Archive for the ‘tidy’ Category

Mac OS Maintenance Tips for Speed

Saturday, August 11th, 2012

http://www.chriswrites.com/2012/07/12-reasons-why-your-mac-runs-slow-with-mountain-lion/

Mac OS: File Stocktaking: Equivalent of TREE (as in DOS)

Saturday, August 11th, 2012

How, on a Mac OS system, to do the equivalent of TREE in DOS:

http://murphymac.com/tree-command-for-mac/

  • find . -print | sed -e ‘s;[^/]*/;|____;g;s;____|; |;g’
    • And there is much more on ths in the article, including how to add this “command” to user profile.

My crude adaption of it, to list only the main directories in my [Media] area:

  • find . -type d \! -name “BPAV” \! -name “CLPR” \! -name “TAKR” \! -name “929*” -print | sed -e ‘s;[^/]*/;|____;g;s;____|; |;g’
    • Crude but delivered what I wanted.

MacBook Multiple Displays (Monitors)

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

Tips:

  • It can be done, easily.
  • Need a [Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter]
    • (Not to be confused with Mini DVI to VGA Adaptor)
  • Under Boot Camp > Windows 7:
    • Initially, it chose to “mirror” (identical, not reflections) the displays, with the external display as the primary, and the laptop’s own display as the secondary, its resolution reduced to match the primary (and aspect ratio to match also).
    • Instead want “Extended Desktop” with laptop as primary and at its normal full resolution.
    • On a standard Windows PC there are keyboard keys to switch between such modes, but the MacBook keyboard has no obvious equivalent
      • Maybe some web-trawling could reveal suchlike, but my initial search revealed nothing.
    • Desktop >RtClk> NVIDIA Control Panel
      • Set up multiple displays
        • MacBook’s own display is listed as [Apple Color LCD], as Display [2].
        • RtClk one of the “screen” depictions and select [Extend desktop on this display]
        • (Now I had extended desktop, but in the wrong order, i.e. with external as prmary)
    • Control Panel > Display > Change display settings
      • Can drag-swap the two displaysinto the  order you prefer.

iomega Home Media Network Hard Drive

Sunday, January 29th, 2012

My girlfriend has one of these, ethernet-connected to her router and thus available on her home network.  However, in order for any computer, Windows or Mac (what about linux?) to access it, it is necessary (aside from any hacky-workarounds that may possibly exist) to install the Iomega Home Storage Manager.   This makes volume(s) offered by the NAS appear, on the Mac in Finder under SHARED, or on a Windows machine as additional drive letter(s).

To acquire the Iomega Home Storage Manager, go to https://iomega-eu-en.custhelp.com/app/platform/p/1031,1043 or else try https://iomega-eu-en.custhelp.com/ and click on [Desktop Network Storage > Home Media Network Hard Drive].  May need to establish and login-to an iomega support account (free) first.

I wondered at first about enabling the NAS as a Mac OS Time Machine (backup) disk.  An iomega article I saw suggested that should be possible, for iomega firmware 2.0 and above.  But the disk as it stands is NTFS-formatted – because when it was set up we had only Windows machines.  Now that disk contains much material in that NTFS.  I guess it might be possible to partrition the disk e.g. to keep the existing NTFS and add alongside it a HFS+ partition for Time Machine to use.  But it’s guesswork that carries risks (of disruption/damage to existing contents).  We want an easy geeking-minimal life, so maybe better to repurpose that NAS and get a purpose-made Apple Time Capsule instead. Either way, the evening wears on, so I’ll shelve that idea/investigation for now…

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Self-Organization: Business Cards

Saturday, October 8th, 2011

I have a stack of business cards.  Recent ones I keep in my wallet or jacket, but there must be a better arrangement.

One interesting idea is to take a photo of each card (front and back) and then upload the photos to EverNote.  That service includes text-reading, so in principle the card will be ubiquitously accessible (to multiple devices, e.g. smartphone) and retrievable both by date search and by text search.

