Creating Larger Projects

Gra · Post by **Gra** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 4:12 pm

Hi Guys
I'll shortly embark on a fairly large project in length and complexity, which may be difficult to manage in one go. Therefore I'm thinking of breaking it down into 3 or 4 segments and working on those segments individually and then importing them into one large file at the end and stitching them together. One concern I have is whether I might loose any quality.

For those with a lot more experience, is this a sensible modus operandi or I wonder if any of you out there have better suggestions for handling and managing larger projects?

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 4:47 pm

Depends on your project settings. If you work in DV, there is generally no problem for up to about 10-15 re-renderings; you won't see the difference on a TV. OTOH, MPEG-2 or other highly compressed format, you could have a problem.

Gra · Post by **Gra** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 5:49 pm

Thanks Devil
I always work in DV-1 AVI, so that seems more than a enough re-renders for any project.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 1:21 am

What I do is create multiple time lines - for example:

I am then able to work one one part of a project at a time in isolation to the entire project. When i am satisfied with that particular item I then add the timeline to the "Main Timeline". This for me works well and enables me to break a large project down into smaller more manageable parts.

MrA · Post by **MrA** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 2:05 am

Actually Gra comes up with a great question. Large projects.

My suggestion is to, yes, break them down to smaller projects. MSP has a great feature for rendering in batch anyways. Why not use it?

For a large project, I'd dig out the ol' pen and paper and start writing down what goes were, what gets cut out, etc.

Something big, needs planning. Maybe even a program designed for project type work.

As for loss of quality, not really. With smart render, and if your target is DVD, you are pretty much safe..

Gra · Post by **Gra** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 9:38 am

Thanks guys. MrA, I think you hit the nail on the head with your comments about planning!

Many thanks, Steve, for the image. I had heard of nested timelines but I've never had to really use them for my smaller projects. To be honest I couldn't visulise in my mind how they actually work anyway but it clicked right off when I saw your picture. It looks similar to my idea of separate, segmented, projects but keeps it all in one place. That's perfect.

Thanks again and it would be interesting to hear if there are any other approaches for large projects.

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:15 pm

If you use sub-timelines, I recommend you create an avi of each one when you have finished, in case of accidents.

IronS · Post by **IronS** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 7:55 pm

I would say, keep it simple.
Just divide your large project into 3-4 smaller parts. Save the project files.

In a new project import the 3-4 dvp-files in the correct order. Work on stitching them together, and render it into a complete movie.

No loss of quality at all and only 1 time rendering.

I have used this method for many times.

Regards,
Erik

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 6:50 am

IronS wrote:I would say, keep it simple.
Just divide your large project into 3-4 smaller parts. Save the project files.

In a new project import the 3-4 dvp-files in the correct order. Work on stitching them together, and render it into a complete movie.

No loss of quality at all and only 1 time rendering.

I have used this method for many times.

Regards,
Erik

OK, if you can get away with it, but that is not always the case. For example, if you add music to the final "stitching", you may want a video action to occur in synchronism with a drum beat or something. Your method offers no flexibility to do this. The sub-t/l does allow this with a little difficulty, by moving a clip.

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