rationale behind Library/event/project hierarchy

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Level 1

15 points

rationale behind Library/event/project hierarchy

Can someone please explain the rationale behind this structure? I could not find anything in the documentation that explains why it is organized this way. I'm sure that there must be sound reasons, but they are not obvious to a new user, even one like myself who years ago used Video Toasters, AVID workstations, Premiere and so on. In the old days you began with what Apple now calls a Project, and the files necessary to the project were organized under that. That was intuitive and simple. Apple has inverted that process, beginning with the Library, and added a hierarchical layer, Event. To new users the creation process seems backward, and the Event layer seems redundant.

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Dec 24, 2021 4:08 PM

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Answer 1

terryb

Level 4

3,430 points

Dec 24, 2021 9:33 PM in response to melonmtn

@melonmtn - I too am a recovering Avid Media Composer editor and it took me a little time to re-learn the terminology. It's really just re-associating the term "project."

Avid project = FCP library

Avid bin = FCP event

Avid sequence = FCP project

https://support.apple.com/guide/final-cut-pro/what-are-libraries-verfdd5c590e/mac

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Answer 2

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,815 points

Dec 24, 2021 4:40 PM in response to melonmtn

The Event is a folder. It’s not complicated. It’s just different terminology. The library is a container for a production. The project the edited timeline. It’s not difficult.

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Answer 3

melonmtn Author

Level 1

15 points

Dec 26, 2021 11:22 AM in response to terryb

Thanks for this, it partially answered my question. I still don't understand the reasoning behind this backward-seeming process, but the nomenclature explanation was helpful. This is not addressed anywhere that I can find. The nomenclature as "explained" in the documentation is confusing, as the levels of the hierarchy seem to have overlapping definitions.

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Answer 4

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,815 points

Dec 26, 2021 11:24 AM in response to melonmtn

The rationale? First, this is a user to user forum so none of know what was in the developers’ minds. The most likely reason is that the terminology has been used for many years and is familiar to iMovie users.

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Answer 5

melonmtn Author

Level 1

15 points

Dec 26, 2021 11:30 AM in response to melonmtn

in FCP, the File dropdown menu is organized like this: File>new>Project, Event, Library. To me, this implies the hierarchy. First, you would create a project, then you would create an event in that project, then you would populate it with the Library. That is the exact opposite of the actual hierarchy and the correct procedure. Why would they organize this upside down?

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