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RAID Sharing Over Home Network: Works OK

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

Just for the record, currently this works:

  • On Mac Pro, in Windows (XP):
    • Choose any folder. For example:
      • On the RAID, this could be either of the two partitions:
        • NTFS_RAID (an NTFS partition)
        • RAID_ProAVIO (an HFS+) partition
    • Then [RtClk > Sharing and Security… > Sharing > Network sharing and security:
      • Share this folder on the network: YES
      • Allow network users to change my files: YES
        • Because some tools create “sidecar” files e.g. audio peaks or video indexes.
  • On Mac Book, in Windows 7:
    • From a file-browser, be it Windows Explorer or part of the File>Open feature of an application, go to [ Network > aComputer > aFolder ]
      • Tested by playing file in Windows Media Player and in Sony Vegas (video NLE).  Worked fine.  Latter added a [.sfk] sidecar-file to the RAID-folder.
      • Worked both for source on NTFS partition and for source on HFS+ partition, except the latter gave rise to prolonged “hourglass” delays before the file was accessed/linked, following which the video played smoothly.
  • What doesn’t work:
    • Unable to see Mac Book from Mac Pro.
    • Also, when MacPro is in Mac OS, MacBook W7 Windows Explorer > Network lists the MacPro as [MACPRO-2E4124] yet cannot connect to it, blaming a firewall (presumably the one on MacPro).
      • Network Error: Windows cannot access \\MACPRO-2E4124
      • Tried exiting Kapersky (on the MacPro>MacOS) but no change.
      • Tried stopping MacPro firewall (via Preferences > Security) but no change.

iPhone 4: MovieSlate

Sunday, September 25th, 2011

Movie★Slate is a slate and clapper board— traditional movie-making tools for syncing picture with sound, and photographing shot/production info at the start and end of shots.  Movie★Slate also provides an easy way to log footage and take notes as you shoot— saving you time during capture and edit.

  • Documentation:
    • http://www.pureblendsoftware.com/userguides/MovieSlate/English.lproj/help_web.html
      • e.g. Starting a Take
        • To start a take, tap the clapper at the top of the slate.
          • Timecode IN, all production info, and camera optics data are automatically saved in History when you start a take. This data can be emailed from the History tab (see instructions below).
          • The clapper’s behavior can be customized from Settings -> Slate Behavior. Choose to play sounds, freeze the timecode briefly, show credits leader/end roll animation, and more.
        • Video/Audio Quality ★-rankings can be set during the take.
        • Circle Take button marks good takes by circling the take number in the History log. This practice is an old Hollywood tradition.
        • End the Shot button saves a Timecode OUT marker with the shot history.
      • e.g. Starting a Take – Shot Markers
        • (Log footage and take notes as you shoot— saving you time during capture and edit).
        • Add Shot Marker/Notes button saves timecode-stamped notes during a take. When shooting interviews, this is a useful way to document what remarkable thing was said, and when.
        • Build notes from Snippet phrases by tapping the Content/Shot/Movement buttons. You can also enter text with the keyboard. Use the Snippets tab to customize your phrases.
  • FAQs/Tips:
    • http://www.pureblendsoftware.com/support
      • “Movie★Slate is a slate and clapper board— traditional movie-making tools for syncing picture with sound, and photographing shot/production info at the start and end of shots.
      • Movie★Slate also provides an easy way to log footage and take notes as you shoot— saving you time during capture and edit.”
      • Link: MovieSlate Help
      • What does M.O.S. stand for?
        • The term “M.O.S.” generally appears on a slate when a scene is filmed without sound.  Hollywood legend defines the term as “Mit Out Sound”.
      • MovieSlate’s optional PRO Sync (TimeCode-Sync)
        • (Normally) You’ll need a camera or timecode generator that’s capable of sending and/or receiving LTC (Longitudinal Time Code) over an audio cable.
        • My cameras are old DV units or are consumer models with no LTC support. Can MovieSlate’s optional PRO Sync module still help me sync a multi-cam shoot?
        • Yes, through additional software available from VideoToolShed.  Here’s how:
          • Set MovieSlate to output timecode through one of the audio channels and connect from the headphone jack to your camera’s AUX/MIC audio.
          • Shoot your footage with MovieSlate running and Sending sync through the headphone jack. The LTC audio signal will be recorded on on one channel of your DV tape. (Please note the obvious: If this cam is handling your main sound then you will not have stereo audio).
          • Import the footage into Final Cut Pro or Avid.
          • Use VideoToolShed’s FCP auxTC reader software to create an AUX TC track in FCP/Avid and sync your footage with your other cams and audio. http://www.videotoolshed.com/?page=products&pID=26
          • Disclaimer:
            • We do not have any relationship with VideoToolShed and also cannot attest to the function of “FCP auxTC reader”.
            • Please visit the VideoToolShed.com website for more information and 3rd-party websites like Creative Cow for more information and workflow tips.

