[Craig Alan]

Thanks for finding my thread and I’ll check out your apps.

[Andreas Kiel] “It always copies the complete card (as long the card is FAT-32 formatted). “

New to P2 work flow – would a panasonic P2 card formatted in the cam be a FAT-32 card?

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]

Have you considered hardware issues? Bad ram can cause these symptoms.

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 will create password protected sparse images for each user.

I will use either the production team name: P1T1 for period one team one
or a projects name: TALENT SHOW.

I will train them to add ALL their work to the sparse image.

I will tell students anything left anywhere else on the computer will be deleted.

I will train them to save all their work, quit each open application, then unmount their sparse image.

Each sparse image will contain a FCP X project folder, a FCP X event folder, a documents folder for final draft scripts and shot sheets and graphics used during production, etc, an other media folder (for other images and music and the like).

I will use remote desk top to mount and unmount these from the teacher’s station. I’ve learned that you need to close FCP X to unmount a mounted drive.

Expandable sparse images can grow with use but not shrunk. However they can be erased and copied to new sparse image before doing so. They can also be copied to other computers/drives. They can also have the password reset (in case the one I’ll use for all is compromised).

I’ll set parental permissions to allow only the needed apps to be used and only the needed web sites to be used. I will try to use a simple finder that will not allow changes to the interface.

If all goes well I will not even need multiple user accounts (I think) because all their work will be saved in the sparse image. But there might be problems this way with preferences for certain programs.

I’ll do some more research on the parental controls to leave the system drive as clean as possible. Anything not in a sparse image will be deleted. Since all files are time stamped I would easily know who left it there.

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]

Nice link – very well done tutorial – expanded on my (just yesterday’s) understanding of batch renaming. No question FCP X has fantastic organizational ability. In some ways, the meta-data he created was redundant. But a variable degree of redundancy is ergonomically efficient: I’ve always liked Apple’s decision to allow different ways of doing the same thing in their interfaces: A. different folks learn differently. B. people get fatigued with a overly repetitive workflows. Here the names help you see your clips organized at a glance, where as the other columns help you define individual clips with specific details. I’m also thinking that when you reach a stuck point on your timeline, when you just can’t get your act together – you can go back to your event browser and add a piece of metadata – thus getting you to rethink and review what media is at the ready and how it all fits together. It also lends itself to a bias I have that productions should start on the page, be interpreted during the shoot, and built (rather than rewritten) in post. At least I feel this way for narratives. For documentaries, performances, I feel the opposite. Let the camera become your eyes, then in post build a story and interpretation around what it found. In both cases, I want to produce something truthful to a source.

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 can pass word protect the sparse images of the media as it is created.

How do i protect the “project folder kept on the same drive as my project” for each user?

Can these too be set up as expandable sparse images?

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 can’t recommend one in that price range but here is what I suggest:

Go to BHphoto.

do a search for sony, canon, jvc, panasonic and canon – professional camcorder. Sort by low to high price. filter for xlr. then do a search for camera reviews to check out what is being compromised at the low end from each of these companies. At that price there will be compromises but if you provide them with adequate light you should get a nice image. The tough part is the sound – audio is the hard part. A sound devices mixer either a mixpre-d or a 302 will help a lot but will cost you another $1000-$2000 dollars. Hopefully you already have a decent tripod, light kit, place to shoot, etc.

Or you can go with a DSLR that shoots HD video with their larger chips. But you’ll have to go with an audio recorder or if you are not too picky some of them now have mic inputs but crappy preamps. For $1050 you can add a mixpre-d plus mount plus interconnect. That will give you two xlr inputs and very good preamp and headphone amp and limiters and filters and just a great piece of gear.

In fact I’d recommend this with a low end camcorder as well but it will bring you over budget. Remember too that a DSLR will require more attention to focus since you have a narrow depth of field.

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]

Now that Apple has decided dvd players should be history or external, it would be a great option to order either a macbook pro or Imac with a system and media drive, for exactly the reason you gave – all in one editing machines. It would be even cooler if they had a slot where you could swap out your media drives. It will be interesting to see the new Mac Pro. I’m thinking some kind of modular design rather than the big enclosure that some don’t take advantage of, some find inadequate and a few find just right.

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]

Yes it does. Was not aware that disc utility could clone a P2 card, but it’s great it can. I’ll test this out so I know the work flow. I know about sparse images because as a teacher I’m going to have to pass word protect projects so students do not trash each other’s work. Sparse images allow for this plus as you say FCP X seems to like them. So when I insert a P2 card, I can open disc utility and create a sparse image of the card. Then for anything that we can’t afford to loose we can back this up. Does that mean that if you have your original media that the project file can recreate all your edits? Also is it ok that FCP references the original media or is it better to copy the file to FCP (I see these as options when you import media). I suppose if you have a clone of the P2 cards and a copy in FCP then you have a back-up. If then a FCP project file can recreate the project from the original footage – then you are good to go.

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]

Thank you, Bill,

Exactly what I was looking for. Concise and logical.

I’m just getting my feet wet with X. I was thinking of starting by doing a batch rename of a certain location or day or scene or as Apple would call it an Event. Then from there reject the garbage, keyword or add notes to important shots by content or emotional value or plot point, and within those key worded/noted clips set rough I and O points to pre-edit stuff within the clip that’s garbage. Leaving generous handles.

Then leave the rest for the timeline.

But without experience I was worried that I might be setting myself up for problems if something about the workflow was destructive to basic organization.

You answered that for me. So, although I might, with experience, choose a different approach, at least I know I can apply these methods at will and give it shot.

We will be using P2 cams and I know you can assign names to shots before importing into FCP. Would this be worth the trouble? The cards have to be erased anyway so its not like labeled master tapes that need to be labeled. But what about back ups? Do you back up the FCP media with all the organization in tact or just back up the original files or both? If you backed up the original files plus the project file would that do the trick? Or do you need to back up the render files and all of the FCP folders?

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]

Installing the ram is very easy. surgical gloves will help as would touching something metal. and if it is a static filled environment get this:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/405122-REG/Belkin_F8E093_Anti_Static_Wristband_for_Maintenance.html

lay your unplugged mac down on a clean towel at a good height on a solid surface.

you don’t need the tool kit mentioned in the video but you will need a plastic something to push open the ram door. a pen with cap will do. the kit owc sells is a good kit and can come in handy but not needed for this job.

to install watch this:

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_27inch_late_2012_mem_h/

if you are not using the original apple ram then save it for trouble shooting down the line.

store it in one of the cases that came with the new ram.

You want to store your media on an external raid.

Sure SSD would be the fastest but at this point in time very expensive.

A raided thunderbolt enclosure will be plenty fast and if it can swap out drives you have almost unlimited storage.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/812862-REG/Promise_Technology_PR402US_8TB_Pegasus_R4_RAID.html

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.