[Bob Cole]

Thanks Kevin. That’s going to save so much time. I appreciate it!

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Your system drive plan sounds good. As for backing up the RAID, that depends entirely on your file organization and the nature of the assets on the RAID. I suspect you’ll get a lot of different responses regarding this problem. The COW sells a DVD about “getting organized in Final Cut Pro,” which would be helpful to you if that’s your software.

If all your RAID assets come from timecode original tapes, which you can keep on the shelf, you don’t need to back up the RAID.

I may be in the minority, but I just put everything on the RAID (timecode or not) and then back up the RAID onto LTO-3 tape. Of course, if you use P2 and SxS camera originals, you need some kind of redundant storage anyway, and that makes the durability of LTO tape quite appealing (as opposed to hard drives). I suspect a lot of people find backing up onto BluRay attractive, and I hope you get a response from somebody about that.

[Bob Cole]

[Zane Barker] “I hope that better explains why it is so nice to do both. “

Yes indeed. When it comes to back-ups, I’m with Oliver: “More please.”

[Bob Cole]

[J. Tad Newberry] “Or, is CCC any good at incremental changes?”

CCC gives you a choice of a complete backup or incremental, but my personal peace-of-mind meter says, do a complete backup. After all, the whole idea of a clone is to have something that you are pretty certain will work. I’ve started rotating the CCC clone drives so I actually have two. otoh, I probably don’t do them as often as I should. When I get Time Machine on both machines, I’ll be set.

Thanks Zane and Tad.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

You can only rationalize feeling underpaid with “but I learned so much” a few times. If $250/day plus sweeteners isn’t enough, turn down the job. Although you showed great loyalty by working harder than the agreement, they aren’t reciprocating. So work for $250 if you want, don’t if you don’t.

Producers tend to be rather cynical about leveraging the “glamor” of their gigs for cheap labor. Eventually some people decide to turn down cable series or even feature work so they can do less chi-chi but better-paying corporate gigs.

It’s up to you.

[Bob Cole]

The good part: a lot of non-video types will want to get rid of their perfectly good MacBook Pros to buy the latest and greatest model. So there should be plenty of bargains in used 15″ MBPs, and they hold up pretty well. I just got a nice 15″ MBP for $650 and that was before WWDC.

Nothing is permanent. But even in the worst case scenario, we’ll all get by!

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Not a big deal, but I’ve used both and for me the 15″ is a lot handier to carry around – editing on the airplane is infinitely easier (I fly coach, so maybe this is just my problem). But if some prefer the 17″, great. If my only editing platform were a laptop, I’d get the 17″.

The people who should be especially dismayed are Sony EX users who want to offload their ExpressCard media to a MacBook Pro, and perhaps check it in FCP. For that purpose, the 15″ is definitely the better choice simply for compactness.

The good news is that the “old” 15″ MBP’s are going to be a lot cheaper. I will definitely be looking for another one.

I am getting used to disappointment as far as upgrades to ProApps. Just out of self-respect, I wish I could agree with Walter (if something else comes along that’s better, I’ll jump). Apple is of course totally aware that the FCP crowd is, by and large, extremely loyal and supportive. After this WWDC’s non-news the loyalists are saying (and perhaps rightly so), “Wait until Snow Leopard,” but after Snow Leopard’s launch, the Apple Loyalist Party will still be hanging in there, keeping the faith that something great is just around the corner at NAB… 2012?

So, part of me would love to jump off the bandwagon NOW in favor of companies that have shown their commitment to NLE/etc. more recently. But in reality, I won’t jump until the gap between FCP and “whatever” gets really gargantuan. I didn’t switch to FCP until it became an absolute necessity. It takes too long to get back up to speed with new software, particularly when there is a whole suite of products involved.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Glad I read in this thread about using Clip Browser to do the initial field transfer from SxS card to MacBook. Sony’s “Quick Start Guide” for “Log and Transfer with Final Cut Pro PDZK-LT1” (page 6) suggests archiving this way:

======(Direct quotation below=========
1. In Finder, create a new folder that will contain the contents of one SxS card.
2. Insert the SxS card in an ExpressCard slot or connect your device with a USB cable.
3. Drag the BPAV folder from the SxS card into the folder you created in step 1.
======(end of quotation)===============

No mention of Clip Browser, CRC, etc. Interesting, huh?

Great posts. Thanks.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Rick Wise] “The last time I was able to do that was nine years ago….”

I hear that! A shame, too, because as you said, picking a prime is part of the creative process, which after all involves narrowing down your choices, going down certain paths, and seeing where that takes you.

[Bob Cole]

[Chris Blair] “Our accountant has told us that as a service business we should be generating 12-15% bottom line net-profit, but it seems no matter how diligent we are about expenses or how agressive we are with marketing, we’ve never come close to that figure”

I don’t understand the accountant’s concern, especially with corporate taxes (if you’re in the U.S.). If you’re paying your expenses, including capital items and salaries, you’re fine. If you want to increase your net profit just cut back your salary. But why would you want to do that?