iPhone 4 Tips: Task Management

Sunday, September 25th, 2011

To open the iPhone’s “Task Manager”:

  • From “Home” screen, double-tap the Home button.  This brings up a mini dock / task manager at bottom of screen.  It is a slidable band of icons, only four of which can be fitted on screen.  Slide left to see other icons.  Slide right to see media player transport controls and volume level slider.  Press-hold any icon to get them all wiggling and with a red “X” on them. In each case, the “X” force-quits the task associated with the icon.

If an app is misbehaving or is exhibiting unusually sluggish performance, you could try quitting tasks for apps not currently in use as they each tie up some portion of memory, even while in a suspended state.  If that does not work, try a power-off/on reboot.  After that there is Hard Reset (though when I tried it, it didn’t reset everything).  To Hard Reset, press and hold both the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button for about ten seconds, then you should see the Apple logo indicating reboot.

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Avid Basics (not only for Final Cut Pro Users)

Saturday, September 24th, 2011
  • Avid Basics re Projects, Bins, Users, User-Settings
    • Notionally “Avid for Final Cut Pro Users” but generally useful introduction, complete with pragmatics.
    • Overview:
      • In this set of tutorials, it is assumed that a Shared project called “Tempest” will be edited by two people, Laura and David, one on day-shift (say) and the other on nights.  They can each select eithers’ settings (editor configs) via the Project Window’s Settings tab, under the User dropdown.  No need to log-out of Avid or indeed to switch User login sessions.  I guess a given user could create several configs e.g. default, david, david_temp
    • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/70313/393166.aspx
      • Module 1, Lesson 1 – Creating a Project
      • Private/Shared etc., User Settings (independent of User logged-in), Film features
    • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/70314/393171.aspx#393171
      • Module 1, Lesson 2 – Intro to Project Window – Avid for Final Cut Pro Users
      • MenuBar: [Tools > Console] brings up a text logger where progress can be recorded by users (as far as I can tell from the tutorial)
    • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/70315/393176.aspx
      • Module 1, Lesson 3 – Where to find Avid files
      • Explains where the Avid files are stored on the computer’s hard drive, and how to take your settings from system to system.
    • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/70317/393180.aspx
      • Module 1, Lesson 4 – Project Differences
      • Explains Avid Projects, Bins and how one can move & create stuff equivalently in Avid or in Windows Explorer (etc.)
      • Also explains some ways it differs from FCP.

Avid Media Management Tip

Sunday, August 21st, 2011

Suppose you have multiple AVid projects on the go.  By default, all of the media from those projects will be stored in one file path: [Avid MediaFiles].  If you have more than one volume connected having this folder, then it gets more complicated – e.g. if Avid can’t find sufficient room on one such volume then it will try the next one (etc.).  Avid provides tools for media management but it can get messy when you need to keep connecting different drives to see if they contain your required media.  Instead, it is helpful to be able to store media for different projects in different “lumps”, be they volumes or folders.  From web research (below), it seems there are a number of possible, though kludg-ey, workarounds, mainly based on temporarily renaming AVid media folders/subfolders…  Nice to know, until such time as Avid provides a tidier solution to this requirement.

