Protocol for Backing up work in FCPX 10.1.1

[Bret Williams]

Since 10.1 is already backing up your library data every 15-20min, you could just keep your media external, and just restore the library from the backup, then relink the media if there’s an issue.

[Jack Niedenthal]

Thanks, Bret. I guess what I may be asking then is how would I make a backup of the external drive that holds my media (my libraries are also on that external drive)? So, since my media is stored on an external drive, I also want to back that up in case that external drive dies…

I was able to do this very easily before because of the way FCPX had broken things up, now it is all in one big file… Do I make any sense?

Jack Niedenthal
Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
http://www.microwavefilms.org
https://www.microwavefilms.org/Crickets.html
iMac i7 using Mavericks 10.9.x, HPX 170 using only one 64GB card
I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, YOU are my only resource.

[Aindreas Gallagher]

I think apple walking all this back is going to be the longest recorded walk back in human history.

somewhere at the end of it there are going to be external render and proxy files.
because it is completely pointless to have them like ten ton dead weights in the project file.

based on the event/project walk back, expect ejecting render and proxy from the library file around early 2016.

then by around 2017 – there will be a project/library file comparable to what they had in 1999.
and then cupertino can finally focus on audio handling going forward.

*edit: ignore this guff – post was originally in the debate forum.

https://vimeo.com/user1590967/videos http://www.ogallchoir.net promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics

[Bret Williams]

Why not just make a duplicate library on another drive? At the end of the day, mount both libraries, and drag all the new files from the library to the duplicate backup library. Also drag over any new project versions. Doing exactly what you did before in the finder, just doing it within X now. Actually even simpler.

[Jack Niedenthal]

Thanks, Bret. Should the libraries have different names? For example: FilmStar on the main external drive and then FilmStar1 on the other drive? Would FCP get confused if they had the exact same name (or would I get confused?)

Jack Niedenthal
Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
http://www.microwavefilms.org
https://www.microwavefilms.org/Crickets.html
iMac i7 using Mavericks 10.9.x, HPX 170 using only one 64GB card
I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, YOU are my only resource.

[Bret Williams]

Libraries are like other NLE projects. So yeah, I’d add – backup to one just for my own sanity. But you don’t have to.

Definitely don’t have to with events. Every project.. Er.. Library I work on has 2 events. One called Media, and one called sequences.

I hate that name, Library. I’ve never bidded on a library.

[Jack Niedenthal]

Thanks, Bret, for the ideas. Sorry, but I would rather ask questions before I start moving things around.

Okay, so I work all day on FilmStar. Then, at the end of the session, I open FilmStar1 from the other external drive. In FilmStar I have added some media and worked on a project. Do I simply drag the new media to FilmStar1 and it will copy it and not move it? And if I drag the project with the same name from FilmStar to FilmStar1, will it replace it?

Jack Niedenthal
Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
http://www.microwavefilms.org
https://www.microwavefilms.org/Crickets.html
iMac i7 using Mavericks 10.9.x, HPX 170 using only one 64GB card
I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, YOU are my only resource.

[Bret Williams]

Library to library is always a copy. I hope it wouldn’t replace your project! Hopefully it would increment it with a number or something. Do you not have different project versions or some way of keeping track of versions? For example I don’t use snapshots. I just keep duplicating a project. Usually after a client export. I just keep calling it (project name) v1, v2, v3, etc. so for me Id just be copying over any projects that don’t exist yet on the backup.

You could do that with media too. Have a folder or keyword collection for each days imports. When you copy over the media, it should take keywords with it, so perhaps a keyword collection would be the simplest thing.

This is all just from basic playing around though. Maybe Jeremy will chime in. I have my libraries on a raid 5, and X is backing up my libraries (just the data) to my internal. Any camera footage is always on some other drive before it comes to the raid, so that’s backed up. AE projects are auto saved to the internal too. I suppose if the RAID went down it could be a pain in the butt, but not catastrophic.

[Jack Niedenthal]

Thanks, Bret. That gives me enough info to do what I think I need to do.

Jack Niedenthal
Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
http://www.microwavefilms.org
https://www.microwavefilms.org/Crickets.html
iMac i7 using Mavericks 10.9.x, HPX 170 using only one 64GB card
I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, YOU are my only resource.

[Jack Niedenthal]

One final question (I hope). Is everything, all the media I imported such as clips, etc., all contained within the separate libraries? I guess I am asking this because after the conversion from 10.0.9 I see that I have “Old Final Cut Projects” and “Old Final Cut Events.” If I toss that stuff, that I see is not hogging up my hard drive, will anything be lost with it? Or should I just hang onto it?

I used the Event Manager X technique of conversion from 10.0.9 to 10.1.1 and set up individual libraries for each of my projects: https://www.philiphodgetts.com/2013/12/upgrade-your-events-and-project-to-fcp-x-10-1-libraries-the-better-way/

To use my example from before, I assume the FilmStar Library has everything I need in it for that project and the events contained in it, so if I back up that library to another external drive that will have all that I need should the other drive fail assuming I continue to update it as I work on the project?

Jack Niedenthal
Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
http://www.microwavefilms.org
https://www.microwavefilms.org/Crickets.html
iMac i7 using Mavericks 10.9.x, HPX 170 using only one 64GB card
I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, YOU are my only resource.