Organizing large complex projects

hi, new forum will take some getting used to. I guess it forces people to search of answers before posting.
well, Im up to 20 something sequences, trying to build two main sequences, buidling up the "sub sequences" and nexting them in the higher sequences....Im wondering if there is a way to display two or more timelines as well?
any tips on organizing large projects would be great thanks.

M-323 wrote:
over the process f this project, I had to buy more disks to add space. Im up to about 4TB now but it's like musical disks.
Organizing a project this size required preproduction planning. You have a choice to make now, take a few days to work out all of the kinks and get it together or slog on hoping you can remember what's going on.
M-323 wrote:
reconnecting the media was a long process and some of the "sub sequences" lost all their programing like instead of images kicking in when they were suposed to, they seemed to all default to the same length! so some sequences I'm having to rebuild from scratch, then seeing if they are working right in each of their "superior sequences"
Ah. The dangers of nesting using Apple's presently lacking media management. Hopefully this gets fixed soon but we've been screaming about it since version 1.0.
Export your nested sequences as self-contained movies. If you need to go back and change the sequences, export them again as self-contained movies and increment the filename.
You do not say how long your release will be but 4T of material is not going to be included so maybe it's time to offload the junk and detritus and clean off your main drives
You seem to be using the same position in your production timeline and working universe as the hub of all activity. Strongly urge you to abandon that model by investing the time to remove your unnecessary and obsolete material and sequences, set yourself up with segregated silos for each of the applications' output files. Draw some pictures that represent your fantasy of workflow. Start at the very end and work backwards.
bogiesan

Similar Messages

Converting large complex unstructured set to structured.

I am converting a large complex unstructured doc set to Structured Frame. I'm starting off with Tom Aldous' webinars. I have many questions. First, I am performing my conversion to DITA (because this is how the webinar guides us). Is this the best format to use? I will have PDF User Guide with multiple role based outputs and Robohelp Webhelp output. Am I better with a DITA or Custom Structure?
I am using TCS 3.

Amy,
   I don't know what experience you have in working with XML, structured documents, EDDs, conversion tables, read/write rules, application definition files, and the other components of a FrameMaker structure application. You may not need them all. Especially if you are new to structure in general, I recommend that you don't try to learn everything at once. Start with something you do need--a structured template and an EDD and branch out to other components as you need them. It is always tempting to start by converting legacy documents. If your schedule permits, I recommend first setting up a structured template that you can use to experiment with structured documents. If you start with the conversion table, you may wind up with a structure that is optimized for adding structure to existing material rather than editing it once it's been structured.
   As far as the question of whether to define your own structure or use an existing one, I do not agree with the logic that using an existing model (such as DITA) gets you started earlier and saves you analysis time. Structure is all about organizing content, that is, organizing ideas and your project will provide the most benefit if you take time for planning at the beginning. That analysis might take the form of designing your own structure; it may take the form of figuring out how the elements and attributes defined in an existing model map into your own content. Remember that the industry-standard models are designed to apply to the documentation needs at many companies. They often make great examples for preliminary study, but they tend to be huge and much more complex than you may need. If you decide to go that route, strongly consider using a subset or specialization of the original model.
    Using a large tag set off the shelf is parallel to using a word processor without a style sheet. If the model was designed to let writers create almost anything, the model won't help writers create documents that conform to their own company's conventions. For example, one benefit of FrameMaker structured editing as compared to unstructured editing is that the context-sensitive available elements listed in the structured Element Catalog show only elements the writer is likely to need at the current point in the document. In contrast, the Paragraph and Character Catalogs show all defined catalog entries. Thus, if certain formats are only available within front matter or only for a title at the beginning of a larger unit, the format catalogs still show them everywhere. Suppose you start with a model that allows dozens of inline elements within a paragraph (emphasis, foreign phrase, part number, keyword, quotation, and so forth). If writers at your organization never use more than five of the inline elements, set up your application so that those five are the only ones listed.
   One of DITA's original design goals was to reduce the overhead that large companies like IBM required to publish documentation from new partners. The only way that goal could be achieved was with permissive rules for what's allowed where. Yes, DITA can be customized to support more stringent rules. Learning how to do so is part of the cost of using DITA. That expense may be worth it, but recognize it is there.
The dividing line between a custom structure and a customization of one that is widely available may be blurry. My mother once had a cookbook with a recipe that concluded something like "bake for 20 minutes, or more, or less, it all depends." Designing a structured environment is similar. It all depends.
   --Lynne

How do I export a small section of a large complex illustrator graphic?

