Two weeks of Images will need production. Please Help me!

Question

Hello everyone,
Just for a change (from me anyway) I have a GOOD question ie. not a problem
For the first time in over thirty years I am off on a trip/solo. Two weeks of travel with my camera, ipod and MBP.
I want to put together a number of image+video DVDs of my journeys.
So to the question.
Would someone, or more, give me their suggestions as to work flow and methodology within Aperture for:
1- Transfer of approx. 250gig of images from usb external HDD in files chronologically stored.
2- Selection of images for each DVD and selection of videos taken for same.
3- Editing procedure within AP. (I don't want to go outside if I can help it)
There is no time limit for the processes as I see it as a totally personal project(s).
Anyone with experience of this sort of work, travel, reportage photographer would be my ideal source of knowledge (slightly begging there - sorry)
Anyway Up. All helpful comments will gratefully treated with much respect.
Many thanks
Sharkey
PS. All final processing will be done on my signature machine

Answer 1

Fwiw ... heh ... I would use Albums (not Smart Albums) for this. In fact, I think this underscores one of the prime differences between the two. Smart Albums, for me, create groups which make it easier for me to find, count, adjust, and administer images; Albums are +output containers+, used to manually create groups of images which I will publish together.
I find it helpful to separate the three image-activities of Aperture: storage, development and administration, and output.
In this particular case, I think Albums have four advantages over Smart Albums.
. It is easier to remove images. Just delete. With a Smart Album you have to know the field the criteria is based on, and then change the contents of that field. The means of removing an image from any Album is always the same; from a Smart Album it will always be different.
. Any metadata field should be applicable to all images. "Belongs to/Does not belong to ... +tea ceremony+ " is not universal enough to use metadata, but is perfect for an Album
. The contents don't change automatically. For output containers, this is important. It is much more likely to mistakenly assign (or delete) keywords or other metadata than it is to add or remove images in Albums. I really want to be certain in six or nine months time that the images in my Album are the ones I used -- no more, and no less.
. Albums are easier to delete. In two year's, when I'm house-cleaning, I can simply delete "Tea Ceremony, Vacation, 2011, for DVD". With keywords (which seems most likely), I have to delete the Smart Album, then chase down the keyword and delete it. May seem trivial, but the goal is to keep the database clean. I've seen enormous amounts of cruft added to people's databases by simple things such as this.
As an additional example of the Album/Smart Album divide:
I have a keyword "Portfolio" and a Smart Album of Portfolio images. This is internal to my operation (that is, it is part of my general image administration). When it comes time to publish a set of images I refer to as "my portfolio", I create an Album specific to that publishing task (e.g.: "MobileMe Portfolio, Sept. 2010"). My Portfolio Smart Album makes it easy work for me to pick images and drag them into my "MobileMe Portfolio" Album (or Albums). The point is that there is a difference between the two of them, and each serves a different function in my workflow.
My recommendation to the OP is to create Albums for each publication, and use Folders to group those publications into DVDs.