multiple computers working on the same project

[Shane Ross]

Sounds like you are talking XSAN, and it is Apples version of Avid Unity. Search for it on the Apple site. NOT CHEAP. But the only way to both have access to the same project at the same time. You can both access the drives, if you shard them over ethernet…but that is not good enough for editing.

The cheapest option is to have two paris of drive with all the same clips, and two projects. Then if you work on a sequence and want the other editot to se it, just drop it into a separate project file and they can open it and bring it into their project.

[Mark Raudonis]

John,

You don’t say how many “more” computers you need to collaborate with. If it really is just a couple, Shane’s suggestion is the easiest, simplest and cheapest. If you need more than two systems sharing, then you’re into a SAN environment. We currently are using Apple’s X-SAN with nearly 100 systems all connected, all sharing the same media. Be aware though that sharing work in FCP is NOT the same kind of workflow as AVID. In avid’s world all media must live in a project… that’s why everyone’s so focused on sharing the project. In FCP, the media just exists in the regular mac file system and can be pulled into anyone’s project. This has some very powerful advantages in a networked environment. For example, any computer with quicktime player (MAC or PC) can access the SAN (in a proper set up) and look at the original media or quicktime movies of rough cuts.

This kind of set up is not for amateurs, but it is possible… and compared to a comparable AVID setup, it’s incredibly affordable.

Check out the apple website under Xsan, or the forum here on the cow.

Mark

[John Satre]

i should have clarified:

to make it simple, there will actually be only 2 computers working on the project. and they aren’t in the same facility. in fact, they aren’t in the same city. the main computer has captured all of the footage, and the second computer will have a copy of all this footage. no sharing necessary.

what i am trying to do is set up 10 sequences, and computer 1 will work on sequences 1-5 while computer 2 works on 6-10. then they will swap to have another round of edits, so computer 1 will revise sequences 6-10, coputer 2 will do sequences 1-5.

in the end, computer 1 should have the most recent edits of all the sequences in order to put it all together. i guess the way i was planning on doing is having 2 project files to pass back and forth, one with sequences 1-5 and the second with sequences 6-10. i would drag all the sequences into a final project at the end. i don’t know if there’s a better way to do this, or if that will even work….

it seems as if even my more basic projects become disorganized, and i am worried about this becoming the mother of all nightmares…

[Mark Raudonis]

John,

Aha…. this is a different story.

We have one of our editors working in Sante Fe, New Mexixo and we’re in Van Nuys, CA. In Sante Fe, she has a duplicate set of media for her part of the project. When she has a cut done, all she does is send us via email a “transport” project which contains just her latest sequence. Here in Van Nuys we open that project, connect all the media and output for network, executives etc. This works quite well. The key to sucess however is have the exact same media organization on both systems. What you’re proposing is not difficult, it just requires extreme attention to organization. Go for it!

Mark

[Tunaking]

1) The biggest issue with sharing projects is the relinking to media. It helps if the computer name or the media drive are named the same on both computers. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself relinking a lot. Render files will need to be recreated.

2) Always Zip or Stuff project files when you send them via internet. It protects them.

3) Multiclips sometimes do not survive well in shared projects. So, if you have many multiclips, you may be in for some headaches.