I have a large complex map in an illustrator file and I need to export smaller sections of the map for other uses. When I use artboards, the files still retain ALL of the information. I just want the portion that is on the artboard and I want it as a vector format, so the smaller areas can still be edited.

Not sure I have enough info to help you, but are a couple suggestions:
Option 1:
Select what you want to keep
Select>Inverse
Delete
Save a Copy
Undo and repeat as needed
Option 2 (requires Script "MultiExporter"):
Assemble elements for export on separate Layers/Artboards
Run MultiExporter Script to export Layers and/or Artboards to separate files (SVG, PNG, etc.)

My PDF file appears to be too large/complex to export. Can I split it in some way?

My PDF file appears to be too large/complex to export. Can I split it in some way?

Good day Colin,
In order to split a PDF file, you'll need to use Adobe Acrobat.
You may want to try turning off the 'Recognize text' option and converting your file again, it may help.
Kind regards,
David

Large iDVD Project (help with iMovie formats, time totals, quality)

Hi,
I am in the process of finishing up a large DVD project. I went on a six month backpacking trip, and have lots of photos/small clips to make a DVD from. I will have a main menu in iDVD with submenus for each country (Mexico, Cook Islands, NZ, Australia, Vietnam, Thailand, India)
On each submenu will be around 4-5 movies of around 2-5 minutes each.
I created movies using iMovie (imported sound-less iPhoto slideshows 640x480 expored as MOV file) and added captions, music etc in iMovie. Each 'movie' is about 1-5 minutes long.
First question:
What is the best format to export these movies in? I will be adding them to iDVD. But when I export them, they are around 100-700Mb each depending on time of the movie. I used the expert settings (to Quicktime Mov) using the following settings:
Video:
Compression: Mpeg-4 Video
Quality: Best
Frame Rate: 60
key frame rate: 24
Dimensions: 720x526 4:3
audio:
format: AAC
Sample rate: 48.000Khz
Bit Rate 128
Stereo
In my iDVD project - the menu loops are maximum 30 seconds each, with the audio cut to the same length (ie. not trimmed in the menu - the actual mp3 added is 30seconds etc)
Now, big question is:
Do I have a total of 2 hours for everything? All menus,and all movies ? Is there ANY way of calculating this in iDVD or do I have to do it manually (estimate) ???
I notice with iDVD 8.0 it has a indicator of the space available etc. I have iDVD 6.0 so that doesn't help me now I guess?
What I need to ask is that - maybe using expert settings to mov files is unnecessary? What would you recommend as the export settings?
I have been working on the iMovie projects for months and can re-export them all in different format if need be, and can simply re-add the movies to iDVD. I have set up the shell of the DVD in iDVD but not added the movies yet (I have the placeholders there for them).
Anyway - hopefully I haven't blabbed on too much that someone out there can offer some advice?
Cheers and THANK YOU!
Alessandro

Best Performance: For projects up to one hour
Best Quality: For projects up to two hours
If your project is longer than one hour, you have to use Best Quality. Generally, the quality will be fine but the closer your get to that two hour limit, the more possibility you have of seeing some quality hits.
I deal with lots of long projects and generally if a project is longer than 90 minutes (specially since my projects have lots of fast motion, low light, etc) I split them up over two DVDs, keeping each under the one hour limit. That does give you your best quality option

Best practices for large ADF projects?