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Apple iTunes Bloat (and how to minimise it in Windows)

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

The default install of iTunes carries with it a bunch of entities and startups, some of which may not be needed.  If already installed, then first you need to uninstall it.  Ideally via Add/Remove Programs (whatever) but even then some registry entries may persist, that could cause problems later due to entities you may choose not to install.  Having “cleaned” the machine of iTunes and its Bloat, the subset of entities you choose can then be installed individually, command-line fashion.  You can select just the ones you need, plus the ones they depend on.

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Avid Media Management Tips

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

Some tips I came across by accident:

  • http://c2.avid.com/forums/p/86416/489511.aspx
    • (From July 2010):
      • << MDV is a free tool that will allow you to separate your media files by project, so you can store them separtely.  The site is Russian, but safe.>>
        • Angle-brackets here emphasize that this is just a quote from a post, I have no experience of it myself.
    • A media database(s) rebuilt may help (sometimes help fix obscure issues): trash the msmFMID.pmr and msmMMOB.mdb files from the mediafiles folders and run MC, it will scan the hard drives and rebuild the files.

Avid MC: Conform / Consolidate / Decompose

Saturday, August 13th, 2011

Confusions:

  • I’m slightly befuddled by these terms, and what the corresponding operations are useful for. What do they do and how are they pragmatically useful? – in particular in a digital and even tapeless world. I first came across the term Decompose when investigating an Offline/Online workflow for AVCHD-Cineform-DNxHD(low bitrate)-DNxHD(high bitrate): http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/328.
  • For example “recapturing” sounds at first like an antiquated concept in the digital world.  But maybe they have expanded the term to include re-ingestion of digital footage in higher-bitrate format, e.g. online as opposed to proxy in the case of XDCAM-HD or just different DNxHD bitrates (e.g. 145 instead of 36).  For example initially ingesting all digital footage at DNxHD(36) for offline editing then later recapturing only the used subset of that digital footage at DNxHD (145).  Advantage: reduced disk space requirement.  Just my guesswork though, still trying to work it all out…

Snippets providing Glimpses:

  • Avid MC 5.5 Help [Understanding Decompose and Expert Decompose]:
    • Decompose creates new master clips in the bin based on the lengths of the clips edited into a sequence. You can then recapture media for the new master clips. Decompose breaks any links to the original source clips, and only the sequence and its new master clips are linked to the newly captured media files. If decomposing results in a change to the edit rate of some clips in the sequence, your Avid editing application adds Motion Adapter effects, or modifies existing Motion Adapter effects, to manage the edit rate change.
    • Decompose gives you more control over the recapturing process than simply recapturing a sequence without using decompose. You can sort or modify the clips that decompose creates before you recapture media. You can also use the Expert Decompose feature to customize how decompose operates.
    • For film projects, clips you create with decompose retain all the information from the original master clips, including Pullin column information, key numbers, ink numbers, or any other information formerly entered in the bin.
    • You do not need to decompose clips that were linked with the AMA (Avid Media Access) method.
  • There is also anAvidHelp on [Decomposing Sequences].  But it is just a set of instructions on how to do it, not a helpful (to me) as an explanation of what it does or what it’s for.  To understand it, you need an existing understanding of the concepts & jargon.
  • http://cstest.avid.com/forums/t/64647.aspx
    • Larry Rubin:
      • Consolidating will create a new set of pointer files and associated media files, separately discreet from the original set – essentially a clone.
      • Decomposing creates a new and offline clip list relative to a particular sequence, so that you can batch capture or import only media associated with that sequence instead of all the original source material. This is used primarily to conform a low-rez rough cut to high rez finished material.
  • http://community.avid.com/forums/p/50488/283293.aspx
    • Q1:
      • Q: I want to save disk space. Is it possible to decompose an MXF Sequence in order to keep only the portions of footage used in the sequence on my hard disk? The footage was captured on P2 cards and Firestore.
      • A: Decompose is not what you want.  Select your sequence and right-click select consolodate.  Set your handles, then select “delete original media” and that should do it.  Remember that if you digitised anything that is not used in your sequence that you consolodate, this media will remain and you would need to manually delete that media as well. Be warned, though…  make certain that you are not trashing anything used in other sequences as well.
    • Q2:
      • Q: Can I consolidate more than one sequence at a time?
      • A: Yes – just select the sequences and go through the same routine
  • http://hershleder.com/content/avid-media-composer-version-4
    • Recapturing and Decomposing: The new Expert Decompose feature allows you to decompose only certain tapes or clips used by a sequence, and allows you to fine tune target formats to which you want to recapture.
  • Book: Avid Editing: “A Guide for Beginning and Intermediate Users”, By Sam Kauffmann.  I have that book, but a web-link version is still handy.  Paraphrasing:
    • Clip Menu (Page 341)
      • Consolidate / Transcode:
        • Consolidate lets you migrate media files to other drives, e.g. for better organization of files.
        • Transcode lets you change the format of a clip or sequence, e.g. from HD to SD.
      • Decompose:
        • Breaks a sequence into its component clips.  Example: you captured 1000 master clips at low resolution, e.g. DNxHD (36), to save space.  Thefinal sequence only uses 50 clips. After decomposing, you have those 50 clips in a bin and you only recapture those 50 clips at higher resolution e.g. DNxHD (220).
    • Uprezing Your Offline Sequence (Page 308).  That is, moving from offline to online resolution; nothing to do with sub-pixel enhancement etc.  Example: given an initial edit based on DNxHD (36), you want to replace those clips with equivalents “recaptured” (retranscoded from original recording, digital or otherwise) at DNxHD (220).
    • Recapture (Page 311).
    • Decompose (Page 311) breaks a Sequence into its component clips.  This enables you to organize these clips in bins, recapture them etc.  Without this feature, a recapture would take place over all clips at once – when you really only want certain clips recaptured, or maybe put off some until another day.
    • Recapture
  • http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/45/866918#866918
    • Scott Simmons:
      • Decomposing gives you a new sequence with offline media that has had all the clips trimmed to only include the media used in the edit + handles. If you’ve edited at low resolution you then recapture only the media you need at the online rez.
  • http://c2.avid.com/forums/t/98814.aspx
    • Randall L. Rike: Consolidate isn’t designed to create offline media.  It is used to move/copy media.  Similar to Decompose, it can move/copy only the segments of clips required to support a sequence.
    • Larry Rubin: The consolidation function is also useful for creating duplicate sets of clips and media that are linked to a different project than the one they were originally created in.
    • Job ter Burg:
      • Consolidate a sequence: make a dupe of all media that is being used in the sequence (with handles if you want). Consolidate master clips: make a dupe of the clip on a new destination drive. Consolidate subclips: make a dupe of this part of the media on a new destination drive. Decompose a sequence: generate offline clips for all media that is being used in the sequence (with handles if you want). You can’t decompose master clips.
      • Decompose I would use when finishing a tape based offline and preparing for tape capture to hi res media-right?Absolutely. Performing a Batch Capture would sort of have the same result, except Decomposer gives you more control over the batch process (as you can select which clips, etc).
      • You can’t decompose master clips
      • What I meant was if I consolidate a low res sequence, I am removing the unwanted media that does not reside in the sequence.Consolidating will not necessarily delete any unused media. And if you do select the option to delete originals, you still may have a lot of unused clips on board (that are completely unreferenced in the sequuence. I personally don’t consolidate that much anymore, as drive space is so cheap. If you do, I’d recommend consolidating onto an empty drive/partition, then hide/delete/remove the originals on your other media drives.
    • Pat Horridge:
      • Decompose is useful in that you create a new sequence and new master clips with whatever handles you set.  You can the decide how to re-capture/re-import those clips rather than with just batch capturing/batch importing the sequence which will just prompt for the required tapes/files.
      • Consolidate is normally used to create a new sequence and subset of Avid Media files for media management (so you can blow away the rest) or moving to a different system.
        • Take care that not all media can be consolidated (re AMA and “foreign types”) This skips those clips that link to media that can’t be made into Avid media files and your consolidated sequence will still be linked to the original AMA’d media.
        • So with AMA media and a mixture of sources you may need to consolidate and then transcode to get a complete set of media. (I’ve made a feature request to have this as a single function)
  • http://aviddssupport.avid.com/pdf/v10.2/AvidDS_HiRes_Workflow_Color_Guide.pdf
    • ?? (Not yet read) ??

