[Nicholas Zimmerman]

One of the other guys posted a good organization for the folders and card data earlier in the thread. If you use sparse bundles you’d just move the one file and everything would work fine. If you’ve already got the footage in the sparse bundle you don’t need to check copy files. If you are moving between different drives then you need to check it. For handing it off you’ve got a lot of options. I tend to duplicate the project to their drive and only include used media.

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Avid MC, PPro CS6, FCP7 – wasting away on my SSD.
I just can’t quit X.
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[Nicholas Zimmerman]

Also a sparse bundle only takes as much space as the files in it, so I 2tb bundle with 100mb of data is still small, just with an upper limit of 2TB.

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Avid MC, PPro CS6, FCP7 – wasting away on my SSD.
I just can’t quit X.
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[Nicholas Zimmerman]

I use disk images because it allows each project to have it’s own Events and Projects. This also makes it really easy to organize as my RAID just has a bunch of sparse bundles that I mount and eject as needed.

Personally I’d recommend generating Optimized Media because ProRes renders incredibly fast in FCPX. It’s like having an automatic offline workflow that you don’t have to worry about, and switching back to the online clips when needed. I haven’t worked with Log C footage, but I know one of the big updates with 10.0.8 was support for the Log C LUT, so that you could edit in a proper Rec. 709 colorspace on Log C footage. This doesn’t have anything to do with the ProRes optimization, but is a Look Up Table that ensures the media displays properly.

FCPX works a lot like Avid, in that it has a specific place that it wants your media. Your FCPX Events and Projects are always in the root directory, unless on your boot disk, where they live in ~/Movies. The sparse bundle workflow allows you to easily manage the location of the files, and keeps everything together in one place. It’s really cleaned up my workflow, and I love it. It’s kind of like having separate drives for each project you work on.

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Avid MC, PPro CS6, FCP7 – wasting away on my SSD.
I just can’t quit X.
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[Nicholas Zimmerman]

Don’t worry, I just finished a short film in it without any issues. We did the whole kit and caboodle too, X2Pro for ProTools, Davinci Resolve, etc. I use the Disk Image method, in Disk Utility you create a large sparse disk image (usually 1-2 terabytes, it only takes as much space is used) and store ALL files for a project in it. FCPX treats it as a hard drive, and when you eject it, it disappears from X. Some people complain about speed issues, but I’ve never encountered anything in the last year and a half I’ve been using it. If you copy the footage into the sparse before you import then you can skip copying. When you import make sure you hit Optimize media, and it’ll automatically generate ProRes for you. Make sure you have Canon Log-C set in the info pain for your footage after you import.

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Avid MC, PPro CS6, FCP7 – wasting away on my SSD.
I just can’t quit X.
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[Nicholas Zimmerman]

Neat Video: The best noise reduction I’ve ever used.
Lock & Load X: The best post stabilizer I’ve ever used.

I find both of these plugins better than what’s in Resolve (I’ve got the full version with NR).

My video sweetening workflow tends to go like this. Edit in FCPX, export a FCPXML and import into Resolve. In the conform tab, right click in the timelines box (upper left) and select import XML, AAF, etc. Resolve will automatically add the used media to your media pool, and your active project to a new timeline. Just make sure you export project XML and not event XML. I tend to duplicate my project and remove all retiming, transitions, and effects before going to Resolve. When you are done in Resolve go to the Deliver page, and make sure to select the “Final Cut Pro Roundtrip” option at the top of the page. Render out, then import the FCPXML back into FCPX.

Usually I’ll copy and paste the imported project behind my original edit (duplicate it first so you have a backup) and then drag my new clips over the original edit to connect them above where they go. Copy and paste parameters (if you did a temp grade in FCPX, don’t copy it), then overwrite to primary storyline over the originals. Sometimes I’ll change all of their blending modes to difference so I can make sure the frames all match. There are a lot of settings in Resolve that I skimmed over, but make sure to pay attention to them, such as Rename All Clips (Resolve will crash if the original footage has illegal characters in the name), Render Audio, and Format (should be ProRes in most circumstances). Let me know if you need to know anything else.

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Avid MC, PPro CS6, FCP7 – wasting away on my SSD.
I just can’t quit X.
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[Nicholas Zimmerman]

Neat Video is absolutely necessary. Aside from that I’m a big fan of Lock & Load, also own Coremelt Complete but never really use it. Boric CC is fantastic, and the primary reason I barely ever touch Coremelt Complete. I’d also recommend Davinci Resolve. You can get the free light version, and it shakes hands very well with FCPX. It’s much more powerful than Magic Bullet looks (and free, although I did get the full license), but has a very steep learning curve.

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Avid MC, PPro CS6, FCP7 – wasting away on my SSD.
I just can’t quit X.
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[Nicholas Zimmerman]

You will want to bake the Neat Video effect (if it’s needed) into your clip before Resolve because Resolve will blur the noise, making it not match the noise print the footage natively had.

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Avid MC, PPro CS6, FCP7 – wasting away on my SSD.
I just can’t quit X.
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[Nicholas Zimmerman]

I’d recommend trying a key/mask and blur in Resolve light. I’ve got the full resolve and the NR isn’t quite as good as Neat Videos. It seems to work much better in a “skin smoothing” context. It looks like your bg is very contrasted from your subject so play with the HSL qualifications, and build and track masks if necessary.

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Avid MC, PPro CS6, FCP7 – wasting away on my SSD.
I just can’t quit X.
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[Nicholas Zimmerman]

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/software

They talk about it in the Optical Reframing section.

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Avid MC, PPro CS6, FCP7 – wasting away on my SSD.
I just can’t quit X.
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[Nicholas Zimmerman]

Yeah, just drop your flat clip on the timeline in conform, double check that it’s zoomed properly and head to Delivery.

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Avid MC, PPro CS6, FCP7 – wasting away on my SSD.
I just can’t quit X.
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