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Sequence in Event versus in Project
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[Lance Bachelder] “I haven’t tried it yet but Philip Hodgetts Event Manager X might be a good solution”
Interesting idea, but when I work on a feature with a director, for example, I need access to everything quickly. Seems like a workaround at best.
Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
[Lance Bachelder] “I plan on giving it a go if I end up using FCPX to cut my next feature.”
PS: I would be interested in knowing how that works for you though.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
Yeah I cut my own stuff but concur – you’d have to leave the app and then activate the stuff you need to see. Though you could just activate whatever is on the schedule that day and hope your Director doesn’t want to quickly jump all over the place – though that is difficult in any NLE on a feature and projects are constantly being closed and opened.
Lance Bachelder
Writer, Editor, Director
Irvine, California -
[Lance Bachelder] “though that is difficult in any NLE on a feature and projects are constantly being closed and opened.”
Huh? I’ve done numerous features and docs on both Media Composer and FCP and have always managed everything within a single project. Never had a problem with that. In fact, that’s just about the only way to work in the Avid world.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
Well you’re better than me then. I haven’t cut a feature on Avid since early Adrenaline but we always worked in reels. The system back then couldn’t handle thousands of files in one project. Same on every feature I’ve ever cut or been involved with on FCP. The bigger the project, the slower opening and saving becomes.
Sony Vegas is the only NLE I’ve ever used that could have an entire 1,000 cut 1080p feature with 60 tracks of audio open at the same time.
Regardless if a system can handle more files or not, i still think it’s best to work in reels. Kind of industry standard in Hollywood features from what I’ve seen.
Lance Bachelder
Writer, Editor, Director
Irvine, California -
Also try sparse disk images.
https://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/fcp_x_managing_disk_image_martin.html
You can load them and the event & projects they contain as and when you need them. Unfortunately once they are mounted you need to quit FCPX to unmount them.
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Lance,
I always cut from small to large on features. First individual scenes or a short group of scenes. Then I build these into reels and finally assemble the reels into a finished film. I almost never make changes in the full movie assembly because of the slowness in response when the NLE has to ripple this change throughout the film. Rather, I will make the change in the scene or reel sequence and then re-assemble the film. Nevertheless, I’ve always been able to keep it all in a single project.
Granted, you have to be careful with FCP 7 to keep an eye on the growing file size. I have never had a film with 60 tracks, though! That’s impressive, but Vegas has always been the NLE that best optimizes the computer’s resources. I’ll temp in audio, but the most complex I’ve ever done is probably 16-20 audio tracks, since I always hand off to a sound editor/designer/mixer. Maybe I’ve just had good luck! 😉
On the film I finished this past year, my assistant created a project for each day of dailies. It was a RED-originated film with double-system sound. He handled the REDCINE-X conversions to ProRes and merging the audio files. Plus, loading data entry (scene, take, script notes). Once done though, I would copy his bin contents into a master project and work from there. That worked quite well. 8-core Mac Pro, MAXX Digital storage array, FCP 7.
Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
I found that you can build a compound clip in the Event and use it multiple times in projects and each use is an INSTANCE of the parent. Changing the instance does NOT change the parent! Say you used the same compound clip from the Event three times but on the third use you had to make changes to the instance of the compound clip in the project. That change does NOT change the compound clip parent in the Event. It’s the same behavior as using an effect it appears to me. You put an instance of an effect in the project and change it all you like but it doesn’t change the parent effect in the effects panel. I like that and I’m going to start moving toward building more compound clips in the Event. Double-clicking on the compound clip in the event allows editing of the parent in the Event. It strikes me as I write this that I have not tested that changing the parent changes the child. I’m betting that it won’t.
NewsVideo.com
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50-100 sequences may not be as necessary.
I’ve been using auditions with some success. Sometimes I must do some minor gymnastics in order to create variations that I can cycle through with the control-arrow keys. (Clips connected to the audition clip will cycle out of the timeline along with the clip, so sometimes I need to either connect the clips to another clip, or make copies of the connected clips and paste them to each different audition.)
For example, what if you built your scene as a project, then compounded the entire timeline into one clip. Then you duplicated the compound clip into a new audition. Couldn’t you then step into the new audition of the compound clip, create a different version, then step out and with a simple click, cycle through as many versions as you want? Who needs a library full of projects?
Likewise, when you compile the scenes into reels, you could ostensibly build your master sequence out of the individual audition compounds. This would give you a master timeline where each scene might be an audition clip with several alternatives, that you can cycle through to see different options.
I think Apple has some work to do, and this might not work as well as I would hope it would, but there might not be a need for as many sequences as we all used to use.
Meanwhile, I continue to create quite a few duplicates of my project as I work on it, then stick them in a folder, and occasionally make them go offline with Event Manager X, just so I can go back and get them if I need to.
I hate the “loading time” this new interface forces on us, and I personally want the abilty to make the filmstrip view go away in the project library, in favor of text or a thumbnail. I’m excited to see what Apple has for us in the next update.
———
FCX. She tempts me, abuses me, beats me up, makes me feel worthless, then in the end she comes around, helps me get my work done, gives me hope and I can’t stop thinking about her.Mark Morache
Avid/Xpri/FCP7/FCX
Evening Magazine,Seattle, WA
https://fcpx.wordpress.com -
[Mark Morache] “I’ve been using auditions with some success. Sometimes I must do some minor gymnastics in order to create variations”
I’ve been wondering about that, too. It’s just that variations don’t always work cleanly enough to use Auditions. For instance, If I’m cutting a spot, I’m always keeping an eye towards the overall length. If the client was a change of a take that adds a second, then I have to remove that second somewhere later in the spot. So one change might actually require 3 or 4 others.
[Mark Morache] “For example, what if you built your scene as a project, then compounded the entire timeline into one clip. Then you duplicated the compound clip into a new audition. “
What sort of bloat (if any) does this cause?
[Mark Morache] “Likewise, when you compile the scenes into reels, you could ostensibly build your master sequence out of the individual audition compounds. “
That seems to be the most standard application of this. The hitch for me is that I make changes at the points where I join reels. I never have used nests in the past because of all the problems nests have caused. So, I wouldn’t be able to stay within the boundaries at the end of a compound clip, since I might have transitional shots or effects. Also compound clips don’t work with any method needed to generate XML or EDL files so I can go to a grading session or send OMF files to a Pro Tools mixer. If I were to edit a scene in a compound clip created in an Event, I’d end up copy & pasting the scene clips into the “master” project.
[Mark Morache] “Meanwhile, I continue to create quite a few duplicates of my project as I work on it, then stick them in a folder, and occasionally make them go offline with Event Manager X, just so I can go back and get them if I need to.”
That’s pretty much the same as I’m doing right now. I suspect Apple will introduce iWork-style versioning (Lion-only) with the next update. Seems to be the only reason that projects are labelled “CurrentVersion” in the Finder. This would mean you could revert to a previously-saved version. That would replace the AutoSave Vault, but I don’t think it really addresses what we are discussing here.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com
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