Liquid Planner

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

A year or two ago I did a web-survey of project planners, and I liked the sound of this one, it sounded more realistic to use than standard ones.  So now I have time to “think” again, I registered for a 30-day trial.

Also as I guessed/hoped, there is an associated App for mobile phones:

SharePoint training material

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Some SharePoint (2010) training material (free):

Some non-free material:

    File Backup / Sync / Verification

    Thursday, December 9th, 2010

    I was looking for an app to assist in synchronizing of copies of file systems, for example main and back-up copies.  I chose a good-looking application available for both Windows and Mac:

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    Command-Prompt as Folder Right-Click option in Windows Explorer

    Thursday, December 9th, 2010

    In Windows XP, wanted a folder right-click menu option to bring up a MSDOS command shell.  This proved very simple to add, and gave the further benefit of the text-based (command-line) user interface (TUI?) retaining customisations (e.g. green text).  The steps were (for Windows XP):

    • Windows Explorer: Tools > Folder Options.
    • Select the File Types tab.
    • Go to NONE / Folder.
    • Select the entry labeled Folder
    •  Press Advanced button.
    • Select New
    • In the action block type “Command Prompt” (without the quotes).
    • In the app block type “cmd.exe” (without the quotes).
    • Save and exit Folder Options.

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    Setting-up FCP Folder Structure

    Monday, May 17th, 2010

    This is how I’m doing it today:

    • Local System Disk
      • Render Files
      • Thumbnail Cache Files
      • Waveform Cache Files
    • Local RAIDs (One stationary, one portable)
      • _App_Specific
        • Final_Cut
          • _Projects (just for misc [.fcp] files)
          • Audio Render Files
          • Autosave Vault
          • Capture Scratch
          • Render Files
      • _Media
        • _Library
        • _Projects
          • 2010-04-30 (Client) Event
            • 010 Preparation
            • 020 Source
            • 030 Projects
              • FCP
                • EventTitle v001.fcp

    Notes:

    • I would have put everything on the RAID but for the Final Cut Settings interface, which only allows the first three items above to be on one location.  In contrast, the other items can be specified in a small set of possible locations, each of which can be toggled (enabled/disabled).
    • The structure below [Projects] should mainly branch by function then by application.  But it will vary from (real-world) project to (real-world) project.

    Deleting (decommissioning) a FCP project and all its Media

    Monday, May 17th, 2010

    From [http://support.apple.com/kb/TA27694?viewlocale=en_US] and own experiences, my own advice to myself is as follows.  Note however:

    • It is not guaranteed to be correct or complete!  Just my own best-practice, so far.
    • It will only delete from scratch areas it actually knows about i.e. as defined in FCP’s System Settings.
    •  Even then, it doesn’t seem to delete everything.  After allegedly deleting all render files of all projects, I went through afterwards and found (and deleted) a number of files under [Render Files/Constant Frames].  Maybe a result of my messy initial novice practices – who knows!

    My process:

    • Open the project in Final Cut Pro
    • Delete Project’s Render-Files:
      • Tools > Render Manager.
      • Use checkbox in the Remove column next to the name of the project whose render-files you wish to remove.
        • Warning: Do not check other projects or those projects’ render files will also be removed.
      • Click OK.
    • Delete Media Files in the Browser:
      • Activate the Browser window.
      • Select everything you want to delete (e.g. Select All).
        • Warning: Don’t select any clips, images, audio or anything else that is used in another project, or is used by another application (a photo that you are also using in a DVD project, for example), , as you will not want them to be deleted.
      • Modify > Make Offline.
      • Click the Move Them to the Trash button.
      • Click OK.
      • Close your Final Cut Pro project (and don’t bother saving!)
    • Delete the Project File
      • Drag it to the Trash after you have quit Final Cut Pro.
        • But how do I know where it is located, e.g. if it was the latest project, auto-loaded into FCP, I might not remember where it is.
          • Save Project As reveals the project file name e.g. [LenWed RecepLine Expt 001 copy.fcp].  Expanding the Save..As Finder reveals it is in a directory called [FCP Projects].  But not obvious where that folder is located.
      • There may also be project files in the AutoSave Vault(s).
        • In my case, this vault is on the System drive, because I save my main project files to real-world-project -specific folders on a separate Media drive (a local RAID).
    • Check any scratch areas etc. on other disks, e.g. System disk, in case anything got (accidentally) written there, e.g. if system was accidentally powered-up when RAID was not running.
    • Empty the Trash

    FCP Project Folder Structures: Advice

    Saturday, May 15th, 2010

    What’s a good folder structure for FCP?  I read and heard lots of tips from great sources, but some of them (e.g. keep [.fcp] files on local drive not Media drive) sounded questionable, at least from my context, and anyway I always want to know the underlying reason for anything.  So it’s research-time again…

    • .

    There are several aspects:

    • .

    Context

    • Participants
      • Individual, small team or large team
      • Standards-based, methodical or haphazard
    • Application(s)
      • Apple (FCS etc.) -centric?
      • Combination of several apps e.g. several makes of NLE
    • Media
      • File size and value.
    • Storage system(s)?
      • Local
        • Normal or (relatively) slow drive
        • Fast drive e.g. RAID
      • Remote (probably shared).
        • Exceedingly Slow (e.g. web via standard broadband)
        • Slow (e.g. NAS such as WD MyBook)
        • Fast but with possible latency (e.g. “Fibre Channel” / SAN)
      • Integrated
        • Final Cut Server giving seamless access to all storage including near-line (easily-retrievable archive)?

    Requirements

    • Tidy organization
      • Easy to find stuff, including serendipitously.
      • Easy to manage stuff, e.g. archiving / shelving and reinstating.
    • Performance
      • User-level.
        • Keep
      • System-level
    • Security

    My Conclusions (so far):

    • The typical professional situation involves multiple users on a SAN.   In this case:
      • Each user should configure their apps (e.g. FCP) to save small and transient files to local disk.
        • Local disk has less latency and minimization of small-file traffic on SAN improves its performance to all users.
      • An individual (or item) -specific project file, which counts as a “small and transient file”, should not be saved routinely or automatically to shared media server but only saved there on an occasional basis (e.g. at end of day or project).
        • Restricting this operation to end-of-project might “discourage” users from corrupting each other’s files, though really that’s what Permissions are for (in Mac OS X / unix).
    • Much advice relates to the “typical professional situation”, not all of it is appropriate to other situations.
    • .

    (more…)

    sha1 Checksums

    Saturday, May 15th, 2010

    Based on [http://www.bresink.com/osx/sha1.html] as of 2010-05-15:

    • Apple recommends the use of the so-called SHA1 standard (Secure Hash Algorithm Version 1). Apple is using this method for their own security updates as well. For more information please also refer to Apple Support Article HT1652.
    • Perform the following steps:
      • Make sure you have the downloaded file displayed somewhere in the Finder.
      • Open the Terminal application.
      • Enter the command: [/usr/bin/openssl sha1 ] with a space at the end (not a Return).
        • Note the last character of ‘openssl’ is a small ‘L’ not a ‘1’
      • Drag the target file from the Finder window into the Terminal window. A path specification will appear in the Terminal window.
      • Now press the Return key (Enter).
      • You will see output similar to the following example:
        • SHA1(path specification)= 2eb722f340d4e57aa79bb5422b94d556888cbf38.

    FCP Project Folder Structures: The (Non?) Fragmentation Issue

    Saturday, May 15th, 2010

    Reading book “Final Cut Pro Workflows” by Osder & Carman, 2008.  On page 284 it relays advice that it is best to put Project Files [.fcp] on a separate drive to the Media Drive (e.g. Media Drive= XSAN), due to:

    • Safety – not all on one drive
    • Avoid fragmenting the media drive (project files, cache and to a lesser extent render files) are written often (transient files?)

