Sharing work for re-edit out of office

I have completed a 1 hour doc. project in FCP5 and want to send it to another editor for polishing. But I am a very disorganized slob and my files of film clips and photos are scattered over as many as five HDs. What is the way to consolidate all this original information for copying? And how can I forward my timeline and copies of my files to someone else in another state? Buy a new HD, dump files on it and ship? Can you actually copy your timeline with all its information for someone else to use to re-edit?

> Can you actually copy your timeline with all its information for someone else to use to re-
> edit?

Copy the project file. Simple as that. But you gotta put a little thought into file management. How will you distinguish between your last version and the versions this next editor will be producing? You should come up with a common management system and a way to denote which project file is which. Not to mention a complete backup before you start moving/copying/renaming anything.

As for clip management, video clips can be moved using Media Manager's Copy command, but photos, graphics files etc. will have to be done manually. Use the 'Reveal in Finder' function. Or, use APPLE-F in OS Finder. You can drag/copy files from the Search Results window.

Take this as a lesson in file management. If you don't know where your files are, nobody can tell you. Just hitting Import when you need something, without any planning and forethought, is not professional.


www.derekmok.com

Select your master sequence and use media manager to make a copy onto another HDD.

Once its done - just connect up the copy drive only and test it works.

Ben



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video clips can be moved using Media Manager's Copy command, but photos, graphics files etc. will have to be done manually.

The graphic files SHOULD copy over aswell - I just tested it on FCP6.0.1 and it works fine - but if they don't then you will have to do it manually as D said.

Ben



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

I 've always thought of MM as a "collect all" feature; when I select my final timeline and copy to a new project/location everything is moved over -- clips, graphics, audio, Livetype+Motion files etc. I don't think I've ever seen it miss anything...

JK

_______________________________________
SCQT! Self-contained QuickTime ? pass it on!

> The graphic files SHOULD copy over as well

Hmm, I think somebody this past week just had issues with still-image files not responding to Media Manager? I rarely use the Copy function -- I believe in good old-fashioned elbow grease in Finder when moving files -- so I could well be wrong there.


www.derekmok.com

> Once its done - just connect up the copy drive only and test it works.

And for God's sake, don't move or delete the files from the original location until you've confirmed everything is intact in the new location! I would backup the project file first and put it in a safe place.


www.derekmok.com

Absolutely not! There is no reason to delete anything until you get the project done...

Unless your life depended on like eg: you have footage of a Mafia leader in a compromising position and he's sent you a "friendly reminder" to delete the footage.



Ben



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

this is for sharing, so i dont imagine he'll be deleting his own copy of the media!

and yes, MM works on all forms of Media.
a copy function ,without trimming (delete unused) is very safe.

trimming would really stuff you up if you expect to get a project back from the other editor.
it would give multiple instances of clips new file names, so you wouldn't be able to reconnect
so just COPY

speaking of reconnecting, that'll be a slight issue when you get the files back.
all your files are all over the place.
all HIS files will be in one neat package.
so a small amount of reconnecting will be in order when the sequence comes back to you.


also..
MM will work on multiple selections, too.
so if you want, select the sequence, plus a bin of graphics,
MM will copy the lot.


cheers,
nick

Great! Thanks for the tutorials. Will give them a shot. I'd promise I'l be better next time but you won't believe it nor will I. I just get too involved in what I do.

seeker - do yourself a HUGE favor. search the forum for "folder structure" or "file management" a few of us have given detailed instructions for fool-proof ways to handle these types of situations.

once you get in the habit of good file management you'll wonder how you ever got along before : )

"I'l be better next time but you won't believe it nor will I. I just get too involved in what I do."

That's like saying I know it's gonna hurt, but I'm sticking my hand in the fire anyway! How dumb!

Lot's of people claim that they're "too creative" to be organized. I say, BS! Organization is the key to creativity. If you can't find a shot, or if you can't share your work, you can't even begin to start being "creative". There's no excuse for NOT being organized. Half of the posts here and on other forums are the result of people NOT understanding the necessity for staying organized.

The larger the project, the more important the need for being organized. "Seeker", you will find that life's much easier when you have a plan for keeping your media organized. Do yourself a favor and pay attention to the good advice offered here and develop a media management plan.

Good luck.

Mark

Being anal about file management looks silly and gets you a nerd reputation. But often it also means the difference between a good editor and a good and fast and safe editor.

One of my clients always tries to force the tape loggers (sometimes I do it, sometimes an assistant) to use a simplistic system like "1, 2, 3" for the clip names when logging, regardless of content, regardless of whether "4" is really Take 2 of Shot 2. I always resisted with great success, but the assistant fell to the nagging when I wasn't around and logged an entire project "1, 2, 3". And cost me 90 minutes of reorganization when I started the editing -- basically I had to start a new column with "surrogate" clip names I implemented that made sense of the takes. But after the 90 minutes, he couldn't believe how much faster it went.

You have to be far-sighted in these things. Proper management, organization, spelling, logic, grouping...yes, doing it right takes time. But you win back the time in spades. And the longer and more complex a project, the more the organization pays off. When a delivery deadline looms, that's when the investment really shines.


www.derekmok.com

>>Being anal about file management looks silly and gets you a nerd reputation<<

You know, it never even crossed my mind that people would think this was a bad thing. It's just being professional. Having crap everywhere, now *that* gets you a bad reputation. It even gets you yelled at if you work on a system I'm responsible for.

