Massive re-naming of files going on - a linking/corruption concern

Hi Y'all,

We are, at last, doing a massive re-organizing, in preparation for moving all our duplicated media to our new raid, and just streamlining our process in general. We have a team of 3 and 2 of us do editing and 2 of us do compression... We pass files around like mad and have projects that overlap, etc...

We have worked out a new set of naming conventions that does the trick, but I am concerned about something:

When I am done with my fine-cut, I then drag the sequence icon into a new sequence, which is a template with a built in Intro + Outro and some TED titles that go on all of our talks. In thaere we also add some final audio filtering. We call this sequence "the Placeholder," and once it is done we export it and give that file to our master compressor to parse for various platforms.

You know how, when you nest a sequence in another like that, the new mixed-down clip shows the old sequence name? Well going forward this won't be a problem, because the sequences will all have the correct names. But retroactively we are changing the source-sequence name AND the final Placeholder sequence name, stuff that was exported before.

the Nested sequence links back to the source sequence, so that if any revisions are made inthe source it is reflected in the Nested one, which is great, and this seems to work fine even after changing the names.

But is there any potential for future corruptoin, or interruption of linkage between the two, from changing the file names? Obviously we are not changing any media or clip file names, only sequences within FCP projects, and exported files from those sequences...

All wisdom and experience much appreciated,

M A R L A


Current System:

FCP 7.0.3 on an MBP 17" from early 2011, running OS 10.8.3

Processor 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6750M 1024 MB
Software OS X 10.8.3 (12D78)

Sequences aren't files. They are simple small components of the project file(s). You can rename to your heart's content -- as long as the clips inside still have the same media relationships, you can change anything you want. What you're doing is akin to starting a new sequence for another, updated version of your edit. The only thing is that you should make sure when you nest, if a version appears in your Browser, make sure its name matches what you use in the timeline.


www.derekmok.com

Thanks Derek,

Problem: that's exactly what I need to NOT do, unless the pitfalls are real.

ie, I do need to rename the source-sequence that was used for the nested sequence, at which point it will no longer match the clipname in the nested sequence's timeline.

I have tested, (making changes in the middle of the source sequence after re-naming it, and the changes come through in the nested sequence automatically) and so the link appears to stay solid.

Please tell me specifically what the dangers are if you can... I saved all my old names, I could re-name them back if necessary...

Marla