splitting a project

[Shane Ross]

COPY….PASTE (from Apple)

From the horses mouth…

>1. I had a project in FCP 5.04 running on a G5 that was approaching 200mb and got very slow. We got it down to 140mb and it seems to be fine, opens relatively quickly. I would hope that FCP 6.01 running on a quad Intel would be able to deal with a bigger project size–or maybe the computer and newer software don’t make any difference. Is there any guideline for how big a project can be in FCP 6.01 and/or on a quad intel mac?

It might open a little faster…but still, 200MB is a HUGE file size and should really be pared down. One way would be to, instead of duplicating your sequences as you make changes, duplicate the PROJECT and add a date to it. I think I mentioned this in the DVD. So you then have MY GREAT PROJECT 083007….MY GREAT PROJECT 092107. And this will keep the projects nice and small

>2. Does the amount of RAM you have affect how big a project your system can handle? I have 8 gigs of RAM on the intel system.

Yes and no. FCP still can only address…what? 2GB…4GB of RAM? So having more than that won’t help FCP…but rather allows you to have multiple applications open at once. I think it is 4GB…

>I’m wondering if it’s easier for the system/software to deal with 2 open projects of 100mb each than say a single project of 200 mb.

I find this to be true. Interestingly I did have a 140MB project, but when I broke it up into two projects…one 60MB and the other 80MB…it was faster. Because really, the only project that changed was the CUTS project. The project with all the footage didn’t change, so saving it didn’t take long. And while they still take as long to open the two projects as the one…seeing one open, then the other start gives you a sense that things are working faster…but it is only a percieved thing. Still…percieved things help ones attitude…

>Shane seems to have nested these “subprojects” in the larger project, giving him access to all the footage in each for the edit. Can someone explain how this improves the functionality of the project a bit more?

Nested? Nooo…I just have one folder with 2 – 5 projects in it. Each with a specific purpose….so I guess that yes, it is several projects that make up a larger one. Improves save times…if you didn’t change anything, then save times are MUCH faster than if you made LOTS of changes. And saving a 40MB project is much faster than a 200MB project.

AND…getting into sharing…There can be benefits. I explain the benefit of the multi-user shared workflow in the DVD and don’t want to give that info out. BUT…if others want to contribute why they split their projects up (if they do), then let them chime in.

>I’m about to split a project in two for two editors and I’m now wondering if I should split it in 3, with 1 project for each editor and then a shared project with both of our edits in it.

I explain this in the DVD, don’t I?

Shane

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