FCPX, XSAN, 3 edit suites and RED PROXIES

[Elliot Pollaro]

It helps somewhat, but it still doesn’t explain exactly how to share files and projects over a SAN.. They kind of jump around it.

[John Heagy]

[Elliot Pollaro] “They kind of jump around it.”

My thoughts exactly! It’s more about how to work around FCPX paradigms:

Events shared out via AFP with sparse images

Avoiding the magnetic timeline by placing down a single slug.

Avoiding project lists by editing in Compound clips only.

More how to work around than work with.

John

[Elliot Pollaro]

Also, they explain creating the disk image, but they dont explain multiple users editing off the same project and XSAN. I can see how you could put the disk image on the server and then everyone share it but wouldn’t it only work with one machine at a time?

[John Davidson]

Thanks for watching the walk throughs guys!

Sparse disk events only work with one user at a time, but, you could build a base Event (whether it’s a san location or a dmg or whatever) that contains all media. Then create your proxy media, which I think it’s just a checkbox in prefs. Once you have all your materials in the Event and all the proxies are created, duplicate the event for as many systems as you have running.

At this point everyone can work on their events individually. When done, one system mounts all three Events and copies all the compound clips (aka sequences) into a single Event. Uncheck the ‘use proxy media’ preference, and the high resolution footage should be relinked automatically.

I haven’t tested this, but this is where I’d look first. We don’t have a SAN or Red footage, so YMMV.

In regards to the working around, I think that the changes to Compounds in 10.0.6 were to create this kind of workflow. My guess is the direction of FCPX is away from projects altogether. It sure is easier that way (imho).

John Davidson | President / Creative Director | Magic Feather Inc.

[John Davidson]

I should also say that this is if you use referenced media. You’d need to copy the proxies out of the main event into a shared location for all of it to work.

John Davidson | President / Creative Director | Magic Feather Inc.

[Elliot Pollaro]

In all honesty, these work arounds are a nightmare. Its stressful as an editor, and its quite “INSANE” we have to jump through so many hoops to get a workflow. I wish someone at Apple would lock down and give us a working “SIMPLE” solution. We spend hours and hours a day trying to figure out loop holes to get something to work and in the end it just all seems so confusing, and you leave work with a huge headache.. That was me VENTING :D… This is why we need a video tutorial explaining proper XSAN server workflow with RED, FCPX and multiple users accessing the same projects.

[John Heagy]

[Elliot Pollaro] “This is why we need a video tutorial explaining proper XSAN server workflow”

I depends on what you need to share and if needs to be concurrent.

As far as projects go, I really don’t think anybody needs concurrent access to the same project. Even Avid doesn’t do that. In the end project sharing is really handled by copying projects or closing a project so it can be opened by someone else. Apple handles both of these via San locations.

What I think most people really mean when they say “project sharing” is accessing the same media. Apple does and doesn’t do this. It does as long as it’s not concurrent. If you want concurrent media access then it’s a copy. I think most people want concurrent access to media and imho coping is not sharing.

Now with media only linked, the actual media files are not copied but the event is. What Apple really needs is concurrent Event sharing. The value of events is the metadata added. If two editors have copies of an event then the metadata diverges… again not sharing, more like isolating.

There’s only one way to solve this… Events need to go to a shared database server and not locked away on individual systems.

That would at the very least require a server, a host of preference settings, and user accounts. Things I think Apple does over it’s dead body.

John

[Elliot Pollaro]

[John Heagy] “There’s only one way to solve this… Events need to go to a shared database server and not locked away on individual systems.

That would at the very least require a server, a host of preference settings, and user accounts. Things I think Apple does over it’s dead body.”

Exactly.

[T. Payton]

[John Heagy] “Events shared out via AFP with sparse images

Avoiding the magnetic timeline by placing down a single slug.”

If they had a XSAN they wouldn’t have to use sparse disk images, but because of it it makes a nice container for archiving, and transport.

I believe the comment about not using the primary storyline was just for that type of project. I believe he clarified it at the end.

We have to admit that the Final Cut team has not yet addressed collaborative editing. However, based on their track record of innovation of FCP, I’m sure what they come up with will be excellent and in line with MultiCam, Roles, etc. I think this video series shows that even as it stands now FCP X can work in a shared environment pretty well.

BTW I’m still working on that tutorial to show RED, proxy media with multiple editors, but I’m slammed with work at the moment. Sorry it is taking a while.

——
T. Payton
OneCreative, Albuquerque

[John Davidson]

[T. Payton] “BTW I’m still working on that tutorial to show RED, proxy media with multiple editors, but I’m slammed with work at the moment. Sorry it is taking a while.
“

Yeah man, that stuff is hard work. Here’s a little tip for you. When you record the video – if you use QT to do the screen recording on an iMac or at Cinema Display resolution, DON’T optimize the qt’s that Quicktime creates in FCPX. For whatever reason, optimizing the video to prores makes it 4fps instead of the high frame rate the H264 recordings make.

Just work with the native files. I beat my head on that for a day or two till I realized what was happening.

John Davidson | President / Creative Director | Magic Feather Inc.