I've heard mention (for example, ADF Large Projects of documentation about dealing with large ADF projects. Where exactly is this documentation? I'm interested in questions like whether Fusion web applications can have more than one ViewController project (different names, of course), more than one Model project, the best way to break up applications for ease of maintenance, etc. Thanks.
Mark

I'd like to mention something:
Better have unix machines for your development.
Have at least 3 GB of RAM on windows machines.
Create all your commonly used LOVs & VOs first.
If you use web services extensively, create it as a seperate app.
Make use of popups, it's very user friendly and fast too. You no need to deal with browser back button.
If you want to use common page template, create it at the beginning. It's very difficult if you want to apply it later after you developed pages.
Use declarative components for commonly used forms like address, etc.
Search the forum, you will see couple of good util classes.
When you check-in the code, watch out some of the files don't show up in JDev like connections.xml
Make use of this forum, you will get answers immediately from great experts.
http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/jdev/collateral/4gl/papers/Introduction_Best_Practices.pdf

Flash is not responding constantly only when I open a more complex project

Hi all,
Originally, I downloaded the free trial of Flash Professional CC 2014 to work on a major project. As my project has become more complex, flash suddenly kept not responding. The issue is not evident when I work on the less complex projects.
I have tried giving the file more space by deleting other flash projects from my computer, as well as clearing drive space, but this has made no difference. The project file is 9.5mb in size.
I then downloaded the full paid version of Flash and the problem is still there.
I have narrowed the issue down to a complex symbol I created, it has multiple layers with around 150 seperate keyframes. The issue started around when I created this symbol, and now when i try to place the symbol into the scene, I am able to grab and drag the symbol, and when I try the program stops responding. Overall without touching the symbol the program is very slow and often stops responding because of simple actions. I hope not to recreate this symbol as that will take up more valuable time.
I hope someone can help as I have a lot more to add to the project.
Specs:
Windows 7 64-bit
Nvidia GeForce GT 525m
4gb ram
Intel Core i7

What is your anti-virus software?

Splitting large AVCHD projects

I have read on this forum that PE7 does not like (cannot handle) large projects which should therefore be split into manageable chunks which are then saved as AVI's ready for re-import to combine into the magnum opus.
I am editing AVCHD and cannot see an AVI spec of 1920 x 1080i PAL 25 frames in Share on a PC. All I see is 720X576 which is standard definition AVI (DV style).
How do I break a large AVCHD project up and retain the High definition?

Ron,
Editing large AVCHD projects would certainly consume a lot of processor memory and power. Certainly there is no spec corresponding to AVI @ the FULL HD resolution. Why don't you edit the project in chunks and export each one as MPEG2/H.264 and once everything is done, re-import and export again collectively in MPEG2/H.264.
in 2 step export, degradation would be less however it will solve your purpose.
thanks
Daniel.

Managing a large Flash project

I work for a game development studio in London. We are prototyping using Autodesk Scaleform and building our game UI using Flash. We will need to be able to run a large project with a team of 3-4 artists and 10+ programmers. We use Perforce source control system for storage of all code and assets. We need to be able to manage a project with multiple shared resources and multiple people (artists & programmers) working on screens and controls.
Our problem is as follows:
We want to be able to create skinned graphical custom components, such as buttons, sliders, checkboxes as well as more complex controls such as tables and game specific elements.
We want to be able to share graphics assets in a single location and allow multiple artists and coders to work on shared components simultaneously. We need all of this to be stored in a Perforce source control repository.
For AS3 code this is all fairly straight forward. It works like any other codebase and we have set up FlashBuilder and FlashDevelop projects.
Now, the options seem to be as follows:
- Create a flash project or projects. The problem here is that all of the assets are copied into AuthortimeSharedAssts.fla. This means that, because FLA is a binary format, our source control cannot allow more than one person to edit any shared resource at the same time.
- Set up manual authortime sharing. This will allow work on multiple shared components because individuals can update a small discrete FLA file and this will automatically update a larger shared librar. The problem is that this does not allow sharing of graphics assets, which means that, if an artist updates a graphic, this does not filter down to individual flash files.
- Use the XFL format. This would allow us to merge files when checking in to source control as they are plain text and it saves out individual assets as separate files, which looks perfect. The problem is that I can't see how to make a project, which entirely uses XFL files (i.e. makes something like AuthortimeSharedAssets.xfl).
At the moment I can't see any obvious, sensible way of running a large project in Flash. We cannot be the first to do this sort of thing though.
Can anyone help or explain how we should do it?