I've been fighting the "ignorance" of clients on this topic a lot lately.

They keep asking me to drop my rate for capturing because "it's just digitizing". It's perceived by many that it's not that taxing of a task, and that the computer does all the work, so why should they have to pay for my time, too?

It's a constant battle that's been heating up. It's not that they're dismissing how important it is, it's that many just aren't capable if understanding how important it is because they really don't have an editor's brain. That's fine, if all my producers had editor's brains, I'd have far less work!

An edit goes much faster if I organize while capturing. If I'm paying attention to the footage as it's going in so I know what I'm dealing with when I start to edit. If appropriate, I make notes or log scenes independently with detailed descriptions. It depends on the project. It's very much an active process in my edit suite.

More of my editor's brain can go into the organization of some projects than the actual editing. Sometimes I spend more than twice the time just getting to know my footage before I cut a single thing.

deb

Debe,

Here's my take on why many producers may have this impression of digitizing.

First, a bit of history. In the days of old (linear) an editor HAD to look at all available footage. There was no shortcut for knowing what you had to work with. Then came the NLE. Early versions had so little storage that again, an editor HAD to selectively digitize ONLY what they would REALLY want. This responsiblity could NOT be handed off to an assistant since only the editor could know what they really wanted.

Then, along comes "unlimited" cheap storage. Now, there's no need to be "selective" and you can just throw it "all in the bucket". Obviously, the skill and experience level to just "digitize" is a lower bar than to "selectively" digitize. Here at our shop, most of the shows do "throw it all in the bucket" and that process usually happens at night, driven by junior assistants (who make less than you do).

In our workflow, we look at the digitizing process as just a preliminary step and NOT part of the "editorial creative process. That doesn't mean we let the editor's off the hook for viewing everything. We don't. We expect that they watch everything relevant to their episode. It's just easier to click on a file and watch than put in a tape, roll back and forth, etc.

So, my suggestion to you is to hire a junior assistant to do this for you while you sleep. Bill them out at the producer's desired "lower rate", then step in and go for the glory.

You don't have to let the producer know that your first few days of "editing" is really what you could have been doing while digitizing

Good luck.

Mark

I respect your opinions, Mark.

In my shop, that just doesn't work. I tried it. I tried it with three different assistants. It's not an experience thing....it's a logistics thing.

Clients still expect me to know exactly where all the footage is the first minute we sit down...and with our workflow, there is very little time between the end of the shoot and the start of the edit.

There simply isn't enough time to have someone else capture the footage and for me to get familiar enough with it before the edit starts. They have to happen at the same time.

I never said the clients were rational!!!

deb

I'm with Deb on this one. I think some of Mark's points are accurate, but they aren't the only reason. A big part of it as far as I can see is also because of something we discussed a week or two earlier -- the advent of the "preditor". Because producers now tend to dabble in Final Cut Pro, they are now helping to proliferate bad work habits. They don't do it for a living and very often somebody else comes in to take over the editing, so the "preditors" don't realize how damaging, misleading and flat-out unprofessional their file management is. And they're not the ones who have to clean it up -- it usually falls to the real editors.

So now I have to budget time at the beginning of projects if I'm not the one setting it up. Cleanup time. I always tell the producers what they've done wrong in terms of organization, they usually yes me to death...then on the next project, they do it all over again -- no slates, no proper shot/take numbers, no distinction from clip to clip, no good bins, no organizational logic at the Finder level...sometimes not even unique file names.

Grrr.

A DP wouldn't let a producer pressure him/her into shooting with the lens dirty and the tripod unlocked. So what makes them think we'd allow them to pressure us into editing when the files are all in the wrong place and mislabelled?


www.derekmok.com

Again, thanks all. Re: Mark Raudonis et al. Your point is well taken and I agree. Like many, I am the night staff...and the day staff...and the janitor. And this means that like many, I have to do it all. And often quicker than I wanted to do it. It's just that what may seem like a short cut at the time isn't and you know it won't be, usually, but other things do get in the way. This actually was my first(ish) project (starting out on FCP 2.0/OS 9-better known as the "Crash Machine". Talk about a hooked thumb from saving!! And checking off those preferences which shifted on their own. AARGH!), which I have revisited many times over the years and while I am still a slob, I am getting better. Your advice, all, is taken to heart and again I do appreciate its constructivness. I'm sure I'll be back on this one. Looks like I have a lot to do. BTW, where are we on the brands of ext. hard drives to buy these days? Lacie still "out"?

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Lacie still "out"?

Yep - don't touch anything with a Maxtor Mechanism either.

Go for a well ventillated or cooled Case that is robust and has Mitsubishi or Seagate Barracuda drives in.

Others have their favourites but (touch wood) I haven't had a single problem with these manufacturers.

G-Tech & Promax are good suppliers of high quality external HDDs - all must be cared for though as rough handling of drives and their ports is a sure way to break them.


Ben

PS seriously keep them cool - its the biggest cause of HDD failure other than handling damage I know.



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]