Libraries

Hi I'm pretty new to FCPX I've done a bit of work in the old FCP5 but obviously that was years ago . Anyways concerning libraries I'm just wondering what the standard practice is that everyone uses when adding a new library. When should i add a new library and how would using multiple libraries benefit me.
Sorry if this sounds stupid, Like i said I'm new.
Thank you and have a great day everyone .

Not stupid at all. Probably easiest to think of a library as an FCP5 project. Whenever you'd use a new project in legacy FCP you probably should use a new library in FCPX.

See if this helps out at all.
images.apple.com/final-cut-pro/docs/Fina...ut_Pro_7_Editors.pdf

Tom Wolsky wrote: … Whenever you'd use a new project in legacy FCP you probably should use a new library in FCPX.

correct me if I'm wrong, but keywording or searching for keywords doesn't work across diff. Libs … (?)

So, for instance, a 'season' should be a single Lib, each 'episode' an Event ....

Maybe. Depends on the series. Even if different libraries have the same keywords, do I need to search across different episodes? Some series are standalone episodes, the standard in police procedurals instance. If the season is a serial, then maybe you would structure it that way. However a US TV season is usually 23 episodes of 42 minutes. That's a frigging big library. Might want to rethink that.

Tom Wolsky wrote: …That's a frigging big library. ….

Don't tell Larry Jordan! :lol:

No, I just wanted to give that 'What is Lib/Event/clip/list" some additional twist....
The 'magic' is this tagging thingie; keyword collections, smartlists, filter... no need to create manually 'drawers'.

Fortunate, high end US seasons are up to 23 episodes, some are as few as 12, depends. Our first season is 13 episodes, 45 minute TRT's, from 30+ cameras (realty TV). Some, very little, material crosses episodes. We still make a Library for each episode. If an editor needs something from a previous episode, they can simply open that episode's Library and get it. Copying it over to the new Library only makes a link, so no HDD space wasted with duplicated files. On the drive, we have a folder for the season, inside it we have the Libraries for each episode. Works well.

Even with only 13 episodes, putting it all into one Library would simply be too massive and confusing. Too many Events clutter up that Libraries Pane really quickly.

I agree with Ben.
A separate Library for each episode keeps things far easier to manage.

One suggestion that I would make would be to maintain one dedicated library for common elements.

In a Reality TV series, for example, I would keep the show open, bumpers, graphics elements, and music.
Then as I'm working, I need only open the "Generic" library as I need to gather those particular elements.

Cheers!

Hi Skaznor, Welcome to the Forums and welcome back to FCP
Different people develop different Workflows and Media Management, so whatever works for you is best.
I would encourage you to consider Library-Event-Project not just "Libraries". FCPX is also very much about "Meta data" and using metadata tools to speed up FCPX.
How you manage media may change based on what you are working on at the time.
For my last major project, a feature length home musical video, we had 1 Library and a new separate Event for each days filming. We also developed a numerical system and universal keywords, character abbreviations, etc… for tracking and organizing meta data and footage.
With the latest versions of FCPX, searches are now Library wide and you can create "Smart Collections". Very handy and fast to find clips.
More than anything else, I encourage you to think about FCPX and meta-data. Really speeds up editing. Takes awhile to create the keyword collections, tags, smart collections, etc… but boy is it helpful.

Lots of great resources available like Philipp Hodgets site and apps, Ripple Training vids on Media Management, and Larry Jordan's Webinar this week (Wed) also is covering Media Management.
There are several current threads here on FCP.co on media management as well. Even the FCP.co Front Page covers media management on major motion pictures. So find what works for you.
One aspect to be aware of is that Media Management and Library structure has changed over time/versions in FCPX, so make sure any info you get relates to the version of FCPX you use.
Hope this helps, Greg
Happy Editing

If you are new in FCP Pro X this Rippletraining may be worth a try. In this Mark and Steve explain very well how you could use libraries and events (e.g. events as 'episodes' instead of libraries – so you can create smart collections which include the tagged clips of all episodes):

www.rippletraining.com/products/final-cu...-x-media-management/

Scott Markowitz wrote: In a Reality TV series, for example, I would keep the show open, bumpers, graphics elements, and music.
Then as I'm working, I need only open the "Generic" library as I need to gather those particular elements.

We are doing a reality TV series now, and we actually do a Stock Media library. We don't import the assets into the Library, though. We keep that Library referencing an external folder for a variety of reasons.

All of our custom lower 3 thirds, titles, credit scrolls, effects, are assigned a Theme in Motion, so that in FCPX, while editing, we open the Themes browser, go to our custom category, and there is everything needed for that project, in one place.