Managing Snapshots

[Jeremy Garchow]

You could, sure, but I think there may be a more efficient way. Let me explain:

I have completely changed the way I version my sequences thanks to Snapshots and Smart collections.

I always use the word “snapshot” because when you make a new snapshot, that word is automatically int he title.

Let’s say i’m working on v3. I may snapshot v3 10 times during the day. This means I have 11 versions of v3. When you create a snapshot, it also time stamps it, which is also very useful.

When I send off v3 to the client, get feedback and I am now ready to create v4, I simply snapshot v3 one last time, then change the name of v3 to v4 right in the Smart Collection. This way allows a lot less clicking, a lot less renaming, and I get the Smart Collections to auto aggregate all my different versions. it also helps with X’s inability to keep more than one version of a Project open at a time.

If you use the word “version”, you would have to delete the word “version” out of every snapshot you make because the Smart Collection would be looking for the word “version”. That might get tedious.

To me, snapshots are different ideas and temporary versions. I make a snapshot, it’s dated, and then I keep working on the current v3. If I need to back to a previous idea, I simply open the snapshot at the proper time/date, and rename it v3b, or whatever.

I hope this makes sense. I could show it to you easily in person.

Basically, it’s the reverse of how I used to work in FCP7 or Pr. In those programs, I duplicate the timeline and then work from the duplicate. In X, I dupe the timeline, but keep working on the Project in front of me. All the dupes have the name “snapshot” attached to it, and get aggregated in to a “snapshot” Smart Collection.

Here’s a picture of my current “projects” bin on a spot campaign of about 20 spots. All spots and all versions are in this Event, but because of the keywords and smart collections, Everything is extremely tidy, and I barely have to do any managing of Projects in this Event no matter what stage of the process they are in from beginning, to middle, to interchange, to final, to output and all it takes is a few simple text search rules.

Pic:

Jeremy

[Noah Kadner]

+1 for Jeremy’s workflow. that said- I find more than a few snapshots to be a waste of energy as you rarely go back to any but the most recent.

Noah

FCPWORKS – FCPX Workflow
FCP eXchange – FCPX Workshops

[Charlie Austin]

[Jeremy Garchow] “Basically, it’s the reverse of how I used to work in FCP7 or Pr. In those programs, I duplicate the timeline and then work from the duplicate.”

Kinda the same here. Work on V1(or 2,3 ,4 etc) with WIP appended to the name, making snapshots as needed. The WIP collection only has the current versions of cuts, snapshots go into one place, and I can see everything in “All Projects” (or the Library Project Collection) When a version goes to the client, remove WIP, add “sent” in the notes field, and it goes to the “sent” collection. Get changes, snapshot the sent version, change the version # and add WIP and delete the sent note… repeat. So mostly it’s all automatic. Works great.

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~ My FCPX Babbling blog ~
~”It is a poor craftsman who blames his tools.”~
~”The function you just attempted is not yet implemented”~

[Charlie Austin]

[Noah Kadner] “I find more than a few snapshots to be a waste of energy as you rarely go back to any but the most recent.”

Agree, but I think it depends on what you’re cutting. For me, I’ll go down a road, and then maybe completely change the whole thing (snapshot) work, change the music (snapshot) replace some shots, or replace a gag or a scene (snapshot) I’ll end up with at least 3 and maybe a lot more snapshots depending on the spot.

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~ My FCPX Babbling blog ~
~”It is a poor craftsman who blames his tools.”~
~”The function you just attempted is not yet implemented”~

[Noah Kadner]

Yeah if I were in charge it would be clip level undo history. But I’m not…

Noah

FCPWORKS – FCPX Workflow
FCP eXchange – FCPX Workshops

[Jeff Kirkland]

LAnother thumbs up for Jeremy’s workflow from me. I have smart collections for just projects, just snapshots, and a third for compound clips.

At the library level, I have a smart collection that just shows projects with the word ‘delivered’ in them, so that I can easily find what got sent to the client. (I always think it’s tempting fate to use the word ‘final’ in a project name 🙂

I use post-haste to start every project with a library that has the smart collections set up and ready to go.

Jeff Kirkland | Video Producer | Southern Creative Media | Melbourne Australia
http://www.southerncreative.com.au | G+: https://gplus.to/jeffkirkland | Twitter: @jeffkirkland

[Bret Williams]

Even if I put final in the name I always keep the version number like v5 FINAL. Then if you find a couple FINALs you just go with the newest number.

[Bret Williams]

I would keep snapshot in there because it is a very special designation. It’s not just a duplicate. All compound clips have been referenced to new parent compounds so that altering them won’t alter any other project anywhere. So I leave snapshot in the title for this reason if no other because there is no indication otherwise.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Jeff Kirkland] ” (I always think it’s tempting fate to use the word ‘final’ in a project name 🙂 “

No, it just goes to final v2…v3…v4, etc.

🙂

In the world of spots, only the ones that I send to broadcast get FINAL, as they really are final. If they change after the initial transmission, it’s a new spot with a new ISCI, title, and delivery.

Before they are final, I mark them as FC, or final candidate, and that could stretch on for 10 more versions, but at the end of it, it’s FC v10, or final candidate v10.

One the final candidate is approved for delivery, then I add the word FINAL, and it goes in to the FINAL category.

Delivered could work too, then it would be delivery candidate, or DC.

[Scott Witthaus]

[Jeremy Garchow] “I may snapshot v3 10 times during the day.”

This is an interesting conversation and maybe I am using snap shots the wrong way. Personally, I would never want 10 V3’s based on time of day. If I have a V3 and want to make changes, I take a snapshot of V3, and label that V4 and start changing (this is in my spot world). Usually I do two or three versions before the agency team comes into the suite. They pick one they like and start versioning from that. But even if they like the 2nd of 4 versions I present, I snapshot V2 and label that “V5_agency” and move on from there as it basically is the 5th version of the spot, no matter which version they originally liked. I’ve been up to 37 versions with one director…there’s a term for that, but it might get me moderated off the forum.

My versions can be very minor changes, but I don’t want to have to figure out what time it was when a 25 year old copywriter says “I like that version we did with the wide shots”. That version may be something like “V6_agency_wide shots”. Or it could be “V7_agency_alt VO”. After a while I will drop the ‘agency’ term from the version name. I try to be very descriptive on version names.

Most of my spot work goes on to audio, effects (if any) and color after picture and sound is locked. Final is never used until it is final…yeah right. 😉

Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Post Production Supervisor
1708 Inc./Editorial
Professor, VCU Brandcenter