Appendix 1

Appendix 7
Understanding File
Architecture
Final Cut Pro, Cinema Tools, and Pro Tools
Final Cut Pro, Cinema Tools, and Pro Tools use a similar architecture. A central project fi le controls
the entire project yet contains no actual media. It is simply a complex road map with links to scores
of other fi les, often hundreds of fi les. In Final Cut Pro, this central fi le is referred to as the “project
fi le.” In Cinema Tools, it is known as the “database.” In Pro Tools, it is the “session.” The central
fi le is small, perhaps a few hundred K. It contains hundreds of links to the actual media, which are
often huge fi les, sometimes hundreds of gigabytes for a feature fi lm.
If the link between the central fi le and the media is broken, either because the media has moved or
been removed entirely, the media is “off-line” or “missing.” The media can be relinked to the central
fi le or sometimes recaptured from the original tapes or other media. The online media can even be
relinked to different media, for example, the same shots with the same names, but at a new frame
rate or a higher resolution.
As this architecture is simplest in Pro Tools, let’s start with that. When a new session is created, a
folder is created labeled with the name you have given the session. Inside this folder are the “session”
fi le (the central fi le) and three more folders, the “audio fi les” folder, the “region groups” folder, and
the “fade fi les” folder (see Figure A7.1). Any audio recorded to the session will be written into the
audio fi les folder and a link between that media and the session fi le is created. Any automated fades
created in the session will be written as a fade fi le into the fade fi les folder and again, a link connected
to the session fi le.
If all we were doing was recording new audio, this simple architecture would suffi ce for the entire
session. However, we also need to import our video and many new audio fi les from scores of other
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