MANAGING FCP X EVENTS & PROJECTS WITH DISK IMAGES

Managing FCP X Events & Projects with Disk Images
By Steve Martin

In my ongoing effort to offset some of the misinformation that's floating out there on the web regarding FCP X workflows, I've come across (and tested) an insanely cool workflow that will teach you how to seamlessly work on multiple Macs and even open Projects and Event media on an XSan.

In this article, I will focus on these 3 typical scenarios:

• Hiding, Moving & Sharing your Projects & Event Media
• Using Disk Images on an XSan
• Using Disk Images to archive your work

Creating the Disk Image

Start by launching Apple's Disk Utility application. From the File menu, choose > New > Blank Disk Image.

Select a target drive, enter a name for your Disk Image and choose "Custom" from the Size pop-up menu.

In the Custom size window, enter the size for the Disk Image you want created. You'll need to think about how much media you'll most likely need for a given project. Don't forget to account for render files when choosing a size. In this example, I've chosen to create a 20 GB Disk image. Also, when choosing a size option, keep in mind that you will not be able to choose a size that is larger than the drive you are saving it to.

One really cool feature of Disk Utility is the ability to create what are called "Sparse Disk Images". By choosing this option, if you created a 20 GB image, and only used 5 GB of media, the Disk image would only take up 5 GB on your drive. As you add media to your Event Library, the Disk Image would "expand" to include the additional files (the resulting DMG file would grow larger in size). This way you are only using the disk space you need. On the flip side, if you delete files from your Event Library, the Disk image will not "contract". In other words, if you delete files, you will not regain the space on your hard drive. The only way to make the DI "contract" is to use a command in the Terminal. If you must know this command, email me, but for most people, who have gobs and gobs of disk space, contracting will rarely be a necessity.

Finally, save the blank Disk Image by clicking "Create."

Hiding, Moving & Sharing your Project & Event Media

Once the Disk Image has been created, it will auto-mount on your Desktop. Launch FCP X and the Disk Image icon will appear in the Event Library.

Make sure the DI is selected, the press Option-N to create a new Event. Name the Event, then import your media.

If you look at the mounted DI on the Mac Desktop, you can see the Final Cut Events folder was created and all the Original Media, Analysis Files and Render Files folders placed into it. Final Cut Pro X is treating the mounted DI as any other mounted hard drive.

You can also target the DI for your Projects as well. In the Project Library, select the Disk Image and press Command-N to create a new Project and name it.

If you open your Disk Image on your Desktop, you'll notice a Final Cut Projects folder was created on the Disk Image along with the Project file you'll be working from within FCP X.

On the day FCP X was released, Ken published an article I wrote called "Final Cut Pro X: A First Look" and in that article, one of my contentions was FCP X always loads the Event media and Projects into RAM every time you launch the app. I mentioned I did not like this for two reasons: first, depending on how many Events you have stored in your Event Library, this could take some time. Second, if you had client sensitive material you did not want loaded (and therefore appearing) in either the Event Browser or Project Library, you would first need to unmount the drive before launching FCP X. This is still true, however with a Disk Image, you can now keep different projects on different Disk Images. If you don't want them loading or appearing, you simply make sure they are not mounted before launching FCP. When you want them to appear, double-click the Disk Image to mount it, and voilà your media is back online in the Event and Project Libraries.

Because all your Events and Projects are neatly "bundled" within the Disk Image, you can easily move it to another Mac for continued editing. Just drag the Disk Image to a Firewire Drive to copy it.

On the target laptop or desktop Mac you want to edit on, plug in your firewire drive, double-click the Disk Image file to mount it, and launch FCP X. As you can see in both the Event Library and Project Library, the Mounted DI appears within the Event and Project libraries in the exact state it was on the original Disk Image.

Working on an XSan

In many production environments, an XSan is used for "pooling" data allowing multiple users to share the same media. XSans are ideal for video production because you can work with volumes up to 2 petabytes in size and deliver simultaneous streams of HD video at speeds up to 100 MB/sec. Final Cut Pro X however will not show XSan mounted volumes in either the Event or Project Libraries because they are not HFS + formatted. You can still import media from a mounted SAN volume, but you don't have direct access within FCP X. One way around this is to copy your Disk Image to one of the mounted volumes on a system connected to the XSan. (You'll need write privileges to do this). Anyone on the XSan network can then mount the Disk Image and the Projects and Event media will appear in Final Cut Pro X, exactly as if you were moving a Firewire drive from Mac to Mac (also called "sneaker-net).

Disk Image as Archives

One of the best uses of Disk Images is archiving. Because all your Event and Project files are self-contained, you simply copy the DI to backup drive or other drive used for long term storage. When you need to revisit the project, drag it off the backup drive to your working drive (or SAN), mount it and continue working.

Because Final Cut Pro manages the folder structures for you, working from a Disk Image makes perfect sense because Final Cut Pro X is all about managing the drive and not the individual files on the drive (as in legacy versions of FCP). While creating a Disk Image may not be the ideal solution is some workflows, it does solve a lot of problems when working between systems.