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Moving media files around
Posted by Paul C
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Re: Moving media files around December 07, 2006 12:08PM |
> Am I asking for trouble if I start moving the media files around? (I would do it manually.)
Not really. The important thing is that
a) You don't delete anything, especially any file where you're not dead sure what its function is.
b) You organize files by type. Mixing audio AIFFs with clips captured from a batch list with graphics with stills with Word documents containing notes with Cinema Tools reports...that's a highway to hell.
c) You have unique file names for every single file involved in the project. If you don't, files can overwrite one another and you'll have media missing.
> And, by moving a media file from one folder to another, does it lose its relationship with a
> rendered file.
Yes. Attempting to reconnect render files is a very tricky business. The better way is simply to re-render the effects in the timeline(s). Render files are brittle and shouldn't be considered long-term keepers anyhow.
> When I open up the project and various sequences, I'm hoping all I have to do is reconnect
> the media. Wishful thinking?
No, not at all. Do this right and everything should be fine. One of the first jobs I had in L.A. was as assistant editor, re-organizing files for a feature that was in a tangled mess spread out over six FireWire drives daisy-chained and left running for several months straight. Thousands of files, all of them reconnected to the cut just fine.
In fact, I consider it safer to move/manage media manually than using Media Manager, which can in uncommon cases alter files permanently without your knowledge.
However, it's better to come up with a file-management system that doesn't require you to do this mid-project. A file-management system that should have taken into account the fact that you may need to add more drives later.
www.derekmok.com
Not really. The important thing is that
a) You don't delete anything, especially any file where you're not dead sure what its function is.
b) You organize files by type. Mixing audio AIFFs with clips captured from a batch list with graphics with stills with Word documents containing notes with Cinema Tools reports...that's a highway to hell.
c) You have unique file names for every single file involved in the project. If you don't, files can overwrite one another and you'll have media missing.
> And, by moving a media file from one folder to another, does it lose its relationship with a
> rendered file.
Yes. Attempting to reconnect render files is a very tricky business. The better way is simply to re-render the effects in the timeline(s). Render files are brittle and shouldn't be considered long-term keepers anyhow.
> When I open up the project and various sequences, I'm hoping all I have to do is reconnect
> the media. Wishful thinking?
No, not at all. Do this right and everything should be fine. One of the first jobs I had in L.A. was as assistant editor, re-organizing files for a feature that was in a tangled mess spread out over six FireWire drives daisy-chained and left running for several months straight. Thousands of files, all of them reconnected to the cut just fine.
In fact, I consider it safer to move/manage media manually than using Media Manager, which can in uncommon cases alter files permanently without your knowledge.
However, it's better to come up with a file-management system that doesn't require you to do this mid-project. A file-management system that should have taken into account the fact that you may need to add more drives later.
www.derekmok.com
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Re: Moving media files around December 07, 2006 02:21PM |
> In my quest to organize, is there a problem with moving some FCP project files from my main
> internal (system) hard drive to my internal video drive?
No. However, the one thing you must be careful about is file names. If you move the project file but retain its old name, you may find yourself working on the project file in its new location, then down the line, you might drag the wrong file and replace the new project file with the old one, which had an identical name.
I recommend that you archive the current project file to somewhere safe, with a date and time stamp on its filename (never, ever just rely on Date Modified), store it somewhere. Make a copy in your new disk location and use that as the work project file.
> I'm assuming it's better to have all the project's non-video elements off the main drive
The system drive should not be used for any media that has volume. About the only thing I'd
accept would be the project file there, and I don't even do that. If I'm using a SATA RAID, I put the project file into its own folder along with the rest of the files needed for the show. Same for external FireWire drives. I have a comprehensive backup system which guards against the external drives going bad.
However, a good number of people work while keeping media on an external drive with the project file in the system drive. They don't tend to have a lot of problems. As long as your file management can support it and you're doing backups regularly (at least once a day, on top of Autosave), you're pretty safe.
www.derekmok.com
> internal (system) hard drive to my internal video drive?
No. However, the one thing you must be careful about is file names. If you move the project file but retain its old name, you may find yourself working on the project file in its new location, then down the line, you might drag the wrong file and replace the new project file with the old one, which had an identical name.
I recommend that you archive the current project file to somewhere safe, with a date and time stamp on its filename (never, ever just rely on Date Modified), store it somewhere. Make a copy in your new disk location and use that as the work project file.
> I'm assuming it's better to have all the project's non-video elements off the main drive
The system drive should not be used for any media that has volume. About the only thing I'd
accept would be the project file there, and I don't even do that. If I'm using a SATA RAID, I put the project file into its own folder along with the rest of the files needed for the show. Same for external FireWire drives. I have a comprehensive backup system which guards against the external drives going bad.
However, a good number of people work while keeping media on an external drive with the project file in the system drive. They don't tend to have a lot of problems. As long as your file management can support it and you're doing backups regularly (at least once a day, on top of Autosave), you're pretty safe.
www.derekmok.com
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Re: Moving media files around December 07, 2006 08:10PM |
> My biggest media file organizing problem seems to be with capturing at different times. I keep
> getting capture files within project files within capture files
That's a classic.
First, let's clear up your terminology. You are getting Capture Scratch folders. A folder in Finder is a folder, not a file.
Second, when you set System Preferences - Scratch Disks, you have to know what it does. Whatever folder you single-click on to press "Choose", FCP will look inside that folder for a folder called "Capture Scratch". If it locates one, it will create another folder within there named after your project file's name, and then send captured clips there.
If you have already set the Scratch Disk for a project once, the Capture Scratch folder will have already been created. So the next time you set a Scratch Disk, you must single-click on the folder one level above the Capture Scratch folder. Otherwise FCP will look inside your Capture Scratch folder to try to locate a folder called Capture Scratch. When it fails to find one, it will create another one -- what I call the "Chinese box" effect.
To circumvent this, I always create a folder called "[Project Name] Clips". When I set a Scratch Disk, I always single-click on this folder and press Choose.
www.derekmok.com
> getting capture files within project files within capture files
That's a classic.
First, let's clear up your terminology. You are getting Capture Scratch folders. A folder in Finder is a folder, not a file.
Second, when you set System Preferences - Scratch Disks, you have to know what it does. Whatever folder you single-click on to press "Choose", FCP will look inside that folder for a folder called "Capture Scratch". If it locates one, it will create another folder within there named after your project file's name, and then send captured clips there.
If you have already set the Scratch Disk for a project once, the Capture Scratch folder will have already been created. So the next time you set a Scratch Disk, you must single-click on the folder one level above the Capture Scratch folder. Otherwise FCP will look inside your Capture Scratch folder to try to locate a folder called Capture Scratch. When it fails to find one, it will create another one -- what I call the "Chinese box" effect.
To circumvent this, I always create a folder called "[Project Name] Clips". When I set a Scratch Disk, I always single-click on this folder and press Choose.
www.derekmok.com
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