Re: FCPX metadata--how significant is it? And why?

[Chris Harlan] "Dude! I totally see where you are coming from in this."

A huge weight has been lifted. I'm glad I posted those pics as this has all been making huge sense to me, but I have to remember that not everyone is used to a metadata centric workflow. Thank you.

[Chris Harlan] "Looking at what you've got going here, makes me see your POV a whole new way. Just curious--did Final Cut Server not deliver for you? "

This was before Final Cut Server, and that wasn't in the cards for us at the time as to get it done right, you needed some serious hardware.

We now have a SAN which would benefit from a catalog system. We are looking at CatDV, but the jury is still out. CatDV does have the advantage that is works with MXF components (like MXF4mac which we use).

With Lion and FCPX, these MXF components don't work anymore so we have to sit tight for a little while longer and see what shakes out.

[Chris Harlan] "Also, can you call up those GPS points in FCP X? I think that would be terrific for location scouting."

The GPS requires a chip on the camera, and the camera has to have the capability. We don't have it, I just put in there to show where those fields come from. I know that it gets recorded as a tc stream of sorts and conforms to SMPTE's UMID. I think it would be really handy for reality shows, big ones that have many locations, or news of course. The "Search Google Maps" button is fun. Here it is for certain Panasonic cameras:

http://panasonic.com/business/professional-video-accessories/aj-gps910g.asp

Yes. FCPX has this location data in it, and it comes from the P2 XML in the case of P2 Footage.

I should add that all of this metadata is Spotlight searchable as well as the P2 metadata exists in text files that are attached to the footage. I really like the P2 format, it's pretty amazing and powerful if you crack it open.