backing up projects

I have a work flow in FCP7 on some of my projects where I will keep the media and projects on a portable drive (having backed up the media elsewhere). I often have to share the drive with another editor. I typically back up my projects to Drop Box at the end of an edit. Can I do that with X? I can only see currentproject or current event. Can I rename those? Or am I going about this all wrong? Thanks.

The full project folder inside Events and Project must be kept in tact. It's a database system now. Use the Duplicate function inside FCP X to put it on a portable drive. I have a 1 hour course at macProVideo about media management which starts by showing the mechanics behind the database system now used. It's the same DB engine used in Final Cut Server.

Thanks. I bought the media management series and it was very helpful, but I'm stuck on one thing. If I modify keywords and favorites, do I still need to copy the entire event to include those changes? My original hope was that I could just copy the project, but the project is really nothing more than the timeline. The keywords & favorites are part of the event. Is it possible to just copy over those keyword & favorite modifications?

Not really clear what you're trying to do. Keywords and such are kept inside the Event's database file. If you duplicate a Project to a new location, you can in fact chose to include the original Events in tact, or make a new Event that only contains the media used on the Project. If you modify clips after that, no, they don't translate to other Events, including the new, separate Events you created when duplicating a Project. That's sort of a stretch.

I'm not describing it very well. In fcp7, I would use sub clips in my projects. If I added sub clips and wanted to share the project with those new sub clips included, I would simply make a copy of the project and put that in a drop box or wherever. Small file. In fcpx, I'm using the favorites as a substitute for sub clips, but favorites are in events, not projects. I obviously don't want to duplicate an entire event if I make a couple of small changes with keywords or favorites. I'm assuming I can instead copy the project to achieve the same thing. Do I copy it then with referenced events or with used clips only? I don't really want to copy all that media. I just want the slight modifications in favorites & keywords. It's only metadata, no? I must be missing something pretty basic. Thanks.

Correct, we are not project file (XML) based in FCP X, we are based on the Final Cut Server database now. You can always export as XML, though. It will be interesting to see the networking abilities as the DB and XML expand as FCP X grows.

I just exported as XML. The clips come up as missing media and the keywords came through normally, but the favorites lost their labels. Is there a tutorial on working with XML in X? This is something I have to tackle because I need a work flow that won't force me to copy my entire events after every edit. thx

Keep your media in an original location, don't copy it to the Event folder. FCPXML is a version 1,so it has a lot of growing to do.

Another option is Disk Images.

So you want to share the Project but not copy the Events. Both systems simply need the same Event(s) on them with the same names and footage. Different drive names may necessitate relinking the Event to the Project.

For your specific situation, it's not a perfect solution yet, but it'll get there. Be sure to fill out the Feedback page (Final Cut Pro menu), too. App,e actually reads those submissions.

I just duplicated the project I was working on to an portable drive along with the associated media. There a was roughly 90 minutes of interviews in that event. It's 38gb and took about 15 minutes. So maybe until a better solution comes along, I can duplicate the event I've been editing that day (the projects automatically follow with the events) and hand off to another editor who can then edit from that drive on his/her lap top. Then the next day they can duplicate the event here. I can't really share the project and not the event because we make changes to the event (adding music, pictures, key wording, etc.) that affect the event and not just the project. I'm not sure how disk image helps in this situation. And we can delete older versions of events as we go. Is this crazy?

Um, Projects don't automatically follow events, if I'm understanding correctly. Projects talk to Events, not individual assets. But if you copy an Event (duplicate) any associated Project is not copied with it. I may be misunderstanding.

With a Disk Image, you have all Events and Projects for one client or production on one virtual hard drive. Copy the DMG file to any other drive or server. When launched and mounted, it's an independent drive to FCPX. Just a thought. Saves you from having to duplicate stuff.

When I copied the event and opened it on the new drive, the new project was there even though I hadn't copied the new project.

I'll try the disk image route next. Thanks.

You must have been seeing the Project on its original drive. How exactly did you copy the Event?

I just duplicated it to the other drive. There aren't any options as far as I can tell. Let me revisit this in the morning and make sure I did it as I thought I did.