Alias into the FCP X Library Top-Level?

Right clicking over a FCP X library allows you to see library contents, exposing all the event folders. I'm trying to figure out a way to create an alias directly into this top-level Library. You can easily alias into an event folder, but that's not what I'm looking to do because in this particular Library, those event folders will be continuously changing. Anyone know any tricks to do this?


What I'm trying to accomplish is to move recorded media (live event, 2-5 hours in continuous length) from the capture location (on the same volume) into a FCP X Library Event. I could import, however this will take too long. It's much more efficient to move the file via finder, and then import into FCP X from inside the event folder.

Looks like we're locked out of aliasing into this bundle. If FCP X had a "move file" option on import, this would probably solve my needs. Provided FCP X doesn't copy the file before deleting source file.

P.S. you CAN alias into the "original media" folder inside any event, but this won't help me much in this case.

You can import from inside the library. Why are you working with managed media, why not external?

Tom Wolsky wrote: You can import from inside the library. Why are you working with managed media, why not external?

Because when I'm done with the event, I can delete the event and all the included assets with one action instead of hunting around for used assets in finder.

Seems like the best course of action for this kind of workflow is to create a master event inside the library that never changes, move the media via alias into there, and then after importing into FCP X, create your new event and move the media to that event in FCP X.

Not as simplified as I'd like it to be, but it shure is way way way faster then waiting for FCP X to duplicate the file, and then deleting the source file manually after import.

Not clear what you're doing and why you need multiple events, but I guess you'll work it out the way you want. Sounds like all you need to do is consolidate.

Each event is based on the date of the event, similar to each event being an episode number of a series, where the Library is the series. This is dated, time-sensitve material, so all my assets are organized by date. When an event is a few weeks old, and I've confirmed that I've exported and archived the finished masters, the event is no longer desired and I simply delete it and the assets it contains. This simplifies my workflow and makes managing these assets easy.

Consolidating media doesn't work in this case, because FCP X duplicates (aka copies) the existing media. Which I'll then have to manually delete later. I don't want that. I don't want to wait for FCP X to copy a rather HUGE media file when this isn't necessary, and doing so is actually a HUGE waste of time.

Moving a file from one folder to another on the same volume takes microseconds. So that's what I want to do, move a file form the folder it was captured to, into the original media folder of the new event.

You don't understand how FCP works with hard links. Once the media is on the same drive, the media Is never duplicated no matter how you move it around.

Creating an alias inside the location of the captured media (which is used for multiple "series" recordings) is an efficient way to teleport the media into the Library's original media folder. The catch is that with me creating new events per recording, this original media folder location is always changing, assuming that it exists; which it doesn't until you import something into the event.

By creating a Master Import event that remains constant, I can alias into that original media folder, teleport my assets there, then import into the Master Import FCP X Library. Then inside FCP X I can drag and drop that media to the new event.

Sounds complicated but it's actually much more efficient in terms of media management for this live event series.

Tom Wolsky wrote: You don't understand how FCP works with hard links. Once the media is on the same drive, the media Is never duplicated no matter how you move it around.

Not true. FCP X ALWAYS duplicates the media files. I've tested this many many times. Activity monitor proves to me that copy on import does not use the hard link method that FCP X did when updated old FCP X SAN Locations. FCP X, at least on our Xsan system, always duplicates the file.

You are ill-informed. FCP appears to duplicate the file it it does not. The media is on the drive in only one location and consolidate is practically instanetous.

I just re-tested the link-to-external-file import and then consolidate method. It too, actively copies/duplicates the file despite being on the same volume. This is not using the hard link method, or I wouldn't see "copying files" in the background processes of FCP X, and Activity monitor wouldn't even show a blip. But now I'm watching a 800MBread/270MBwrite process, which even at that speed, takes a long time to (redundantly) copy media. (FCP X is probably rendering waveforms at the same time, explaining the higher read speed.)

Tom Wolsky wrote: You are ill-informed. FCP appears to duplicate the file it it does not. The media is on the drive in only one location and consolidate is practically instanetous.

How can I be ill informed when my testing is clearly showing me how FCP X is operating? I'm getting the result I stated, not the result we both would prefer.

