Re: Todays FCP X announcement

[Leo Hans] "If you share FCP7 project and one editor modify something the only way to consolidate both projects is to copy and paste sequences. But every change made in the clips (marks, sub-clips, metadata, etc). is lost."

I think it depends. For example, in the film world, you can have an assistant on one system create a separate FCP 7 project for each day of dailies. Maybe 30 or more individual FCP 7 project files - one for each day of dailies. In the dailies project(s), he can ingest/import media, merge double-system sound, enter scene/take/log info, etc. The editor can now open a dailies project across the network, link to the media and copy & paste (or drag across) all that data into a bin in the editor's master FCP 7 project. Works fine and no metadata is lost. Obviously a lot of manual work is done and it requires human communication and interaction between the editor and assistant. Granted, if the assistant later changes something in his dailies project, this doesn't come across and would somehow have to be manually updated. The trick with FCP 7 projects and sharing has been to think of them like Avid bins (at the OS level) and work accordingly. The point is that two or more editors can freely shared FCP 7 projects in various ways that work for them.

I do a lot of work at a shop that has Final Cut Server and 4 seats of FCP 7. I presume at some point we'll see this type of project management enter the picture for FCP X. With FC Server you have to use a formal check-out/check-in procedure, which is a lot like what Avid does in Interplay. That method (with FC Server) allows sharing, but only one editor can have the correct file checked out from FC Server at any given time.

- Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com