Just an $0.02 that is probably the hardest solution to implement, you really need a good project manager. You can't expect great results from tossing a bunch of autonomous bodies in motion on shared resources with no human control mechanism. Software can help but your format is ultimately binary, so outside Smart Objects (which haven't worked well in a networked multi-OS environment for me), you're not going to gain the benefits of traditional diff for source code.
Consider implementing either a project manager or even better, a project manager with decent project management software. It can be as cheap as Copper Project. You're given a hud with tasks and it's up to the Project Manager to assign the tasks so nothing overlaps and collisions are avoided from the start. It's even a large challenge in the binary world for a high quality Project Manager.
If you really need a garage level setup, you may simply have to employ locking network files that are in use. Anyone trying to use something won't be able to, it will stifle progress but you won't run into overlaps or impossible merges. It's just brute force and inefficient.

What is the easiest way to transfer a large imovie project from one computer to another in a different location.

What is the easiest way to transfer an faairly large HD imovie project from one computer to another in a different location. Can you export to drop box? Will the other computer need the exact imovie version?

OK it depends.
If you have a finished movie, you can SHARE/EXPORT MOVIE and create your final movie. Then, depending on the size of the finished movie, you can transfer via dropbox or similar service. Ninety minutes is a very long movie for iMovie, but it may work for you. I would suggest 720P to keep the size down.
If you need to transfer the entire iMovie Project so it can be edited in iMovie at the other end, then you need to transfer the project and event assets to an external hard drive and get the hard drive to the other location.
Directions are here. Follow the directions for 1) Moving or copying Project to external drive. Then 2) Consolidate Media.
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4141

New to all of this - questions before beginning a large vacation project

I converted mgp video files using Mpeg Streamclip from a 6 week vacation creating .mov files totally 550GB. I need to get them off of my internal 1TB drive and exclude them from time machine backups. I plan to move them to a WD 1TB external drive I have been using for Time Machine and have just received a new WD 2TB external for time machine.
Questions are:
1. Is it true that these files will remain unchanged during work on project and as long as I still have the original mpg files there would be no need to back them up with time machine?
2. I have no idea how much extra space will be needed to complete this large project. Would it be possible for me to break the trip into segments with separate sequences or would it be better to create new projects for each of these segments?
3. If I create separate movies for each segment - is it possible to include individual movies on one DVD?
4. There seems to be some disagreement on discussions if there is any need to format the new 2T My Book Studio Edition II drive or just hook up and use.

Why not put them into a separate folder then exclude the folder from your TM backup? That's the simplest solution.
You should check how the new drive is actually partitioned and formatted. Use Disk Utility to check this. The drive should be partitioned GUID and formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) If that's not the case then you should prep the drive as follows:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger or Leopard.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the number of partitions from the drop down menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.

LabVIEW done right: Requesting advice for a large LabVIEW project

Hello Everyone,
I have been coding LabVIEW for about 2 years now, off and on as my company requires it, and although my coding abilities and neatness have improved greatly since I first started I still end up with large, messy looking programs.
I have a great understanding of SubVIs and use them regularly and often. I am also familiar with the various code structures such as a producer/consumer or state machine. But I keep finding that too much of my main code is interdependent on common variables, indexes, and values that it seems impossible to simplify any of them into subVIs because I would need like 10+ inputs or a custom cluster for each one. This seems counter productive and time consuming.
I have searched far and wide for good programming technique for larger labview programs and I have only been able to find the most basic advice such as "Use subVIs" or "Use a state machine" and all the examples I can find are laughably simple.
I can reduce my program to 3 while loops. One captures Events and gives commands on a queue, another takes those queued items and performs actions, and the third performs data gathering, plotting, and saving once each second. This starts out good, but by the time I've incrementally added all the features my company requires, each loop is a huge interconnected mess of wires with no clear way to section them up into subVIs.
A solution would be to make everything either a global variable or FG but as a native C programmer I was always taught to avoid globals. And if I went the FG route I would need somewhere around 100+ different VIs just to handle them all.
Is there something I'm missing? I want to know how you pass data between the various loops of your program. Do you use one big cluster? Globals? FGs? None of these options seem ideal to me but maybe I'm missing something obvious.
If anyone has any advice for me, it would be well appreciated. Better yet, if anyone has, or could point me to, an example program exhibiting an ideal programming structure for a project similar to the one I mentioned above, I would love to take some time to look it over. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up some good tips and tricks for keeping my main VI to one screen size, and effectively passing all the required data to all the subVIs that require it.
Thanks in advance,
-Aaron

