1.5

Final Cut Server can help you do the following tasks:
• Find the assets you need: As the number of assets in your Final Cut Server catalog
increases, creating and managing searches becomes more important. Final Cut Server
provides multiple ways to search and organize the assets in your organization’s
Final Cut Server catalog.
• Have immediate access to media: Final Cut Server provides immediate access to media
from the Final Cut Server client software. You can easily get information and view a
media asset from the client software. If you want to edit the media asset, you can check
out a Final Cut Server–managed copy of the file to your local computer, edit it, and
then check it back in to Final Cut Server. Because Final Cut Server is managing the
checked-out file, the new edits are tracked by Final Cut Server.
• Track the status of media: Final Cut Server provides metadata fields and saved searches
to help you track assets as they move through your organization’s workflow. Your
Final Cut Server administrator can further customize the metadata fields to increase
the effectiveness of asset tracking for your organization.
• Perform powerful media conversion: Final Cut Server uses Compressor, a powerful
transcoding application that is part of Final Cut Studio, to convert media from one
video format to another when uploading, exporting, and copying media files.
• Work while not connected to the Final Cut Server network: You can check out
Final Cut Server–managed project and media files and then edit them while not
connected to the Final Cut Server network. When you later connect to the
Final Cut Server network, you can check the edited files back in to Final Cut Server.
When you check in the files, the assets that track the files are updated with the new
files.
The Final Cut Server Client Workflow
Final Cut Server makes it easy for users to find, access, and track media and project files,
as well as transcode media and easily check assets in and out for editing.
Although different organizations perform each of these tasks slightly differently, the
typical Final Cut Server workflow involves four stages:
Stage 1: Organizing Existing Media and Uploading New Media
The project you’re working on might use media that has already been uploaded to
Final Cut Server, or it may require new media. Media can be uploaded using an automated
scan set up by your administrator or uploaded manually by any person in your
organization.
10 Chapter 1 An Introduction to the Final Cut Server Client