Final Cut Pro HD | H•O•T Hands-On Training [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

1.

Be sure Final Cut is not running, so that all open project files are closed.

Back inChapter 1, I described a system where you create a folder, called FCP Projects, which serves as the master folder for all your projects.

Inside this folder, I suggested you create a separate folder for each Final Cut project. Here's where that organization system pays off.

If you follow those instructions, inside that project folder you stored all your graphics, music, audio effects, animation, LiveType projects, Soundtrack files… everything related to the project except timecode-based media. That is, everything except what is on your video tapes.

2.

All you need to do now is copy that project folder from your computer to a CD or DVD, if there isn't enough room on a CD. Generally, these files are very small, compared to media.

Final Cut projects don't contain any media. Instead, all clips are referenced using pointers that "point" from Final Cut's Browser or Timeline to the actual media files stored on your hard disk. Each pointer keeps track of the full path and file name of each media file.

Chapter 1. Go to [Second hard disk] > FCP Media > Capture Scratch. Inside it you will find a folder for every project for which you captured media.

Because you set your Scratch Disk to FCP Media at the start of the project, and never changed it, every time you captured media it all went into the FCP Media folder, sorted into a media folder named the same as your project. Now, when it comes time to trash the media for this project, just select the FCP Media > Capture Scratch > [project name] folder for the project and drag it to the Trash. All project media clips will be trashed, and you just got a lot of hard disk space back.

4.

So, to summarize, all project files go into the project folder, which gets backed up to CD. All render files get trashed, because they can easily be recalculated by Final Cut whenever you need them. All media files get trashed because Final Cut can easily recapture them from the original video tapes whenever you need to reedit the project, as you will learn shortly.

The key point is to archive your media on video tapes, not digital media. Video tapes last longer and are easier to recapture than keeping stacks of hard disks lying around.

NOTE | Storing Video Tapes

Magnetic video tapes have a shelf life of 20 to 25 years, provided you store them away from extremes of heat, light, cold, and moisture.

Tapes will last longer and play back better if they are stored on edge, rather than flat. Storing on edge decreases the effects of gravity on the tape's oxide particles and the earth's magnetic field on the magnetic signals recorded on the tape.

Even better, try to store the tape wound all the way to the head or tail of the tape. First, this assures even winding and stacking throughout the tape; second, over the long term, storing a tape wound all the way to the end offers more protection to the magnetic signals.

NOTE | What Happens to Autosave Vault Files?

One of the nice features of the Autosave Vault is that you don't need to worry about trashing old Vault files. In Chapter 2, "Understanding the Final Cut Pro Interface," you configured the Autosave Vault so that as new projects came in, old projects got trashed automatically. At the time, the setting I was most concerned with was Save a Copy Everyand we set it to 15 minutes. This means that Final Cut makes a backup, protection copy every 15 minutes.

Now that you are at the end of a project, the other two settings are more relevant.

Keep at Most 20 Copies means that Final Cut keeps only the 20 most recent protection copies. When it saves the 21st, the first gets trashed, the 22nd trashes the second, and so on. This means that the amount of hard disk space the Autosave Vault needs stays pretty much constant.

Maximum of 15 Projects means that Final Cut keeps only the 15 most recent projects. When the 16th project starts, all of project 1 gets trashed. (Obviously, if you are working on more than 15 projects at the same time, you should increase this suggested level.) Again, this means that the amount of hard disk space required by the Autosave Vault remains fairly constant.

So, set the Vault and don't worry about it. It pretty much takes care of itself.