My consolidate action is finished copying and FCP is now only rendering waveforms with a 680MB/s read speed.

I know I'm effectively Hard-Link moving files manually with my alias workaround, but thats because I can't get FCP X to do this itself. You keep saying it should, and I would expect that it would too, but that's not the result I get. Perhaps it's because we are using an Xsan configuration? I don't know. I wish FCP X would hard-link import but I have no doubts that on our system, it doesn't.

I think I may know why we're kind of talking past each other on this. I probably wasn't clear enough on what it is I'm doing, and you're possibly thinking that I'm moving footage from one FCP X library to another FCP X library. That is not what I'm doing.

We use Blackmagic's Media Express to capture live events and the targeted capture folder is a dedicated folder for all Media Express captures located on our Xsan. From this folder I move the footage to the appropriate FCP X Library, and they vary depending on what the captured project was; however the capture folder does not change.

So what I'm doing is moving the hundreds of GBs of captured footage from this general Finder folder into A FCP X Library. If I use the traditional FCP X import options FCP X will *always* duplicate the footage, as it copies into the FCP X Library, which is not what I need to do in this case.

So moving the footage via Finder directly into the guts of the FCP X library saves tons of time, and FCP X only needs to start rendering previews & waveforms after I import the footage that is now already stuffed inside the Library. FCP X can just skip the copy process.

So what is the question? This should work if you do it right, importing into FCP ysubg leave in place.

You are overthinking it.
Manually aliasing into a library is trying to do by hand what FCP X already does by itself when you choose "Leave in Place". This is also referred to as external media.
This way your media exists in only the dedicated capture folder and the library contains only symlinks to it. Easy and painless, and unless I completely misunderstood that is precisely what you asked for.

There is no need to work with managed media.

My question was of how to create an alias into the top-level folder inside a FCP X Library. It looks like that is not possible and I came up with a different workaround.

You are overthinking it.
Manually aliasing into a library is trying to do by hand what FCP X already does by itself when you choose "Leave in Place". This is also referred to as external media.
This way your media exists in only the dedicated capture folder and the library contains only symlinks to it. Easy and painless, and unless I completely misunderstood that is precisely what you asked for.

There is no need to work with managed media.

That's not what I want to do organizationally. I don't want to leave the footage in the capture folder, I want it inside a specified event within the Library. And if you read through the previous posts, you'll find that even consolidating after sym-link importing, FCP X then duplicates the footage no matter where it sources from and there is no option to move it without copying/duplicating. The only way to do this is to manually do so via Finder.

Doing it manually via the Finder is first a royal PITA, second not a safe or proper way to work.

That file will have to copy from the XSAN volume to your local volume, no matter what you do. Let FCPX do it with the import, takes the same amount of time as if you copy it manually.

As for making a duplicate, well, take 3 seconds and delete it from the XSAN volume.

I'm totally missing where the advantage to manually moving it is. Seems you're creating more work than necessary, only to make FCPX do something it won't (and for good safety reasons) won't do.

Import it, specify the Event in the FCPX import window, then delete the copy of the XSAN volume. Simple, quick, not any slower than manually copying the file yourself.

BenB wrote: Doing it manually via the Finder is first a royal PITA, second not a safe or proper way to work.

That file will have to copy from the XSAN volume to your local volume, no matter what you do. Let FCPX do it with the import, takes the same amount of time as if you copy it manually.

As for making a duplicate, well, take 3 seconds and delete it from the XSAN volume.

I'm totally missing where the advantage to manually moving it is. Seems you're creating more work than necessary, only to make FCPX do something it won't (and for good safety reasons) won't do.

Import it, specify the Event in the FCPX import window, then delete the copy of the XSAN volume. Simple, quick, not any slower than manually copying the file yourself.

I agree it is a PITA. But it's still vastly more efficient to get the result I want. The file never gets copied to a local drive, it stays on Xsan – the same exact volume – just a different effective location.

Again, as stated already in earlier posts, doing this manually takes microseconds. That sure as hell beats the even a conservatively speaking 5 minute import time doing it FCP X's way and I don't have to go back to delete anything.

We've got backups in other capture locations (we always capture in 3 different places on 3 different devices) if anything goes wrong in this stupidly simple drag n drop.