


"That FCP file references the original, non-letterboxed file."

i think you might be talking about the PROJECT file here.
yes, project files reference external media.
unlike iMovie project files, they contain no media,
only point to it

"The letterboxed output is what I use when making DVDs.
Is it the same quality as the original mov file? Or should I save that, so if I ever need to do some more edits, I can go to the source?"

depends on your media's format & how you exported it.
can i assume DV?
that does take a slight quality hit when you add effects to it, (letterbox is an effect)
but damned if i can see it.
so theoretically on it's not the same quality, but realistically yes, it is

the best way to export is as a QuickTime Movie, using the default "Same Settings"
if you export using QuickTime conversion, or as a QuickTime movie, and chose a setting, even the same one as your sequence/ media, then the image will be re-compressed,
and sustain a quality hit.


another important thing to note is you probably should export as a SELF CONTAINED file.
this means all the media for the export is contained IN the export.
you can take it to another computer and work from it there.

this is the default setting when exporting a QuickTime movie.
you can un-tick that, and get what they call a REFERENCE movie
this contains only the audio, and any effects that were un-rendered in the FCP timeline
for the most part it only references the existing media: the captured files, and any render files
the export file will be smaller, and be quicker to make,
but if you ever lose or delete, or move any of the original media it wont work AT ALL.


"would editing the letterboxed version amount to the same thing?"

i said "theoretically, yes" but i would NOT do that.
the letterbox is not a taxing effect in FCP, and you don't know what else you may want to do to it.
if you DID ad more effects to your export, you;d be adding fx to already re-compressed media.
photocopying the photocopy.
always better to work from as close to the source as possible.


you would ALWYS save your original,
but in your case that is on tape, and can always be recaptured.
so if you are done with your project, or have another one coming in and need to make room
you can dump your captured files,
and in the future you can recapture.

"(I have the telecinied version on a DVD, so even if I threw it away, I could retrieve it."
yes,
but only if you hated yourself.
the DVD is seriously compressed.
how do you think they get 20 gigs of media down to 4 or less?
they throw stuff away.

the DVD is only a source for future editing in an extreme emergency.
you have the original tapes.
THEY are your source for all future work

you could use your export for future work, but as i said above i wouldn't do that

"But if I delete it off my hard drive, I'll also delete the FCP file, because why would I need that if the letterboxed version is going to become the new master file.)"

i'm not sure, but i suspect you may be thinking about the project file again.
NEVER EVER EVER delete that, (or a version of it)
that is the real gold of your FCP work.
in fact, it's so good, you should have more than one copy of it.
start thinking about an on-going back-up regime for your project files.
make safety backups to another drive.

you could delete your rushes media,
as i said you can always re-capture it,
but you need the project file to recapture it, and to re-build all the work you've already done.

seems like you think you're not finished with this project.
if that;s the case, leave the rushes on the drives,
and protect your project files


hope that helps,
nick

Hi Nick,

I?m not so much an oldie, but someone who cycles through phases of writing, shooting and editing, so I?m always a noobie when I get back to editing. And since every problem is visible in the editing room, I always feel like I have training wheels on and that I?d better get it right. There is no next step.

Your advice was terrific, and terrifically detailed. Thanks. I think I managed to do everything right, and will not be deleting anything. If you want more details, they follow below:

I have an old film (on film) that was telecinied onto a Beta, so the only way that I could put it onto a DVD was to first turn it into a .mov file at Lightning Dubbs. (I suppose I could?ve done it to a DV tape, but it never occurred to me.) The .mov file I got, let?s call it Movie_A.

I have Project_Letterbox that points to Movie_A and ?fixes? it by making the aspect ratio consistant throughout the whole thing. (There?s also some stock footage that I had to make fit.) The output from Project_Letterbox is a self-contained QT movie, called Movie_B.

[And, actually, I did letterbox the whole thing ? what I had to do was take certain things (like the credits) and compress them vertically so that they would fit inside the letterboxing.]

I use Movie_B when I print DVDs. (Using compressor first produces a better result than going through DVDSP alone. Don?t know why.)

Movie_B was exported using ?same settings? as you recommended.

Alright, so it seems like what you?re saying is this:
NEVER delete Project_Letterbox. Good advice. I probably would have.
ONLY delete Movie_A if you can reimport it. (I can. It?s on a DVD, as a .mov file. It?s not a playable DVD in mp2 format.)
If I?m going to re-edit something for whatever reason: Open Project_Letterbox, save it under a different name for safety reasons, and go from there, referencing Movie_A.
Movie_B has done its job, it?s done it well, and I should use it for that.

As for being done with the movie, I think I am, but who knows? With technology changing, the way it is, anything could happen.

all sounds good, mike.
so i guess the export (movie_B) is no bigger than the original, which fit on a DVD.
so you might as well back that up to a DVD as well.


cheers,
nick