[Craig Alan]

Are you talking about batch renaming or just naming any given clip?

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

Cool. So as long as you do not close FC you can close and open different projects and yet still undo to your heart’s content. I’m not a big fan of multiple copies of any kind of work however. Granted they are time stamped but if you rely on them for possible revisions, it can become a confusing mess in no time. But for a temporary safety net it’s pretty easy to do. It also allows for FCP X’s take on versioning. The promo, the on-line, the full-length.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

Thanks Bill. I don’t see too many students at my school with a set up at home that would provide this option. Mostly they want copies of finished projects.

But I can see the need to bring a project from the lab to the studio where we’ll have 5 stations set up and I will be around after school for shoots. My understanding about how to do this is to just copy over the project folder from whichever computer was the last edit. (Render folder optional). As long as the original media remains the same all should be ok. Even new metadata in the event browser I think is stored in the project folder. You will have to relink media files since FC needs to be directed to a different media drive.

As an alternative we could clone the sparse image and then clone it back.
So what percentage of the teacher’s past the exam?
When I got my FCP 6 certification, I think only 3-4 of us out of a class of 40 or so pass.
At least on first try.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

[Bill Davis] “I know others want to do otherwise and that keeping “packaged” content in network accessible locations is something collaborative editors want and need to do. “

Interesting.

There are three things going on here for me. The first is that a training book I got packaged their lesson plans in a sparse image. Turns out they were not all loading after a certain update of FCP X. Company gave me a link for update and problem solved.

The second is I like creating them for projects (the old use of the word) and mounting them so that I have the project and event folders and folders with original media stored in them, labeled with the project name. I do not want multiple copies of them other than for back up and to archive after finishing. And the ability to easily transport them to other computers or even other editors.

The third need is to set up a FC lab in which students cannot see or alter other students work yet the system can be easily managed.
Sparse images seem to do the trick.
If the student account has a simple finder with permissions given for needed apps and websites then they can not even mount any sparse image never mind change its contents.
As an admin with remote desktop, I need only to unmount and mount the right image and hopefully this does the trick.
No passwords needed.
No dozens of user accounts on each computer, etc.
That’s my plan so far, but I have not tested it on the computers we will be using. I have tried it on my Mac Pro using an internal two drive raid for the media drive. I created a Simple Finder account and mounted a sparse image. I then changed to the student account which under simple finder can open FC. The mounted image was there with its media and projects. When you went to file import the media drive could be seen but the sparse images were grayed out.
I don’t see any flaws in this plan, but time will tell or if you do please speak up.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

I made a dupe of a sparse image containing a project and event folder, and all media. I made a simple change in the event browser and on the timeline. I quit FC and then unmounted the dupe and mounted the original. Changes were not made, no off line files found etc.

I guess the DVD, I was using to make a fresh copy of a sparse image that was on it, had already been modified. Don’t remember doing this. But one thing I have noticed is that when you copy a sparse image even when you rename it it uses the original name in many places. This can lead to the wrong image being modified.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

I discussed this below. Undo in FC is somewhat selective. Unlimited for any changes to the edit itself but not for every keystroke or interface change. The Keyword window is non-destructive. It just stores a limited number of shortcuts but does not limit the number of keywords. Another example is changing the position of the playhead. You down-arrow to the next edit point in the precision editor, for example, and everything looks different as the edit point you were working on is no longer selected so the clips on either side collapse. Undo does not undo your down-arrow.

I would love a feature where with a modifier key ‘undo’ would go back in time for every keystroke. And if you could bring up a list of all keystroke with in a session. Instant history, instant tutorials, perfect for the what did I do wrong Q and A.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

Great suggestions T. With FCP 7 stations, creating a new user account often solved problems I had with student projects being screwed up or not loading (when I didn’t have time to back up and reinstall). User accounts do get corrupted. And I would update to the latest FC as well. Many bug fixes each point upgrade.

One thing Apple always suggests and it certainly makes sense is to remove anything connected to the Mac and see if all is well. It’s not that hard to remove and reseat a graphic card. Just watch out for static and work on a nice roomy table with a towel. The soon legacy Mac Pro was the easiest machine to update. My broadcast monitor stopped working the other day and I reseated the black magic I/O card and it solved the problem.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

Ah the old right click on the header to show the unchecked columns trick.

I know you can create a custom role but is it possible to create one for all transitions?

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

Google was no help but this might be:

From Diskwarrior tech support:

“As for DiskWarrior, yes it can be used with drives that contain Final Cut Pro X
media. However, a project file being damaged while in a .sparsebundle may or
may not indicate a directory problem.”

“To Rebuild a .sparseimage or .sparsebundle, the image can be mounted or
unmounted. Simply, select “Rebuild Disk Image” from the File menu within
DiskWarrior.”

“Is it possible for you to send both a working as well as damaged project file? ”

I did not have a corrupted project to send them. But here’s the address if anyone cares to:

Alsoft Technical Support

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

I have a timeline open with transitions. I open Index. Under Clips Tab>select all. Transitions listed. I open Role Tab. I see video and audio listed. That’s it. Where do you see undefined?

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.