Export Entire Project?

krwzmann · Post by **krwzmann** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:35 am

Hi all. I can't recall if i read this on the Ulead boards or on another message board (for a different editing program), but is there a way to export an entire project (complete with video files / proxy files / file associations) so that you can archive it on an external hard drive? From what i recall reading, it should be as simple as selecting the function and letting the program do all the work. I tried a search on these boards with no luck. Thanks all!

klowther · Post by **klowther** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:45 am

Sounds like the Project/Smart Package function.

Hope that helps.

- Ken

Terry Stetler · Post by **Terry Stetler** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:48 am

The feature in MSPro8 is called "Smart Package" and can be found in the Project menu. Yes, you can archive the Package folder to any drive including externals. I typically save the Package to a folder in the root of my RAID, zip it with an appropriate name (customer # and date usually) then save the zip to DVD-RAM or removable/external HDD's for archiving, depending on its size.

Here's what it looks like;

Most of the controls are pretty self-explanatory. If not, ask

krwzmann · Post by **krwzmann** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:59 am

thanks! you guys rock!

I appreciate the quick help!

krwzmann · Post by **krwzmann** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:23 am

Hi Terry. When we smart package, it looks like it only packages the parts of the video files that are actually used in the project and not the video files associated in their entirety. Is this the way it works? My video captures for a project was a couple of GBs in size but when I smart package, the folder is only 800 megs. After looking in the folder, all of the video clips are truncated so it doesnt look like i'd be able lengthen any of the video clips. Is this correct? Thanks

Terry Stetler · Post by **Terry Stetler** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:32 am

Is the "create smart trimmed files" box checked? If so try un-checking it.

krwzmann · Post by **krwzmann** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:22 pm

Thanks Terry. It's packaging right now and it's running slower than before (which I expected since now it looks like it's copying over the complete video files).

I guess the last thing I want to ask is about when you zip up the package folder. Is the compression effective for these types of files (audio / video)? What type of compression ratio are you seeing? This one package i'm putting together is going to be about 55gbs and if zipping it up would half the size (or somewhere close) that would be great! If the compression would only save me a gig or two, then i'd probably skip zipping it all together because the time spent letting the computer crunch away wouldent be worth it.

Thanks for your help Terry!

Terry Stetler · Post by **Terry Stetler** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:54 pm

The ZIP isn't really there to compress the files, just to act as a convenienet container for the archive and provide password security if necessary. WinRAR would work just as well. Whichever floats your boat.

DV/MPEG/MJPeg etc. video doesn't compress much in ZIP. Neither do compressed images like JPG. About the only thing that will compress is PCM audio since it's uncompressed.

As such I use minimal compression when making the ZIP to speed up the process.

krwzmann · Post by **krwzmann** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 5:18 pm

Later tonight when I get back from work, i'm looking forward to trying to package multiple chapters in the same Package Folder.

My projects consist of about 5 or 6 Chapters which I edit seperately. Some of the projects reference the same video files (10 total at about 8 gigs each) as each other so i'm wondering if I can just package all the chapters into one package while only having to copy over the video files once. My guess is that it will work but i'm just hoping MSP8 doesnt just automatically perform an 'overwrite' essentially copying the video file over and over.

krwzmann · Post by **krwzmann** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 5:50 pm

Well I was able to give it a shot before heading out to work. Looks like it does overwrite the files. Maybe in an update or on a newer version, they'll allow for this type of packaging functionality. Oh wellpz, either way Smart Package is still pretty good! Thanks again!

Greg · Post by **Greg** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 5:45 am

krwzmann,
maybe try this. Before you package, create a new (empty) project, and insert new timelines, one for each chapter, then in each timeline insert the project for each chapter, then package this project, that way it should copy the file just once. It may be quicker overall.

Regards,
Greg

krwzmann · Post by **krwzmann** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 12:25 am

Hey Greg. I get the concept of what you're saying and i'll give it a shot. Some of my chapters have multiple tracks on them and multiple sound sources but i'll give it a shot! Thanks for the suggestion!

krwzmann · Post by **krwzmann** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:06 am

That worked out great! Now it's just a matter of me having enough hard drives to store the packages. I'm working with HD footage and my packages are about 80 gigs a pop.

Thanks again all!