Mix media Library and Proxies

Because I often have to work away from my main edit workstation, I import media on my main desktop workstation library and leave media in place and create proxy files so I can keep the library file size small. Later, I create a copy of the library for editing on an external portable hard disk with my MacBook Pro. Now, I can edit while running around town. Most of the time, I don't need to do any color correcting while working in a coffee shop so proxy files work out fine. However, sometimes, I have to import jpg files with video and get them together on the same timeline. When I create the library the way I listed above, as you know, no proxies of the jpg files are created and placed in the Library packages Transcoded Media folder. When I create a Library copy to use on the road and then on the MacBook Pro switch over to use proxies the jpg files are listed as missing media. I know that I am forgetting something.

How would some of you work in this situation and keep the jpg file from going off line?

Thanks!

If you only want to take proxies on the road you will have to make sure to copy any stills you have imported in your Library (and any external audio clips for that matter) to the Transcoded Media > Proxy Media folder of the Library you will use on the road. I hope this will not be needed anymore in a next update.

- Ronny

Hi Ronny, I know that I should simply place the jpg files in the library. I was just wondering if there was a better way. Oh, I forgot about audio files! They aren't handled at all in this case.

Thanks again Ronny!

Hi James,

Unfortunately there is no other way at this moment.

- Ronny

Really! A one button function in FCPX to create a Mobile Media Library Package would be great. This button would create proxy media for video files and just import other media in the library that can't have a proxy file (i.e.: graphic and audio files). In this way, it wouldn't matter how editors imported their media because this function would just create what is needed in a nice Mobile Media Library Package.

I would be able to give students a copy of this MMLP and look at the different versions they create!
Hmmm....just thinking out loud..

I already left a crying request for a function like this. Happy New Year!

I agree, but it's much more complicated than a button

The problem is that the proxy media always need to be linked to original media, otherwise this defeats the entire seamless proxy workflow that is unique to FCP X. If you only use the proxy media that have been created from the imported original media in the master Library it's not a problem. But as soon as anyone anything new to the proxy Library this will create a mess with relinking to the master Library. I expect some things may change with regard to proxy media in the next feature update, but it's not as easy as we may think.

Happy New Year!

- Ronny

The one button solution would be nice!

But as Ronny said it's way more complicated than it it looks.
Everybody knows that NLEs are relational data bases (and FCP X is an advanced data base app) the information and references for clips are spread thru the whole data base.
Ronny said that Proxies always need to be linked to the original media. For the visual feeling this is correct. But in reality the original media need to know that there is proxy. So if the original media metadata have not flag set for that there could be an endless amount of proxies or even hard links to the original media and it won't have any effect.

Let's see what happens if you import media into FCP X. FCP create a link to that file and builds an internal metadata base for it keeping all relevant data - the file is left untouched. These data after import partially can be edited or extended by the user. This is very different from FCP legacy where metadata were added to the source file during import.

Once imported the metadata collection has a lot of info about the clip and how to handle it thru the whole editing process. The main info is the basic file structure of the clip. You can't replace a clip by another one with a different file structure (just with standard board means).
Most of the other metadata behave like an effect (simplified). Once your Event is ready to go and clips are edited to a timeline you can change the source and several things might be updated, others won't.

Current implementation of proxies only affect V-files or AV-files. All of them will be handled by half-sized ProRes (LT).
Obviously this format can't handle alpha channel and animations or other graphic movies are screwed up with proxy usage.
Keeping the first part of this writing in mind the solution is simple (doesn't mean elegant) create a droplet that makes ProRes 4444 half-size movies, use it for the graphic movies and replace the 'wrong' proxies.
FCP X would care - internally it says for my clip alphaMov there is a proxy named alphaMov and if I find it I will use it as long as it has the structure I expect.
Using this approach you can go even a step further. Half-sized 4K or 5K will still be huge. So create a droplet that will create a 'max 960 width' for each needed type. FCP X would behave fine as all metadata about the source clip is stored - nearly nothing about the proxy, except that it exists.

Again: you have to create proxies first to rebuild the data base, then you have to replace the proxies with 'fixed' ones. There is no other way.

This as mentioned before this doesn't cover stills and audio-only files.
So preparing a lite-weight mobile lib will require some work upfront. If you put all audio into a folder "myAudio" and all stills into a "myStills" and leave the files in place during import you can transport those folders to the other machine and update them when needed.

If you are a daring mind and make some sense out that FCP X behavior you could build your own workflow and say "Look Mom - I shrinked the Lib"

Happy New Year

-Andreas

As always a very interesting insight into the inner workings of FCP X, thank you Andreas.

Happy New Year!

- Ronny

Thank you Andreas! I do understand that it isn't as easy as it sounds. I was just thinking if there was a way to quickly make a Mobile Media Library Package. If there was a way to quickly create a MLP with the graphic and audio media inside along with the proxies for video media, it would speed up mobile off-line editing on the road.

I do understand that when it comes to alpha channels and the related it's another bag of tricks... that's another story.

Thanks for your always important words and have a great new year....