onlining project, media manager question

[Ben Holmes]

If the timelines all access the same material, and if you recapture the material at online quality (making sure you blow away the offline captures) you can reconnect each timeline in turn to the same material. Since the offlines were all created with reference to the same material, I can’t see a problem.

Ben

Editec Broadcast Editing Ltd

EVS & FCP specialists for live OB operations. FCP systems just used on Sky Sports coverage of the Ryder Cup – live from the K Club.

“The Supercar Run” now available for international distribution from http://www.electricsky.com

[Hamish Boyd]

Ok, so should I drag them all into the one timeline, or online them in their own timelines? Or does that not matter?

So basically if I have created an ‘offline copy’ from media manager with the new uncompressed media settings, when I start to recapture, subsequent clips that are the same will find that new uncompressed media? Have I got that right?

Thanks for your reply.

cheers

[Bill Lee]

If I understand it correctly, Page IV-100 and IV-101 of the FCP 5 manual should have the settings you need to do what you need to do.
You must understand the Offline/Online Editing Workflows on Page IV-54 as well.

The reasons are bound up in the concept of what a Master Clip, affiliate and independent clips are, and how they relate to each other. Understanding Page IV-41 onwards: “Working with Master and Affiliate Clips” helps to build sequences that can be onlined and offlined easily and don’t have lots of duplication in the captured media.

Essentially, master clips (denoted by the check mark in the Browser, or under the Logging tab in Item Properties) contain references to the media files stored somewhere accessible by your computer. Clips dragged into the timeline from these master clips are affiliate clips that are related to these master clips, although these affiliate clips can have certain different characteristics such as In/Out points. When you change the name of an affiliate clip, the master clip changes its name to this, and so do all the other affiliate clips change their names to this new name. If a clip in a sequence doesn’t have a master clip in the Browser, it is called an independent clip, and can be converted from an affiliate clip to this independent status. Since this independent clip has no master clip, any media file refered to by it is considered not-the-same as a media file used by master clips, even if it is the same actual file. You can create master clips for independent clips using the Tools>Create Master Clips, or bring an independent clip back into the fold of affiliate clips linked to a master clip.

To avoid multiple captures of your TVCs, you need to ensure that you have Master clips for all the clips in use in your sequences, and then capture these master clips. Once you have captured these Master Clips, then all of the affiliate clips which rely on these will show they are Online and ready (only independent clips left in the sequences will remain Offline, since they have no way of knowing they should be using the source Media).

Bill Lee

[Shane Ross]

Here’s a good step-by-step…

https://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/offline_rt.html

Shane

Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net

[Ben Holmes]

Well, there’s a multitude of options – everything you suggest is basically right. Some people try to avoid media manager as it’s a bit squirly with nests etc. – but it will allow you to only capture the media you actually need. I recommend (from personal experience) un-nesting the timeline if at all possible before going through this process.

Try duplicating the timelines, and altering the sequence settings to online. Then make the clips offline and recapture the media. Then relink each timeline in turn. Although they will all reference the same material, you’ll have to relink each one in turn. If the recaptured online media is correctly placed and named (vital here) you should be fine.

It’s commonplace, in my experience, for some of the media to need reconnecting manually – but it’s pretty quick. Finally, check it all through thoroughly before rendering – it’s not totally foolproof in every case.

Ben

Editec Broadcast Editing Ltd

EVS & FCP specialists for live OB operations. FCP systems just used on Sky Sports coverage of the Ryder Cup – live from the K Club.

“The Supercar Run” now available for international distribution from http://www.electricsky.com

[Hamish Boyd]

Thanks for your detailed responses. Good to know I was heading down the right path.
Would it be fair to say that the offline / online process is a bit clunky in FCP? I’m only going from my m100 days here. And I know that was far from a perfect system. But it did seem to have a fairly simple offline / online process. Particularly with mixing hi and lo res clips in a timeline.

I suppose its because FCP is a program that is used in a wider range of situations with different hardware setups etc.

[Ben Holmes]

I think it’s fair to say that if you are careful with your media, in name, location and timecode, you should have few problems. It’s not faultless, but no off/online system is. Personally, I find it easy and trouble-free 90% of the time.

Ben

Editec Broadcast Editing Ltd

EVS & FCP specialists for live OB operations. FCP systems just used on Sky Sports coverage of the Ryder Cup – live from the K Club.

“The Supercar Run” now available for international distribution from http://www.electricsky.com

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Ben Holmes] “Personally, I find it easy and trouble-free 90% of the time.”

Me too. And FCP 5.1.2 seems to have some improvements.

Jeremy