Upgrading to FCP from FCE - hardware/practical issues

[portena]

Hi there,

I have some concerns about making the switch from FCE to FCP. Namely:

- Should I delete/uninstall FCE from the system first (for the sake of keeping things tidy as I like my startup drive to be uncluttered with software I won't be using) and if so, how - considering that I would still want to access the FCE documents folder (render folders, capture scratch etc) which were inadvertently stored on the internal hard drive. (I assume FCE files will be read by FCP?).

- I am also going to purchase a new external drive to be the dedicated capture scratch. Is a standard firewire drive ok? the FCE manual seemed to be saying this was the lesser standard somehow but I'm not sure what this means in practical terms (i'm on a budget).

- I will constantly be deleting footage/movie folders in order to make room for new projects. I won't need to keep the earlier folders/footage, and in fact, I want to ensure the auto-render files and other associated "saves" that FC executes automatically are deleted along with the original captured footage when I do hit delete, as space will also be at a premium. Is there some way to do this without having to manually go into each folder and delete the items? In fact, I think this option is impossible as it is not clear how the names relate to which files and I'd probably stuff it up.

This latter question is a really perplexing one, as I made the mistake of renaming files and shifting them around (causing FC to prompt me to reconnect the missing media, which I successfully did) but I notice that within the other FC folders, the original names have remained. This I find all very confusing and slightly worrying.

Is there some crash course I can take in scratch disks as I really need one!

Thanks so much
Nadine

 

[-DH]

1. I can't really offer any advice on your first question as I've never had FCE installed on my system.

2. An external Firewire or eSATA drive will work for any DV25 format and HDV. If you have a tower system (G4, G5, MacPro), adding another internal drive is better/faster than an external drive. Other video formats may require the addition of a specialized capture card and/or a different external drive setup.

3. FCP's method of creating folders for projects is something that often gets bad review by some users. This is how it works:

Once you've set the drive(s) to be used by FCP in preferences, FCP will automatically create folders on those drives as needed. Let's assume you've only set one drive for captures, renders, autosaves, thumbnail cache and waveform cache. The first folder created on the capture/scratch drive is named "Final Cut Pro Documents." As you create projects, FCP will create folders inside of the main folder for all of the items listed.

So a typical capture/scratch drive might look something like this:

Media Drive
-->Final Cut Pro Documents
------>Audio Render Files
----------->Company Promo 08
----------->Jenkins Wedding
----------->Stallings Music Video
------>Autosave Vault
----------->Company Promo 08
----------->Jenkins Wedding
----------->Stallings Music Video
------>Capture Scratch
----------->Company Promo 08
----------->Jenkins Wedding
----------->Stallings Music Video
------>Render Files
----------->Company Promo 08
----------->Jenkins Wedding
----------->Stallings Music Video
------>Thumbnail Cache
------>Waveform Cache

As you can see, FCP will (automatically) create the folders it needs to organize the files. Once you're finished with a project, you simply delete the folders related to that project (folders bearing that project's name). The exceptions to this are the Thumbnail Cache and Waveform Cache folders. The contents of those two folders can be deleted at any time without affecting any current projects. If you do delete those contents, any current project will merely have to redraw the thumbnails and waveforms it uses, once that project is opened again.

The project files that you create should reside on the boot drive along with the system software (OS) and the applications. It is perfectly safe to keep those long after a project is finished as they don't take up much room at all .... just in case of the need for a re-edit or revision. If that need does arise, merely open the project file, then recapture the footage (according to your logging information) and re-render.

-DH

 

[portena]

1.

3. FCP's method of creating folders for projects is something that often gets bad review by some users. This is how it works:........

Thanks so much DH - this is such a thorough and helpful response... have pinned it on my notice board for easy reference in the future!

Cheers!!

 

[Padaung]

Once you've set the drive(s) to be used by FCP in preferences, FCP will automatically create folders on those drives as needed. Let's assume you've only set one drive for captures, renders, autosaves, thumbnail cache and waveform cache. The first folder created on the capture/scratch drive is named "Final Cut Pro Documents." As you create projects, FCP will create folders inside of the main folder for all of the items listed.

So a typical capture/scratch drive might look something like this:

Media Drive
-->Final Cut Pro Documents
------>Audio Render Files
----------->Company Promo 08
----------->Jenkins Wedding
----------->Stallings Music Video
------>Autosave Vault
----------->Company Promo 08
----------->Jenkins Wedding
----------->Stallings Music Video
------>Capture Scratch
----------->Company Promo 08
----------->Jenkins Wedding
----------->Stallings Music Video
------>Render Files
----------->Company Promo 08
----------->Jenkins Wedding
----------->Stallings Music Video
------>Thumbnail Cache
------>Waveform Cache

As you can see, FCP will (automatically) create the folders it needs to organize the files. Once you're finished with a project, you simply delete the folders related to that project (folders bearing that project's name). The exceptions to this are the Thumbnail Cache and Waveform Cache folders. The contents of those two folders can be deleted at any time without affecting any current projects. If you do delete those contents, any current project will merely have to redraw the thumbnails and waveforms it uses, once that project is opened again.

The project files that you create should reside on the boot drive along with the system software (OS) and the applications. It is perfectly safe to keep those long after a project is finished as they don't take up much room at all .... just in case of the need for a re-edit or revision. If that need does arise, merely open the project file, then recapture the footage (according to your logging information) and re-render.

-DH

OMG, thank you. At last all becomes clear!