Color crashing on save!!!

Question

Hi there,
i've been experiencing constant crashes in Color when saving projects manually, even on short projects of one clip with a duration of 10 seconds or so. Send to Color from my FCP works fine, the auto-save works fine but doesnt save the grading information, but the manually save keeps crashing.
I'm on a MacPro with 3,2 Gb 8-core processor and 4 GB memory, so I don't think power is the problem! And Color is newly updated!
Any idear what might be the problem?
Ragards, Nicklas!

Answer 1

Hi JP,
I have managed to find a turnaround... I saved the individual grades, copied the to a new project, deleted preferences.prf and stopped using the faulty sequences.
I have been suffering to find a successful workflow for FCP and Color, this is what I have come up with so far:
I have 3 mac pro's, one for CC, and two for editing.
the first system is an old generation eight core 3.0 with ATI 1900, AJA LHe, 5Gb ram, Atto Fibre, Ciprico, JL cooper pannel, this was upgraded from a G5 (I used it with final touch HD)
the two other systems are new generation eight core with 4Gb and Nvidia 8800, built in Jbod,
all are connected by gigabit ethernet.
I have shot a Music Video on a panasonic Varicam, I dumped everything on the FRC and am now editing with material that is captured on Kona LHe, 422 8bit uncompressed SD 25 fps...
due to the many restrictions and hidden bugs in color when you export an edited sequence from FCP, I convinced the editor to start by color correcting the rushes, just like we do in one light telecine transfer from negative to tape... with the hope of re-grading all when the edit is approved.
Here is what i did:
_+*The method that caused the problem:*+_
I opened color, set the project settings to the correct values, Pal DV, 720x576, 8bit uncompressed, 25fps....
I imported the video file, a duration of one hour and 12 minutes (I know about avoiding timelines of more than 20 minutes, but since I have done this before and it worked in final touch, i gave it a shot)
I cut the file using the split tool (in color), control X. I pre graded with primaries, secondaries, cfx.. , created some looks and grades, saved the file when I finished grading, rendered the clips overnight and Voila, the next day all was copied to the editing machine where the editor used my rendered clips as rushes and built a sequence.
I had no problem until I messed up something in the project directories, and was no longer able to save my color project... remember this project originated in color not final cut.. it autosaves properly but will crash if you attempt to save manually.
_+*The method that worked:*+_
I started in FCP, did a preselection of the takes that needed grading, I sent to color, did a render without any grading, i used spotlight to gather all the rendered clips, and sent them to the editor who is now editing the music video with time remaps, additive dissolves, freeze frames, and all the god knows why forbidden stuff...
back in color, I went back to my original faulty project copied my grades to the new project created by FCp (send to color) applied the grades, and now the project saves properly... now, every time I render my graded clips, I copy them to the the editor's bin, each clip automatically updates itself on the editor's sequence and inherits all the effects...
color did not have any problems working on a timeline of over an hour...
and the project is well on track and I should deliver soon...
the things I learned, do not cut clips in color, it is not an editing tool, and never mess the directories on a job in progress..
and maybe this is not a bad workflow, until they manage smoother color FCP roundtrips.
I appreciate the time you spend replying to these forums, I read your messages all over and wish i had time to participate more in discussions.
i would be very glad hear about your own workflow for Color, I am not sure mine is the best, it has many disadvantages, but this once, it worked for me.
Cheers,
Elias.