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Rename seems to only work half the time, any clues?
I have a producer that prefers to log within FCP and not during log & transfer, due to the ability to see the footage on our external panasonic monitor as opposed to the smaller computer window in L&T.
So, I thought, no problem, I’ll just use the rename feature and match the source files, with the newly given names of the clips.
Works like a champ for about 1/2 the clips, then nothing, no error, no rename, nothing!Can anyone shed any light on this?
This has happened in a few projects, so I have some clips with names and some clips with the number/letters that it was assigned (0004PQ1.mov) -
5 Replies
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Todd,
Tell your producer to learn how to use the “comments” column! That’s where descriptions belong… not as a “clip name”.
As you know, FCP uses the filename (Clip name) for all of it’s media management duties. By changing that name, you are skating on thin ice when it comes to “reconnecting” or finding the original clip that was digitized under another name.
Why does it work sometimes, and not always? I don’t know. I do know that you’re using a workflow that will 100% per cent of the time cause you problems. Why would you want to do that?
mark
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Hey Mark-
I hear what your saying,
but if my source clips (P2 media, named with numerals & letters) match my clips in FCP, then how am I going to get into trouble?My situation may be unique,
Most of my projects contain specific footage for each, so I would very rarely share them. I have enough drives & space that I keep projects as is in case I need to revise, just keep adding storage space, which is relatively inexpensive.
Also, my client requires that I provide them with the raw quicktime files for them to archive and possibly use for their purposes on their AVIDs. If I used the comments, this wouldn’t help my specific issue.I guess the best way is for the producer to use log & transfer to rename.
ANOTHER THING….I figured out the problem for this particular project and rename.
the clips contained a colon ( : ), and therefore was not a legitimate name due to computer programming conflict. -
I would look at your permissions, to see if the user running FCP has access permissions to all the files.
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT2963
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Colon is how a path is described in FCP, so not a good character for file name.
To be safe in Unix, here’s a basic list of no-nos for file names (besides colon, which is bad for FCP):
Characters you should not use in filenames:
| ; , ! @ # $ ( ) < > / \ ” ‘ ` ~ { } [ ] = + & ^ -
I’ve read around the COW forum and this is the most direct post about problems with renaming clips in FCP. This may be understood information already, but In FCP 6 you can rename from the browser with two options:
1. Right click on clip in browser, scroll down to Rename, then select Clip to match File.
2. Same process as above, but select File to Match Clip, which renames the source QT file. (Select yes when window pops up asking if you want to change the name of the source file).Though I shot in HDV, not P2, the process for already digitized files should be the same.
All this fluff is to comment that in my experience, renaming the source file to match the clip in the browser has bugs, and only likes to work when renaming 20 or less clips at a time. If I try to rename more than 20 or so at a time, the source file has the new clip name plus a bunch of old jibberish attached. Go figure.
Final Cut reminds me of an old Volkswagen–cool but kinda quirky.
Burk Finley
FCP 6.0.5
Mac G5 Dual 2.3
4.5 GB ram
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