[Mark Raudonis]

This question has been asked and answered… a hundred times.

Do your own homework.

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

Reconnecting will NOT cross over a “folder” line.

Regardless what scheme you come up with, if you have folders within folders, reconnect will NOT find the clip. You will have to manually open up the folder and “guide” it to the correct clip.

This is why we prefer to have a folder structure that has a minimum of “sub folders”. I try to keep it “3 clicks from the root”. That’s not always possible, but it is optimal.

I really don’t understand the point of have a single clip in a folder. We throw all of our media into very large folders. This makes it much easier to scan and find shots using “Coverflow”. And, as you’ve just discovered, it’s much easier to to work with the reconnect process.

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

Don’t know the answer RE flash. Talk to someone at telestream.

We have firewire cables that are approx 25 feet long. To get 4 inputs, we added two separate firewire cards into the box.

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

Todd,

Tell your producer to learn how to use the “comments” column! That’s where descriptions belong… not as a “clip name”.

As you know, FCP uses the filename (Clip name) for all of it’s media management duties. By changing that name, you are skating on thin ice when it comes to “reconnecting” or finding the original clip that was digitized under another name.

Why does it work sometimes, and not always? I don’t know. I do know that you’re using a workflow that will 100% per cent of the time cause you problems. Why would you want to do that?

mark

[Mark Raudonis]

See my comments below:
Mark

#3. Design a workflow that plays to FCP’s strengths, not weaknesses.
Could you give me an example please.
Example: Media organization that takes dvantage of the way that FCP can use the basic Mac OS file structure. Don’t rely on FCP to “organize” your files. Create your own file structure OUTSIDE of your FCP project. Have a specific numbering scheme and stick with it. Don’t allow editors to “rename” clips randomly. Stay with “Project, Date, Camera, load”. Not “WS Pans group”.

#4. Give up the idea that you’re going to be able to use FULL RESolution… use off-line RT instead.
Not even DV? Maybe. Depends on your drives throughput, and the number of editors working simultaneously. You need a knowledegable person to figure this out correctly.

#5. Have people, resources, and policies in place to handle the Off-line > online process.
Yes.

#6. Understand that a project containing a 12 camera multicam sequence is going to be TWELVE TIMES BIGGER than a straight cut sequence… watch out for project size memory issues.
Yes ok. How much ram do you use? 4 gb for our older g5’s. 6-8 for the newer macpros. RAM is important here, but projects can easily balloon beyond the point where ram can help you.

#7. Have a realistic idea of the extra time required for all of the above and plan your post schedule accordingly.
Yes.

#8. Test media manager, and be comfortable with how it works. Understand where it breaks down and what those implications are for an “off-line to on-line” workflow.
Seems to work ok except for speed changes which are permanently broken I gather.
Not speed changes, but speed “ramps”. There is a difference. Speed change (Slomo) OK. Speed ramp (from normal to extremely slo or fast… not OK.

#9. Understand the implications of “off-line” resolution (320 x 240 vs. 720 x 486) and what this means for translating grfX.

#10. Go visit someone who has this kind of set up in place and understand what you need to make it work.”
I’d love to. Can’t find anyone here in MOntreal. Anyone?

Sorry, I’m in Los Angeles.

[Mark Raudonis]

Jason,

we are currently doing 14 episodes of a one hour, multicam show, that regularly uses 12 camera angles. Large scale multicam shows ARE possible. We’ve been doing them for years.

Here’s what you need to do.

#1. Stop nattering about Avid!

#2. Spec and install systems that are up to the task. (RAM, Drives, CPU speed)

#3. Design a workflow that plays to FCP’s strengths, not weaknesses.

#4. Give up the idea that you’re going to be able to use FULL RESolution… use off-line RT instead.

#5. Have people, resources, and policies in place to handle the Off-line > online process.

#6. Understand that a project containing a 12 camera multicam sequence is going to be TWELVE TIMES BIGGER than a straight cut sequence… watch out for project size memory issues.

#7. Have a realistic idea of the extra time required for all of the above and plan your post schedule accordingly.

#8. Test media manager, and be comfortable with how it works. Understand where it breaks down and what those implications are for an “off-line to on-line” workflow.

#9. Understand the implications of “off-line” resolution (320 x 240 vs. 720 x 486) and what this means for translating grfX.

#10. Go visit someone who has this kind of set up in place and understand what you need to make it work.

Good luck.

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

Liam,

I’m about the only one around here who STILL uses an off-line RT workflow. We do it because we HAVE to, not because I want to.

In our case, we simply have too many shows and too much media to go full rez on everything. Having said that, I try to get away from off-line rt whenever I can.

One of the biggest “gotchas” that hasn’t been mentioned is the difference in frame size between off-line RT and full rez. Offline is 320 X 240, not 720 X 486. There fore, any GRFX or “resizing” that’s done at off-line RT must be recreated in the on-line. On some of our shows, this is not a problem since they’re relative GRFX free. On others, nearly every frame is a GRFX element, and on those shows, we try to stay full rez all the time.

Only you can decide if the pain is worth the gain. If you do choose to go “Offline”, make sure that you build enough time and resources, i.e. assistant editors, into the budget to handle the uprez. It never will go completely smoothly, and a fair amount of “hand work” will be required. For example, we check EVERY shot against the off-line cut to make sure it’s accurate, in sync, etc. Don’t even get me started about media managing multiclip sequences…

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

Another option is from “FlipforMac” called ” Wirecast”. PC and Mac versions available.

https://www.flip4mac.com/wirecast.htm

We’ve owned this software since back when Wirecast was an independent company. Now that they’re part of Flipfor Mac, you might get the advantage of more integration with their other products.

We’ve used it to stream live from our studios a four camera shoot onto the internet. Lot’s of value for the $$$. (It think it’s only $500bucks).

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

Adding to Shane’s comments…

This behavior is normal, and is derrived from the “EDL” concept where the out point is defined as the “First frame NOT recorded”. If you’ve every closely examined an EDL, you’ll see that the NLE behavior makes sense.

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

Thanks, Tom.

I was afraid of that. Just wanted to confirm that I wasn’t missing something.

Mark