    I’m not immediately convinced by these arguments:

    How to view degree of fragmentation on an HFS volume:

    • [http://osxbook.com/book/bonus/chapter12/hfsdebug/fragmentation.html]
      • Command-line app to report a variety of storage-volume statistics, including fragmentation.
      • After download, can check the sha1 checksum, but this is of the executable, not the download itself ([.dmg] file).  The ‘sha1’ command is inbuilt to Mac OS, as: [/usr/bin/openssl sha1].  Note the last character of ‘openssl’ is a small ‘L’ niot a ‘1’.

    FCP: Migrating, Consolidating, Tidying…e.g.bat ving…

    Sunday, May 2nd, 2010

    Sometimes the media files for a project are stored in several folders on one or more scratch disks. This happens if you selected a different scratch disk each time you captured media files, or when the name of the project file changes (this often happens when you save often to different filenames).  It would be tidier to consolidate all the media files for a project into one folder.Of course it may be better to avoid making a mess in the first place, as per this person’s advice: <<<I set up each project in its own folder so and then set up capture scratch render files and everything else. This way if I need to move anything you can move the folder onto the hard drive and you dont have to worry about what stuff to move.  >>>There are two approaches (I am aware of):

    • Manually copy/move the relevant files (project, source media, renders) then Reconnect the consequently offline media.
      • May only have to reconnect one file, provided the reconnect all files in this relative path option is checked.
    • Use Media Manager.  This is more efficient, because all of your clips are reconnected automatically after the media files are moved.

    The Manual Approach:

    • The Project file.
      • This is the most important file.
        • If all the media in your project came from external media or generated media like titles or color mattes, this is the only file you actually need to move to another computer.  Everything else can be re-imported (e.g. batch-captured) or re-created (e.g. re-rendered).
        • But usually you’ll want to bring other files with you, as below.
    • Source Media files.
      • Recordings e.g. captured video and audio clips. These are usually stored in your Capture Scratch folder in a folder with your project name (unless you saved them elsewhere or moved them). If you move these to another computer, you should only have to reconnect one file, if you have the reconnect all files in this relative path option checked.
      • Other media/project files – you might have Motion or LiveType projects, Photoshop graphics, After Effects animations, or any number of other media files for your project- obviously you’ll want to move these over to the new system, and you might want the original project files also.
    • Render-files.
      • There are exceptions, but it is best not to move render files – this can lead to problems.
      • It’s better to rerender on the new system. If you must move them, they are in the “Render Files” folder.

    The Media Manager Approach:

    • OS X:
      • Ensure there is a destination folder for the project.
    • FCP:
      • In the Browser, select all items in the project.
      • Make sure the Browser window is active.
      • Menu: [File > Media Manager]
      • Set the required options e.g. handles (margins), select the destination folder (mentioned above) and press [OK].
      • Files created by the Media Manager:
        • [<Destination Folder>]
          • Project File [<projname>.fcp].
          • [Media]
            • [<projname>]
              • <Media Files>
      • This structure is a bit mad but it’s the FCP convention…

    Refs:

    Spring-Clean of Windows Machines

    Saturday, May 1st, 2010

    Remove large items e.g. video files (to separate storage or delete).[http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/last-minute-spring-cleaning-of-your-windows-xp-system]

    •  Windows: [Start > Run > Cleanmgr.exe]
    • Defrag (registry as well as volumes)
      • No slowness problems so didn’t try that.  If it ain’t broken…

    Resulting filespace usage:

    • Windows 7
      • System Disk (Boot Camp) 41 GB
      • …includes Documents 175 MB
    • XP SP3
      • Initially:
        • System Disk 42 GB
        • …includes My Documents 21 GB, mostly large downloads.
      • Finally (once these downloads were migrated elsewhere):
        • System Disk: 20 GB
        • My Documents 370 MB