AaronMcCollough wrote:
I have a great understanding of SubVIs and use them regularly and often. I am also familiar with the various code structures such as a producer/consumer or state machine. But I keep finding that too much of my main code is interdependent on common variables, indexes, and values that it seems impossible to simplify any of them into subVIs because I would need like 10+ inputs or a custom cluster for each one. This seems counter productive and time consuming.
I can reduce my program to 3 while loops. One captures Events and gives commands on a queue, another takes those queued items and performs actions, and the third performs data gathering, plotting, and saving once each second. This starts out good, but by the time I've incrementally added all the features my company requires, each loop is a huge interconnected mess of wires with no clear way to section them up into subVIs.
Do you try to identify related information that can be used by a whole set of related subVI's? For example, you might have several parameters related to a specific piece of hardware. These can be grouped into a typedef cluster (or, even better, an object with all the related subVIs part of the object class). You definitely don't want to be using custom cluster for each subVI, but well designed subVI's shouldn't have more than a few custom inputs once related information is grouped.
As for data in the loops, I usually just have one big cluster in a shift register. This is never itself sent into a subVI, but parts of it (the typedef clusters or objects from above) are unbundled and sent into subVI's. It's basically just serves as a cleaner way of holding all the parameters. I'll attach an image of a "state" of the program I'm now working on. There are only a few wires unbundled in each individual "state", even though the full cluster (the top shift register in the image) has 20-odd components (and some of them are subclusters/objects that themselves have many components, such as the "Selected Record" object in the image which itself is a 15 element cluster).
BTW, I'm using the "JKI state machine toolkit" which you might want to look at to get some ideas.
-- James
Attachments:
Code example.png ‏45 KB

Advice on best workflow for large Motion project

I am a part-time video editor/designer/motion graphics creator/etc. Normally, I work on projects with pieces no longer than 5 minutes, even if the projects themselves might be 30-40 minutes of total material--mostly video support for conferences and awards shows.
Right now I am embarking upon a mark larger project--10 30-minute segments, each of which is 100% motion graphics. They all involve a speaker against a green screen for the entire segment with the motion graphics keyed in front of and behind him.
We recorded this directly to hard drive in a studio that had a VT4 (Video Toaster) system, so the best Mac-compatible codec they could provide me for clean green-screening was full-resolution component video. This is giving me great keys, but I also have about 500 GB of raw footage.
In this project, I need to first edit all the takes from each episode into a clean 30-minute piece, and then add the motion graphics. And this is where my question comes in. It seems to me FCP is much better for editing the raw video, but that Motion is where I want to do just about everything else. I need to somehow bring the video into Motion, because I want to create "real" shadows against my background from my keyed footage.
When working with a long project, and with a full-resolution codec, what is my smartest workflow? I am trying to spend the least time possible rendering back and forth, and also avoid generating huge in-between files each step of the way. It seems that any way to approach it has plusses and minuses, so I want to hear from people who have been there which path gets me to my goal with the least hassle.

