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Excellent blog on FCP X workflow shortcomings
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[Charlie Austin] “Just to nit-pick… X doesn’t ignore the Reel Name (embedded in the QT TC track) anymore, you just can’t change it from within X. I could be mistaken, but now that I think of it I’m not sure you can do anything destructive to master files from within X…”
Yes, totally true. I was excited about that addition! Sorry I was so unclear.
I think it shouldn’t be easy to accidentally make a destructive change to a file — but it shouldn’t be hard to do it on purpose, either. And if you wanted to, you could preserve the original metadata elsewhere in the file.
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events -
[Walter Soyka] “Yes, totally true. I was excited about that addition! Sorry I was so unclear.”
No biggie, just wanted to clarify for those reading who may not be aware of that recent change… 😉
[Walter Soyka] “I think it shouldn’t be easy to accidentally make a destructive change to a file — but it shouldn’t be hard to do it on purpose, either.”
I’m with you on that…
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~”It is a poor craftsman who blames his tools.”~
~”The function you just attempted is not yet implemented”~ -
The irony is that this inflexibly with media files is a direct copy of what Avid has always done. Capturing into a walled-off media database was a hallmark of Avid’s rock solid media management and something they’ve been trying to loosen up with AMA. Ultimately both Media Composer and FCP X now have a very similar database/media-handling architecture.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
[Oliver Peters] “The irony is that this inflexibly with media files is a direct copy of what Avid has always done”
Yes but FCPX lacks the collaboration that Avid’s “walled garden” enabled. FCPX is walled off but with little benefit.
Regarding Tape/Reel metadata and Avid… Avid does embed Tape in the mxf file if it’s a tape based workflow. This is indicated by the resulting Avid.mxf file name starting with this Tape name. There is a TapeMOB ID created in this case and is something we are trying to preserve in file based workflows. One can, like Oliver says, add the Tape ID after the file is created but then there is no TAPMOB in the file, just a database entry. We prefer the file have the Tape ID embedded so there’s no orphaning potential.
John
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[Andy Field] “My last line was – “come on Apple, fix this””
If you can’t see how that very line of yours can most easily be read in “angry whining” mode, then I can’t help you.
That may have been 180 degrees from your intent. But it’s NOT how your original post came across.
It came across as a clear slam at X and delivered the impression that you feel the software isn’t ready for pro use.
And that’s kinda being established as your “brand” here. At least in my mind.
I don’t recall a thread that you’ve started here that was anything but frustrated and critical of X as a tool.
If that’s NOT your position – then you might want to review your past couple of months posts and see how they conform to your true feelings.
Look, it’s both easy and seductive to demonstrate ones mastery of a subject through the process of picking at what isn’t right with it. It’s the boyfriend who disses what the girlfriend is wearing then is astonished when she gets mad. “But you KNOW I love you” he says. Missing that his actual words have been dismissive (or even cruel) however unintentional. After all, he’s just trying to “help” her with his honesty, right?
And so it goes.
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[Oliver Peters] “The irony is that this inflexibly with media files is a direct copy of what Avid has always done.”
There are some similarities. But as someone who left Avid a long time ago partially for the way it manages media, I find FCP X more workable. Now I could be not up on the way Avid organizes things. But Avid just threw everything together in the same folder. Because they were MXF files, you couldn’t view them without Avid. So there was no OS structure to the media.
The same is not true with FCP X which actually uses folders and files that the OS recognizes. Not to mention you can just drop a file in the “Original Media” folder and it shows up in the event. There is a lot more manual manipulation at the OS level that can happen with FCP X. I use NeoFinder to generate a visual catalog of all my material. You couldn’t do the same with Avid.
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[Brett Sherman] “There are some similarities”
Correct. Both apps allow you to link to external media. This is AMA in Avid, aliases in an FCP X Event folder. Both apps can import media into media folder controlled by the app (Events and MXF). Since MC7, both AMA and MXF media is managed, just like with FCP X.
[Brett Sherman] “But Avid just threw everything together in the same folder.”
Avid places these into a numbered subfolder within a common MXF folder. These subfolders can be reorganized by the user at the Finder level. The limitation is these should be numbered subfolders. So it requires a bit of manual work, but it’s actually quite easy with Media Composer to segregate media by project into separate numbered subfolders.
I would point out that Finder-level manipulation of the media is precisely what Apple would rather no user do and why the new structure is the way it is. They were tired of answering stupid support calls from users who messed things up 😉
[Brett Sherman] “you couldn’t view them without Avid.”
There are several third-party tools (including the free MXF Player) that let you view this media.
[Brett Sherman] “Not to mention you can just drop a file in the “Original Media” folder and it shows up in the event.”
With Avid you can externally create MXF media (such as with DaVinci Resolve or Baselight FilmLight), place a folder of that media into the MXF folder and then bring them into Media Composer.
[Brett Sherman] “I use NeoFinder”
I’m not familiar with this application. But, with Automatic Duck Media Copy I can select all media used in a sequence and copy it into a new, separate folder for archiving. Works for FCP 7, too.
As we both said, similar. Sure, with some differences. My point was that Apple looked at what was perceived as a better way of doing things and copied it, with some updates.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
[Bill Davis] “[Andy Field] “My last line was – “come on Apple, fix this””
If you can’t see how that very line of yours can most easily be read in “angry whining” mode, then I can’t help you.
“And if Bill can’t help you, who possibly can?
[Bill Davis] “And that’s kinda being established as your “brand” here. At least in my mind.
“Yeah, but your “brand” is that anybody who isn’t having puppies with X is a hater.
[Bill Davis] “It’s the boyfriend who disses what the girlfriend is wearing then is astonished when she gets mad. “But you KNOW I love you” he says.”
Yes, Bill. X does make your butt look big.
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[Brett Sherman] “Now I could be not up on the way Avid organizes things. “
That would be correct.
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A bit of a diss, but whatever. I’m still not convinced Avid’s media management for my purposes (where I have to retain and reuse media over 10 years time) is efficient. Sometimes it’s easier to just find the file outside the NLE and copy it. It’s just plain harder with Avid to do this. Numbered folders just don’t tell me anything, especially 8 years after I’ve last opened the project.
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