Media Management and Relinking STILL messed up in FCP6??

[Bill Russell]

There are two people in this thread having the exact same immediate problem, myself and one other person who piped up: FCP5 to FCP6 corrupts, no media management in the equation. That’s issue #1. That person writes that s/he is also familiar, no surprise, with FCP’s longstanding problems with MM — MM causing exactly the same kinds of problems as moving a project from FCP5 to FCP6. It’s clearly all related to one longstanding media linking bug in FCP, I think we are saying. That’s issue #2. That linking bug rears its ugly head in XML export/import too, and OMFs too — you know, speed changes, transitions, motion tab attributes, general keyframing, the way that stuff gets messed up in these processes. So if there is a shared solution to a shared problem (1 and 2), yes yes, we are interested!

That brought us to the article on the Ken Stone site — yes I have seen the MM article years ago, and so thanks to you I took a look at it again. I decided I would try one of it’s tricks to try to solve problem 1. — namely, to make sequence clips indpendent first, before then saving this FCP5 project and then trying to open it in FCP6. I did try that, and it did not make any difference, so that was that for the MM article in question and for its relevance to problem number 1.

However — I tried an XML import, again thank you for suggesting that, and you are brilliant, ’cause yes! it did make a difference… with the speed change errors. To be sure it produced other undesirable results, mainly resetting the scale attributes on graphics keyframed in the motion tab. BUT! this is real progress and could really help me, I truly am grateful to you — I think I can use both types of sequences, drawing from both the straight open and the XML open versions of the same sequence, in order to breeze through a much faster work-around process. That is not ideal, but it IS EXCELLENT. Hope for getting around (much more so) problem number 1!

Then. In regards to your latest suggestion that, as a way to solve problem 1, I DO attempt media manage first… but you see, that invokes the discussion of number 2, now we are linking the two topics materially: Because MM causes errors too, this is experienced by many and often talked about, so do I really want to introduce MM into the equation in order to solve problem 1? But, you say, MM works “if done properly”. So, back to the “do tell!” part. Perhaps you are saying that by doing some MMing before opening the FCP5 project in FCP6, that some problems might be solved? I think that is what you are suggesting.

I would like to try that. But for the time-being… recapturing would take two days, and I don’t have the clients offline tapes anyway, plus about a fifth of the show is Edgeworks (Kid Stays in the Picture folks) After Effects comps — so no, I am not doing any recapturing, relinking or media management on this particular show. Not yet. The only thing I’m trying to do now is open the FCP5 show in FCP6 without errors.

HOWEVER later – January now — I WILL be recapturing the live action footage to an open timeline as HD (hence the desire for FCP6), that’s the grand design here. For the rest of the “tapeless” media I will be relinking from the offline version of the AE comps to the HD versions, among other things.

Yes, indy documentaries, usually years in the making, make for complex sequences, hence I think why MM and or linking errors show up so much in the indy docu world, causing so much suffering.

At that point, in all of this, MM will come very much into play in order to online / finish the show I have in my lap now — again, I’m not looking foreword to what further surprises MM has in store. But that all happens way later, not yet, I’ve got other prepping to do first. Phew, my friend, have a missed anything? Now you REALLY know my whole story! 🙂

[Ben Scott]

didnt try the xml

dont have fcp5 and why should i

I am updating a project from fcp 5 to 6 by opening it, this is a joke and has never happened in earlier versions for just opening files

addmitedly the guy i took file from had a bit of a mess but htis aint normal on earlier versions from say 3 to 4 or 4 to 5

[Jeremy Garchow]

First of all. Thanks for the wonderful summary. This is very helpful and I can see where you are both coming from. Now for some bad news and a bit of scolding:

I eluded to this earlier, but it’s not advisable to upgrade a project when you are in the the middle of it. I don’t care if it’s supposed to work or not…it doesn’t and has been discussed here a bunch. It is simply not a smart thing to do. FCP6 is very different from FCP5 which is why the XML method works a bit better as it’s a text representation of your project rather than a project itself. It is best to do finish where you started, especially for long form work as it makes it much easier. that being said:

Issue#1: I still don’t understand you saying that you tried to do what the KenStone article says but all you are doing is importing. That’s not what the article describes at all. That is a Media Manager article. AS far as the still frames, can you tell me what is happening? Is it the same amount every time? Just trying to track the pattern is all.

[Bill Russell] “Perhaps you are saying that by doing some MMing before opening the FCP5 project in FCP6, that some problems might be solved?”

You can double check the anamorphic flags before relinking so that you scale and distort properties won’t go out of wack after relinking.

[Bill Russell] “he only thing I’m trying to do now is open the FCP5 show in FCP6 without errors. “

Ideally, you would take this XML and recapture in FCP6. I am sorry, but I have to say it again. Moving from one version of FCP to another is not seamless and never has been since after version 3 when FCP moved out of the dv world for real this time.

[Bill Russell] “HOWEVER later – January now — I WILL be recapturing the live action footage to an open timeline as HD (hence the desire for FCP6), that’s the grand design here. For the rest of the “tapeless” media I will be relinking from the offline version of the AE comps to the HD versions, among other things. “

You have some work ahead of you.

[Bill Russell] “Yes, indy documentaries, usually years in the making, make for complex sequences, hence I think why MM and or linking errors show up so much in the indy docu world, causing so much suffering.”

Very true and if you haven’t been in charge of this from the beginning, it makes life even more hard as you are cleaning up other people’s disorganization.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[ben scott] “didnt try the xml “

Give it a shot.

[ben scott] “dont have fcp5 and why should i”

Becuase that’s where the project started.

[ben scott] “I am updating a project from fcp 5 to 6 by opening it, this is a joke and has never happened in earlier versions for just opening files “

There have been major changes to FCP5 vs FCP6. And yes, people have always had problems updating a project in the middle. Not only is FCP different, but you are most likely on a different OS, and a different version of Quicktime as well. This all comes in to play.

[ben scott] “addmitedly the guy i took file from had a bit of a mess but htis aint normal on earlier versions from say 3 to 4 or 4 to 5 “

Forgive the pun but it’s apples and oranges.

Jeremy

[Ben Scott]

heres hoping I get projects in final cut 6 from now on (it does seem a little)

and if not then I could access the other peoples computers with FCP 5, unless it is a laptop I think this is unlikely and I am not going to torture myself to get a separate install of FCP 5 just for this job

and yes I will use XML in future and my other top tip is to create a Quicktime reference movie with reference timecode generators so that any speed changes that need to be recreated can be done a lot more quickly. you just place the qt on a track on top, turn it off and open into viewer to see if frames match up.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[ben scott] “heres hoping I get projects in final cut 6 from now on (it does seem a little) “

Seems a little?

[ben scott] “and if not then I could access the other peoples computers with FCP 5, unless it is a laptop I think this is unlikely and I am not going to torture myself to get a separate install of FCP 5 just for this job “

Instead of them giving you a project, have them export an XML of the entire project or of the timeline you need.

[ben scott] “and yes I will use XML in future and my other top tip is to create a Quicktime reference movie with reference timecode generators so that any speed changes that need to be recreated can be done a lot more quickly. you just place the qt on a track on top, turn it off and open into viewer to see if frames match up. “

In the earlier days of FCP and speed changes just flat out didn’t work, I used to have a sequence of the clips that i was to retime in their naturally timed state. That way, FCP was guaranteed to capture the material correctly, even if I had to remake the speed change. You can also paste the unretimed clips at the end of the sequence if that’s easier. TImecode is a good idea.

Jeremy