FCP X 10.1: Manage Projects

[IMPORTANT NOTE: With the release of the 10.1 update to Final Cut Pro X, I released all new training that covers both new and old features. I encourage you to buy this, or become a subscriber, because it will help you learn the new software quickly. Click here to learn more.]

With the release of Final Cut Pro X 10.1, I’ve been flooded with questions on media management. This article takes a closer look at managing events and projects. This is the second of five articles. The others are:

• Manage Libraries
• Collaboration
• Back-up and Restore
• Apple Updates Media Management in FCP X v.10.1.2

NOTE: Here is a very important article on updating media, events, and projects from earlier versions of Final Cut Pro X. Please read this before you update.

Apple has also provided additional resources in two white papers:

• FAQ about updating and working with libraries: support.apple.com/kb/HT5958
• Media Management White Paper: images.apple.com/final-cut-pro/docs/Media_Management.pdf

And here is a video webinar that illustrates these, and more, media management techniques for Final Cut Pro X.

DEFINITIONS

A library is a container that holds media, events, and projects. Final Cut requires a minimum of one library to be open at all times. (Here’s an article that explains how to manage libraries.)

Events are folders that are contained inside libraries. A library must contain at least one event. There is no limit to the number of events that can be contained in one library. The easiest way to to think of an event is that it is a folder, or bin, that stores stuff.

Projects are the instructions on how to edit our clips; they are now analogous to sequences in Final Cut Pro 7.

Media can be moved or copied between projects, events, or libraries.

WORKING WITH PROJECTS

All projects MUST be stored in an event, inside a Library. (The old Project Library window is gone.) What I like to do is create a new Event, called “Projects,” in which I store all my projects. That way, I can easily isolate projects from media.

To create a new event, select the library in which the event is to be stored and do one of the following:

• Choose File > New > Event
• Type Option+N
• Right-click the library in which you want to store the event and choose New Event.
• Right-click anywhere inside the Library list and choose New Event.

In this case, I created a new event, called Projects. (Remember, projects are stored in events, which are stored in libraries.)

NOTE: Projects can be stored in any event, in any library. My use of a Projects event is simply personal preference.

To create a new project, select the event in which you want the project stored and do one of the following:

• Choose File > New > Project
• Type Command+N
• Right-click the library in which you want to store the event and choose New Project
• Right-click anywhere inside the Library list and choose New Project

Project settings are just like earlier versions of Final Cut. I took all the default settings, but changed the starting timecode of the project to 01:00:00:00 — mostly from long-standing habit.

NOTE: Final Cut remembers project settings made in this window so that the same settings are the defaults the next time you create a new project.

The new project appears in the Browser with its own icon, indicating the project name, creation date and current duration. This information, along with its icon, updates as you edit.

To modify Project Properties, select the project in the Libraries list, then choose Window > Project Properties, or type Command+J, then click the Modify Settings button in the Inspector.

Changing project properties is the same as earlier versions of Final Cut Pro X.

To move between projects, you could double-click the project you want in the Browser, provided it is showing, but a faster way is to click and hold the Timeline History button (what I call the “Go Back” button). This lists all opened projects and allows you to quickly switch from one project to the next.

NOTE: Clicking this button takes you back to the previously opened project. Click and hold this button to display all previously opened projects.

MOVING PROJECTS

To move a project between libraries, select the project and choose File > Move Project, then select the library where you want the project to move.

To move a project into another event within the same library, simply drag it where you want it to go.

DUPLICATING PROJECTS

Copy a project between libraries by selecting the project and choosing File > Copy Project to Library.

NOTE: We use this same technique to copy or move events. Select the event, then choose the appropriate option from the File menu.

Duplicate a project by right-clicking the project in the Browser and selecting Duplicate Project. However, if you are using multicam or compound clips, duplicating is not a good idea, because the multicam or compound clips remain linked back to the original project. For example, changing the multicam clip in one project changes it everywhere.

A much better idea is new with this version – Duplicate a Project Snapshot (type: Shift+Cmd+D). This duplicates the project, time stamps it, and creates independent multicam and compound clips. This essentially “freezes” your edit into a copy using a single keystroke.

NOTE: Snapshots are really useful, but they are not locked. If you open a snapshot and make a change, that change is recorded into the snapshot. There is no way to lock a snapshot.

There is no limit to the number of project duplicates, or snapshots, that you can create.

DELETE PROJECT RENDER FILES

Render files are now created in both the event and project. And, unlike earlier versions of Final Cut, render files are not necessarily deleted when clips are trimmed. (This avoids wasting time re-rendering clips that were already rendered.)

To delete project render files, select the project in the Browser with the render files you want to delete and choose File > Delete Project Render Files. Click the OK button to delete render files.

NOTE: In the event you delete the wrong render files, the worst that will happen is that FCP will re-render whatever it needs that was deleted by mistake.

DELETE A PROJECT

In the Browser, select the project you want to delete, then do one of the following:

• Type Cmd+Delete
• Right-click and select Move to Trash
• Choose File > Move to Trash

NOTE: We can’t delete events and projects at the same time.

SECRET TIPS

You can play a project that is not open, by right-clicking it in the Browser and selecting “Play.”

While you can’t close a project that is in the Timeline, you can create a new project with nothing in it. Then, double-click that project to open it into the Timeline, thus displaying an empty Timeline.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Here are three articles I’ve written that can help you understand media better in Final Cut Pro X:

• Manage Libraries
• Collaboration
• Backup and Archiving

Apple has also provided additional resources in two white papers:

• FAQ about updating and working with libraries: support.apple.com/kb/HT5958
• Media Management White Paper: images.apple.com/final-cut-pro/docs/Media_Management.pdf

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