Simultaneous editing in Final Cut Pro

B

Brian Petersen

Well-known member
I'm editing together a feature and we're in a bit time crunch to get it done, so we would like to have 2 editors going at once working on different scenes. I know you can't simultaneously edit within the same project file on two computers, but if you had two separate project files going on two different workstations, could you both be editing at the same time, EVEN THOUGH you may be accessing the same drive for your footage?

Obviously the foolproof solve is to have two set of footage and edit independently, but that would require us to purchase more hard drives.
 
I haven't tried that (I don't even use Macs), but it should work, since you don't actually ever write to the MXF/QT files -- they are just referenced in your FCP project, which are then rendered to new files.
 
Pretty sure you will run into the licensing agreement limitations of running the software on two computers at the same time -- meaning that FCP will not run on the second one while it is already running on a Mac on the network.

It's not the Project file that won't allow running the software on 2 Mac simultaneously, it's the software's serial number.

Since you can't buy FCP apart from Final Cut Studio anymore, you might pick up a copy of FC Express for the second seat (???) or see if Apple will sell you an additional license?

HTH
 
I don't see any reference to using the same copy of FCP on two different computers -- just a question about accessing the same drive and assets from two computers.
 
Should be fine...

Should be fine...

If there is no issue about Final Cut Pro licensing then yes you can totally do that. But the fellow who brought that up is also totally correct. If you try and run FCP twice on the same network and have used the same serial, well you're hooped. I'm not a 100% sure, but I think Apple stopped selling the licenses, or at least in smaller quantities, so you have to buy the software to get the license.

Anyway, back to the original problem at hand. Duplicate the original project file, have it on the desktop of each station, run it from there and voila everyone is happy. So long as both machines can access the network drives you're okay.

The only issue you might run into is network throughput. Can your network handle the load? Only 2 editors, shouldn't be too big a deal. I've only ever worked on 1 editor or like 4-5 or more. In the 4-5 or more situation we use an XSan system and use dual fiber cards for throughput. So in theory you should be fine, but you'll have to try it out and see if the system can take it. Without going to fiber cards though the things I'd avoid are digitizing on both systems at the same time, outputing from both at the same time, or digitizing on one and outputing on the other. Those kinds of combinations I've seen put you people in drop frame hell until they realized they could only do one task at a time.

cheers.
 
As far as the licensing thing goes, I remember when I only had one copy of FCP4, I had one machine running FCP for editing and I wanted to run say, Soundtrack on another machine at the same time, I couldn't. This drove me crazy cause I think it was stupid that I couldn't do that. I had to take the other machine off the network to work on it. Does this crap still apply? I totally understand not being able to run two of the SAME programs at the same time, but different apps on the same license should be allowed.
 
Its still the same, i tested it. my laptop at the office and the Dual G5 both on the same network to see what happens. and it shuts the one you are trying to boot down at startup
 
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