media files went offline EVERYWHERE and can’t reconnect

[David Roth weiss]

[Marisa Miller Wolfson] “I decided I didn’t need a particular sequence, so I put it offline and deleted it. It told me the clips would would be offline permanently (as per usual) and I said ok.”

It sounds to me as if you created a reference file or possibly a nested sequence, which you later used for editing in another sequence, and then you deleted the underlying sequence. Is that possible?

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

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A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.

[Shane Ross]

If you delete clips…and FCP says they will be deleted and gone…then they are deleted and gone. Even if you use them in multiple sequences. If you have footage in one sequence, and the same footage in another sequence, and delete the footage from one sequence…the media goes bye bye. Even in the other sequence using that footage. The media is the same media…it isn’t duplicated just because you use it in two or more sequences.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
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[Marisa Miller wolfson]

The one I deleted was the derivative one, so I don’t think that’s what happened in this case. It’s good to know about that, though. I’ll be more aware.

[Marisa Miller wolfson]

Thanks for this.

So do I have to re-capture everything all over again?

Added together, it’s about 60 minutes of my documentary, and probably 150 tapes. We’re talking a good solid week of work…if not more.

[Marisa Miller wolfson]

One more thing…

A couple of times I was able to locate the original file and tried to connect it but got this message:

File Attribute Mismatch
Some attribute of one or more of the files you have chosen do no match the attributes of the original. This may cause problems with the sequences that are dependent on them. The attributes that differed are as follows:
-Media start and end”

So I hit continue, and it said,
“The file does not have proper content to reconnect to “PETA footage” clip in sequenc “rough cut 8.19.08.” Click “ok” to make this item independent and go to the next clip or “cancel” to skip all clips from this title.”

So I hit ok and it was screwy. I think I’m screwed.

[Shane Ross]

Please tell me you LOGGED and captured…and that you named the clips BEFORE you captured them. If not, then you can have dozens of UNTITLED-1 and UNTITLED-2 files on your system, and when FCP sees the name it is looking for, it goes “oh, here it is…wait a minute, this isnt right…” and won’t reconnect. Your footage MUST have unique file names in order to relink properly.

If you deleted it…then you need to recapture. Sorry.

There might be file recovery software that can recover the files for you if you didn’t install anything else, or capture new media…or basically anything that would write to a hard drive that might erase that footage forever. But then if it is all UNTITLED names, you will have issues reconnecting anyway.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Bill Dewald]

If the settings mismatch, its most likely is that the file just happens to have the same name as the file you’re looking for.

If you deleted the files, and they went offline, you’ll have to re-ingest.

Sorry.

[Steven Gonzales]

Not to rub salt in a wound, but you would be in just as much trouble if your hard drive had failed, a very likely scenario. Every hard drive will fail, it’s just a matter of when it happens.

For future happiness, it’s good to backup media drives once capturing is done. The cost of drives pales against the cost of time.

If you’re almost done, of course, you could just recapture your sequence, and save some time that way.

[Marisa Miller wolfson]

You just reminded me…I HAVE a back-up of these captured files…on another external drive. Ha! Thank you!!!

(And thanks for the reminder to back THIS version up when I get done.)

[Marisa Miller wolfson]

Turns out I only have the project file backed-up, not the media. Argh.

I’m recapturing everything, and a couple of times I’ve hit a snag, where it can’t locate the timecode because it’s too close to the beginning of the tape, I imagine that’s because when I originally captured, I did “capture now” to get it right from the beginning.

Now what do I do? I wanna use footage from the very beginning of the tape. Do I need to do “capture now?” all over again with a different name and re-edit? I have so many projects linked to the footage that I’ll have to-edit in all of them…which is fine, but more work.

Thanks in advance for wise counsel.