Workflow: Organizing Your Media?

Would love to hear about other people's workflows in FCPX. I'm wondering what other ways people have discovered. Also curious, how do you organize your media inside FCPX to work efficiently and does anyone actually using Folders or Roles?

For comparison, here's what I'm doing now, (I normally shoot Festivals):

Library: Cool Festival
- Event: Workshops Day 01
- Event: Workshops Day 02
- Event: Parties Day 01
- Event: Parties Day 02
- Event: Performances Day 01
- Event: Performances Day 02

Keywords
I use keywords to put all the pieces of each edited sequence in one spot. For example, a "Beach Party" edit, I will keyword the video clips for my stringout, then I'll dump the clips into a Timeline/Project and apply the same keyword so it shows up together with the video clips. I'll also mark any associated graphics & audio with the same keyword. Additional sequences (e.g. "After-Party at Beach Bar) will each get their own keyword. In a more narrative piece, I created a keyword for each "scene", so all the video for that scene was in one spot, including the Timeline/Project.

Grouping
And currently I find it's easiest to "Group Clips" by File Type. Though I see there's a bunch of other ways that might be useful, still getting my head wrapped around Roles.

Love to hear your other workflows! Thanks in advance for sharing.

If you edit one video out of several days, I suggest to put all your footage in one single event and actually use keywords "Workshop Day 01".

I use folders to group my keywords (for example a folder FOOTAGE, and inside my keywords "Workshop Day 01, Workshop Day 02, etc.)

Roles: those are soooooooooooooo powerful! I strongly advise to use them, they will make you save lots of time.

Slightly off topic but this article about workflow is totally worth reading
library.creativecow.net/austin_charlie/FCPX-Timeline/1

I like all the footage in one event with keywords to subdivide the categories (like manoucho suggested). Then I create events for Graphics, Music, etc. that are all subdivided with keywords themselves. Usually I'll create an event for projects as well in case there are several projects created.

The beauty of FCPX is that different editors can use these organization tools however makes the most sense to them. It's all about getting to the shot you need the quickest.

---> Jarrod

That's interesting and thanks for your insights. It looks like my main goal of keywording an edit with it's media/footage works in both cases :silly: Just to think it through, your organization method looks more like this?

Library: FESTIVALs
- Event: SUMMER SPLASH

-- Folder: FOOTAGE
******Keyword: Beach Party Day 01
******Keyword: Beach Party Day 02
******Keyword: Workshops Day 01
******Keyword: Performances Day 02
******Keyword: Interviews, Beach
******Keyword: Interviews, Soirée

-- Folder: MEDIA
***Keyword: Sound Bites
***Keyword: Music
***Keyword: Logos

-- Folder: EDITS (projects + media)
***Keyword: Beach Party Day 01
***Keyword: Beach Party Day 02
***Keyword: Web Ad 01
***Keyword: Web Ad 02
***Keyword: TV Spot 01
***Keyword: TV Spot 02
***Keyword: Performances

I'm wondering where Roles fit into all this? Do you use them at the beginning as part of the media organization or are they more useful to you later on during the editing and export phase?

Roles are good for keeping media organised in a way where they would have otherwise had their own tracks in a traditional NLE.

Titles, video, VFX, dialogue, music, effects are classic examples of this use. Roles could further be edited and divided into sub categories if you find it nessecary. Best not to make it too complicated though. An example of sub categories could be dividing effects into something like foley, ambience, SFX.

You could put it to further use when exporting audio as a multilayered QuickTime Movie. That way dialogue, temp music, and effects will all have their own tracks when imported into a DAW like Logic, Digital Performer, or ProTools.

I'll use keywords and collections to divide and subdivide my source material until they are cutdown to usable pieces from Section to Segment to Clip. Then I will build Sequences, and create Scenes from Sequences and the will all become part of the overall Project all with their own keyword collections and folders to keep everything nice and organised.

I used to work with media and projects in the same Event, but as I started working on bigger projects I started to keep media and edit information in their own Events.

It's alot of organisation, sometimes I cut corners and then neaten things up later before I archive. But being well organised means you've at least seen the media a few times and have a clear idea of what would be good to use and where, so that does speed up the creative process. Plus you never know when you have to come back to something and do a completely new cut on it.

Manteca Arts wrote: … or are they more useful to you later on during the editing and export phase?

maybe I'm simplifying too much here, but
Roles are in Projects what smart-lists are in Events.

sort-of...

Events/tags/keywords/smart-lists are pre-edit tools, organizing to have everything at hand for edit.
Roles are assigned to 'used' material, applied to a project.

... most famous for Audio, but also handy in case you produce a two-(many-)version of a Project, e.g. a German and an English version: not only audio, but localized Titles, diff. Interview-partners, diff. products can be switched-on/-off with a single click for export.-

That's why Roles are superior to 'tracks' - same, why tags are superior to 'drawers'/rigid folders, bins:
a clip can be assigned to more than one role....

try to do that with tracks... :blink: LOL!!

simon.a.billington wrote: ... I used to work with media and projects in the same Event, but as I started working on bigger projects I started to keep media and edit information in their own Events.

What does that look like? Could you give a small example?

Karsten Schlüter wrote: a clip can be assigned to more than one role....

Yes that makes sense, I'm starting to see that's an underlying principle in FCPX, the ability to apply keywords and roles to several clips, edits, audio at the same time and what that means to the way I deal with my data while editing. It's an unexpected curve ball in the beginning.

Manteca Arts wrote: … It's an unexpected curve ball in the beginning.

yepp! needs some time, until the gears grip again!

One of my latest 'big' projects is - the notorious - Wedding Video.
BEFORE starting importing, I tried to imagine what should be coming out, and what I need for that, then creating my personalized list of keywords... There are tons of 'overlapping' tags here, example "quotes" (= live-audio has to be used), "Bride" (for beauty shots), "Highlight" (= for a planned best-of version), "close up" (for non-chronological cut-aways) ... do that with 'folders'!

Learned it years ago with iTunes:
My friends are 'hamsters', happily sticking each title manually into a designated folder (Yellow Submarine/Beatles/60ies) - but what if I need 'all love songs' for a playlist? All 'most played favorites'? All titles with cover versions? ...

They starr at me "No folders?? But… but… how do you organize??"
"I don't, my Mac does! Faster than me… I have no time to organize!"

No, rigid drawers are so ........ 80ies :whistle: