How to manage 2 editors working simultaneously on single project?

[13]

You can’t merge 2 projects.

You should assign each editor totaly seperite parts of the project

[Mark Raudonis]

The answer is both simple and infinitely complex.
Here’s the siimple answer: Forget about the “project”… focus on the the “timeline”.

More details: You’re heading in the right direction: Duplicate media on both systems. Create a project that is “media only”. This is where material is digitized, organized, and accessed. This project can be duplicated and sent to the other system. When there is new material, digitize it into this “media” project and update the project name: Example; Media 10-22, Media 10-23, etc. By using the date in the project name you’ll easily know if you have the “latest” media.

FCP can open MULTIPLE projects simultaneously. So, when editing, all you have to do is open up your media project, and also create and open up a “cuts only” project containing your sequences. The bulk of the “changes” occur in this “cuts” or “sequences” project. That’s what gets passed back and forth between editors. From here on out, you need to keep an eye on “versions”, but its not that hard. No editor can work on the exact same timeline simultaneously. Break your project into logical parts (Act 1, 2, 3, etc.) and label the versions. This may sound complicated reading this, but in practice it’s not. We regularly have many editors working on multiple episodes or even the same episode passing timelines back and forth via X-SAN. The key is to separate the timelines from the bulk of the rest of the project.

Good luck.

Mark

[Tom Piper]

Mark-

Thanks for a thorough, and hopeful, reply.
I get the idea of the ‘media only’ project file, which as I understand it, essentially acts as the project log. And I assume that all the sequences in the ‘cuts only’ file refer only to clips from the ‘media only’ project – is that right so far? But with the ‘cuts only’ project files, can you give an example of how you label and organize the versions? I just can’t quite envision how you keep it all current and synchronized. For instance, if say I’m cutting a sequence in Act 1, the other editor is cutting a sequence in Act 2, how do we end up with a ‘cuts only’ project at the end of the day (or week) that reflects both the new Act 1 sequence and the new Act 2 sequence? Do you just cut and paste the updated sequences into a new project file?

Of course, because this project is already underway, and I’ve been working as the sole editor (and assuming it would only be so), I fear I may have already gone too far down the path to adopt your system. Unless I can separate out all the media into a ‘media only’ project and then somehow relink all my current sequences to reference only that project file…. it’s making me head hurt.

thanks again though Mark – very helpful response.

-Tom

[Mark Raudonis]

[tpiper4] “Do you just cut and paste the updated sequences into a new project file?”
Yep. Pretty much that’s what we do.

To review:

Big project with all the media in it. Each editor also has another project, much smaller that only contains “edited sequences”. This project gets passed back and forth via ethernet or USB drive (’cause it’s so small). The name of this project may be “Mark cuts 10-22”, with the name updated dailey. Since you only want the most current project open, you can ignore all previous versions of this “cuts” project leaving them closed execpt for today’s “active” version. As for the cuts, we do it like this:

Let’s say the show is a one hour project that plays in six acts. We would have a timeline (Sequence) for each act “black to black”. For example: “Act1cut1″, Act2cut2” or if you really want to get precise: “Act1cut1mark”, “Act2Cut2Piper”. Typically the “cut #” doesn’t get updated until it’s gone out for a round of notes. So “Act1Cut1Mark” may be the “active” timeline for quite some time. Once editing progresses to a full “assembly”, then one editor takes the “lead” and will “pull in” the various cuts to create a complete show. So, for that process, the lead editor creates a new timeline called “Episode 100 Internal Cut1”. The fact that it’s now an “episode” rather than an act lets you know that you’re looking at an assembly.

Keep in mind, “the last one to save” wins. Meaning, when creating your assembly, you have to make sure that you’re dealing with the most recent version of each individual sequence. While this may sound complex, it really is pretty straightforward. We’ve been using multiple editors with FCP for at least three years now. Couldn’t possibly make our deadlines without this workflow.

Don’t be distracted by Avid editors who will say, “But FCP won’t allow the multiple users access to the same project!”. While technically true, the way that FCP deals with media makes this arguement irrelevent. Jump into the multi-user workgroup… you’ll never go back to the sole, lonely editor again.

Good luck.

Mark

[Tom Piper]

Mark-

Thanks, I think I’ve got it now. You’ve been a great help.

[Mark Raudonis] “While technically true, the way that FCP deals with media makes this arguement irrelevent.”
Just out of curiousity, how is FCP handling the media differently from Avid. I’ve never spent much time on an Avid.

thanks again,
Tom

[Cpdurham]

There must be a good way to accomplish this without duplicating the media on both systems; I work right next to my partner and we’re trying to come up with some solution to this problem — easy access to the media for both of us. We’re networked to each other, but this can be limiting at times as well.

Carter Durham

https://www.netinfomercialsecrets.com/?vip=2425

[Mark Raudonis]

You may be networked, but you’re not sharing the same storage. For that you’ll need a SAN (X-SAN by Apple for example). However if you only have two…. and only two, there is a way for both computers to share the storage.

Try googling “two computers sharing storage” and see what pops up.

Good luck.
Mark

[Joe Paolo]

Open Large Can of Worms! I shouldn’t say this here but we often open each others projects (4 editors over 5 FCP 5.1.1 systems)and media drives over gigibit ethernet. Never silmutaniously of course. We often work for hours this way with little more than a few dropped frames. WE never Digitize or output this way. Our projects are DV and DV50. I realize this is not recomened but it works for us.

joe

[Cantankerous]

Hi,

Probably a little off topic from the “managing” aspect, but here’s my story anyway.

I’m using an apple raid, with my main station hooked up via fiberchannel, and my digitizing/logging/grouping/effects/jackofalltrades station accessing the raid through my computer via gigabit Ethernet crossover cable 🙂

Our only slowdowns seem to be occurring when the 2nd station is ingesting video, probably cause all that footage is technically being piped through my main edit station… we’ll probably be adding an Xserve into the mix to better handle the networking of the raid.

Anyway, just now on a lark, we just opened the same project file at the same time on both computers… and it opened and ran on both! We messed around ON THE SAME TIMELINE with no slowdowns(!) , and then we felt dirty and closed up before our edit room exploded. It was sort of like opening the ark of the covenant.

Thanks for the advice on sequence-only projects… I think I may try that one in the future….