Multi useres

[Tom Meegan]

A storage area network (SAN) solution will allow multiple users to have access to the same files concurrently. This is very expensive and requires knowledge and expertise to set up.

That being said, for shared assets like sound effects libraries, network attached storage (NAS) over ethernet can be a practical solution. Just be careful about media management. I suggest dragging the files you need onto your local drive before importing them into FCP.

Be aware that you will need two distinct FCP licenses for this to work. FCP will not open if the computer is on a network with a second computer that is running FCP with the same license.

One last thing:

Two users simultaneosly editing the same project, on the same drive are in a, “last person to save wins,” situation. If you need to do work on the same project on the same day, duplicate the original project and implement a naming scheme that includes the date and editor’s identity. Increment your work by duplicating the project daily. Manually concatenate the projects when you are done.

Without knowing more about what you are editing or the scope of the project, I would recommend two identical media/asset drives, one for each user. Divide the work thoughtfully. Having two separate and identical drives has the added benefit of providing a back-up in case a drive fails. If you need to port new assets between the machines, use ethernet or sneakernet.

Good luck,

Tom