I need to somehow bring the video into Motion, because I want to create "real" shadows against my
background from my keyed footage.
"Real shadows are only faked in Motion. You have many options including a simple drop shadow or a copy of your matte layer filled with a gradient and a gradient blur applied with a distortion filter so it appears to be projected onto the wall. Be sure to take the time to make this a template effect and to keyframe the shadow angle if the foreground subject moves.
When working with a long project, and with a full-resolution codec, what is my smartest workflow? I
am trying to spend the least time possible rendering back and forth, and also avoid generating huge
in-between files each step of the way. It seems that any way to approach it has plusses and minuses,
so I want to hear from people who have been there which path gets me to my goal with the least
hassle.
Well, you've got two conflicting interests. One, you have to sync the Motion work with the video of the keyed speaker and, two, you have to edit. But it seems to me that your planning must include lots of design work up front, media you can re-use or modify slightly, text formatting that can be precomped, a large stock of effects you will apply over and over again. Do all of this stuff first.
You also want to explore working at lower rez through your planning and roughing stages. for instance, there's no reason to pull a full rez copy of your foreground into Motion if all you need to do is sync to his audio and get rough positioning. You can put him over black and export all of his clips using any medium to low rez codec at reduced frame rates and just use the Screen Blend Mode to drop him roughly onto your Motion projects.
You'll get lots of advice over the next few days. If you're posting to other Motion or motion graphics forums, please do us all a favor and return someday to all of your threads and tell us what you did and what you learned.
bogiesan

How do I split a very large RH8 project?

Hi,
I need to split a large RH8 (webhelp) project with about 10,000 files. There is no logical way to divide the contents, the topics are all intertwined. However, there is one folder that contains 3000+ files.
Have anyone split a large project like this? Appreciate any tips, best practices or suggestions.
Thanks, Hemtya

Hi Hemtya. I've always tried to avoid getting into this situation but I'd do the following:
Think carefully how you'd divide the project - maybe by folder is a good way although I'd also divide the 3000 file folder also.
Create another project to act as a Master into which all the others are merged.
Copy the project to a new directory, open RH and delete unwanted topics (e.g. by folder).
There is lots of other stuff to consider (e.g. path links) but how you tackle these things depends on your output type. If you tell us that, we'll be able to point you to some other resources.
The RoboColum(n)
@robocolumn
Colum McAndrew

Extremely large captivate project files

Hi there,
So we recently hit a problem with Captivate, we use both english and arabic for our courses and one of our projects is about 27 slides (including 7 question slides) and the final captivate file size for the arabic course (not published) is about 1GB, however the english course is a mere 120mb using the same material, only difference is in the text.
I just tried deleting all the slides and selecing all unused data and deleted them for the project hirearchy, but I ran into another problem which is that the project file dropped 20mb in total and its still close to 1GB.
I would also like to add that the published release for the arabic course was around 80mb.
Adobe Captivate Version : 7.0.1.237
Any ideas? let me know if more information is required..
Thank you!

Holy cow!! Adobe has a 3rd level of support? Cool. Only
partially kidding ... I really didn't know you could access various
levels. Is the 3rd level where you get to talk to the actual
engineers? Just wondered ...
Joel, in my experience it is often helpful to go to the most
basic approach in trying to isolate a problem. For instance, you
can eliminate the PPT being the cause of the problem by creating
another to try importing.
You can eliminate computer resources (on your own machine) by
importing a tiny, tiny PPT file and work up to a larger one.
And finally (for now), have you tried to use Power Point's "
File > Page Setup" to reduce the footprint (size) of the
PPT you are trying to import into Captivate?
This has been known to help, and at one time years ago I even
had a formula of sorts to get the size of the PPT to compliment the
size of the Captivate stage (slide). Sadly, I can't find that now,
but I would think you should keep the aspect ratio (AR) the same,
and that should help.
For instance, if the Captivate project is 800x600 (pixels),
the aspect ratio is 4:3 (as it is for the standard computer
monitor). Therefore you would want to set up your Power Point
project with that same AR so that the import process is not forced
to change AR, or to crop the imported images.
Hope there is something of value in there for you. When you
get up to that level of help where you are talking to the President
of Adobe, could you drop my name ... every little bit helps.
Have a very nice day JoelStern!!

Organizing large complex projects

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for