Connecting the harddrives

[Oscar Petersson]

I am about to start editing a feature on a Mac book pro using FCP. I have the material copied to two 1,5TB harddrives and I plan to use the M proxy files.

1. Is it correct that I can just drag the proxy files from the original bin/folder directly into the FCP project and then start editing?

2. How do I connect the two harddrives to the computer for best performance? Do I use the USB connection? One for each hard drive? Or should I get a new bigger one? Please explain someone.

 

[joe hedge]

First make sure all raw camera files are backed up to 2 separate drives so that if one goes down you don't lose anything. If you really do have 2 1.5TB drives worth of raw camera files then you need 2 more back-up drives.

And hopefully you're not using cheapo drives (Western Digital or LaCie), but enterprise class models like G-Tech's or CalDigit, I use Avastors and they're bomber...from there you would simply daisy chain the drives together and away you go.

You will have a tough time editing m-proxies on a laptop...read the white paper

http://www.red.com/support

 

[Oscar Petersson]

Ok. What about the P-proxies then?

 

[joe hedge]

Try it. It's hard to say how well it will work for you without knowing more about your hard drive setup. I would just transcode everything to ProRes and not use the proxies myself, but if you really do have 2 1.5TB drives worth of footage it will take forever (like, weeks) to transcode all that on a laptop. Getting everything backed up is definitely your first priority though...

 

[Oscar Petersson]

So, are you telling me that even with the fastest Mac Book Pro, there Might be a chance I cant even use the Proxies for editing my feature??? If so, then what the hell do I need? The Mac Book Pro does meet the minimum requirments stated in the white paper.

 

[joe hedge]

You need to read and understand the Red FCP white paper, yes it says you can edit with the proxies, but on a laptop you'll be using unlimited RT and low/medium quality timeline playback settings, which means you won't get full framerate playback. Good luck syncing sound to picture that way if sound was recorded separately. You can get away with editing proxies on a laptop for short sequences but you're pretty limited beyond that. I have asst edited 2 features and never even tried to use the proxies to edit - I transcoded everything first because I was handing the project off to an editor who is using an iMac. Once everything is transcoded into ProRes, THEN you can edit on a laptop. Welcome to the wonderful world of Red Post. If you are in LA I will be glad to meet up with you and give you some free consulting and advice, email me at jghedge@earthlink.net

 

[Oscar Petersson]

thanks for the offer and your help. no I'm not in LA.

Hmm, sevearal other users has replied to me in other threads that editing the proxies works perfectly fine on a laptop.

I guess the Laptop is too slow for transcoding into pro res. Isn't the prores files 2K anyway which would make them too big for a laptop anyway?

 

[joe hedge]

Try it and see what you think - not being able to edit at full frame rate is a dealbreaker for me, especially when syncing sound to picture, as is all the rendering. You can transcode on a laptop, just let it run overnight and eventually you'll make a dent in all that footage.

 

[Oscar Petersson]

OK. thanks for help. I will try both.