Mark Raudonis
3
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
-
Don’t laugh when I suggest this… I’m serious.
If you have two monitors on your FCP system, why not turn one of them on it’s side into “portrait” mode? You can use the “horizontal”, normal monitor for all timeline functions, and the second “full screen” monitor for framing and decisions. The key to this working is to use the “full screen” mode for all of your viewing and editing.
Good luck.
Mark
-
Will,
The quick answer is, “Work locally, save gobally”. As Matt has mentioned, with careful attention to naming, everyone will know what is the “latest” project. Even in Avid land, only one person can “own” a timeline at a time. Same principle here. Editors “pull” their projects down to their “local” system off of a common shared folder on the x-SAN. They do their work, then save it back to this “common” folder.
Different shows have different methods for moving sequences. Some will create a new project with only the sequence in it and save that to the common folder. ANyone needing that version can tell which is most current by either cut number or date stamp. Others will simply update the whole project. On an Avid, the “project” is king. In FCP, the “project” is much less important, and other methods of organizing your media, cuts, and elements can be used.
Mark
-
Will,
We have close to one hundred FCP systems tied into two X-SAN systems. Over fifty editors are currently sharing the same media, working on multiple episodes. Each show has a different workflow, but typically, anywhere from 3-5 editors are working on the same episode (single job).Are you on an X-SAN system? If so, using the “reveal in finder” key will open the master clip in it’s original folder. This does alow you to “matchback” to the original clip, and depending on how you’ve organized your media, find related clips.
Coming from an Unity system, you’re going to have to “rethink” your approach to media organization. At our company, we’ve taken advantage of the fact that FCP does NOT need the media to live in a project. Now, many “non-editors” like the story department, producers, legal, and music all have access to the original media right on their desktop…without even needing FCP. Using just a Quicktime player, they can view individual clips or sequences output as QT’s. Avid’s approach to this is called “Media Manger Select”, but it’s very expensive and a bandwitdth hog.
The key to sucess in a FCP shared environment is a logical, structured approach to organizing your workflow (media). Feel free to contact me off-list for more details.
Mark
-
There’s been many threads about this remapping topic.
I think the general consensus from those having worked with FCP for a long time is: DO NOT try to remap the FCP keyboard to mimic an Avid. When I first switched, I confess that I remapped by keyboard. Then, as I became more familiar with the “logic” behind FCP’s key arrangement, I realized that I was only slowing my adoption of this new language (FCP). So, now, my advice is DON’T DO IT! Better, buy an color coded keyboard with all the new keys and just look down until you learn them.
This is much like trying to learn a foreign language. The best way to do it is by immersion. The longer you spend trying to “translate” the longer it will take to learn.
Mark
-
Ray,
You’re getting hosed by people spreading misinformation!
First off: The IMX format. We’ve been using IMX 50 for more than three years now. We’ve shot literally tens of thousands of hours of footage around the world with this format, both on tape and on the new XD disc. We’ve had virtually NO problems. Ever. We’ve edited hundreds of hours of network quality shows and I can safely say that we have had NO format related problems. I have no experience with IMX 30 format though, and just on priciple would suggest you go for the higher end “50” format. The difference in storage just isn’t that great. Fight to retain as much quality as possible.
The “streams of video” arguement is BS! Those restrictions have more to do with what kinds of drives you’re using, and what kind of RAID you’re using than anything else. “Multicam” not supported??? again, BS! We’re regularly cutting multicam sequences using IMX originated footage. Again, the origination format has nothing to do with this. You don’t mention what resolution you’re working in. Off-line RT? DV? IMX codec, or 8 bit. That will affect the number of streams more than anything else.
Ray, you need to speak to a qualified FCP post specialist. Not someone who’s trying to sell you an Avid!
Good Luck,
Mark
-
zeev,
You’ll be much happier if you stop approaching this workflow like you’re using an AVID. One of the biggest differences between FCP and AVID is how they handle media. Avid is “project” centric, where everything must be in a project. FCP doesn’t care. Media can live anywhere, in any folder and anyone can access it. You do NOT need a “project” to work with it.
Therein, lies the strength of FCP. Using the MAC HFS, you can organize your media in a way that will address your workflow concerns. Multiple editors accessing the same media? No problem. We have close to one hundred editors all networked together via X-SAN, all using the same media. I guarantee it will work. From the nature of your questions,it sounds like you don’t have much FCP experience. My advice would be to hire someone who knows what they’re doing to help get you up and running. The decisions you make now (setting up your workflow) will impact this project to the end.
As for the “up res” issue, I’ve spent many a night redigitizing media on a Symphony that “SHOULD” have relinked, but didn’t. Why not save the “upres” until picture is locked? We’ve been using off-line RT for network review and approval for years. Trying to do an “interim” upres that editors can work with seems like a waste of time and an unecessary point of confusion.
mark
-
Mike,
How are you trying to sync these two sources? Do you have a slate? What’s your common reference point? Timecode, whether drop or non drop does NOT affect the speed at which you record something. You don’t provide enough info to trouble shoot, so I’ll suggest the following. FORGET THE TIMECODE! Find a common point on the video and “bad” audio, that you can easily find on the “good” mp3. First drum hit in a song? Use that to sync. (Hint: Waveforms can be a very helpful visual cue if you have no slate or clap.)
Drop frame and nondrop can easily coexist in a sequence. These differances only become an issue if you’re using the NUMBERS to sync. In your case that seems impossible.
Good luck.
Mark
-
Dear Mr. Avid,
I recognize your complaints, ’cause I’ve heard them one hundred times before. I say one hundred, because that’s the number of true purple AVID editors that we’ve retrained for FCP. They’re now working on projects far more complex that you’ve outlined. You’ve been given very helpful, very specific advice from the posts above. I’ll give you a general point of view that you won’t want to hear. QUIT COMPLAINING! Either RTFM and learn what you need to do the job, or go back to your beloved Avid. It’s not our responsibility to make FCP work for you. The fine folks on this list have invested the time and effort to make FCP work for them. You betray your prejudice by comparing ten years of Avid knowledge to 10 minutes of FCP experience. Are you sure you’re not a troll?
mark
-
Melissa,
We’ve got our whole company set up to look at quicktime files (off of the X-SAN) on their desktop via gigabit ethernet. This will work on both MAC and PC. Here’s some things to keep in mind.
We’re using off-line RT, so our bandwidth needs are low. We have gigabit switches, cat6 wire, and enough spindles in our X-RAID’s to make it work. We can support up to around 20 seats in our set up. Probably could go higher, but just don’t have the need today. The higher your resolution, the greater your bandwidth needs. In other words, a couple of streams of DV quality might work. One stream of SD quality probably will NOT work.
Doing this properly, you’re sticking your toes deep into “IT” land. If you’re comfortable there, go ahead. If not, hire someone who is.
Mark
-
Paul,
[Paul] “endering the but over the whole show really sucks badly and is a huge bottleneck for this situation….”
I assume you meant “bug”. If this is the only bottleneck in your workflow, take a page out of the old school and key the bug with an outboard switcher as you output to tape. If you’re working with extreme deadlines, then perhaps FCP isn’t the right tool for the job. Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick two.
mark