Apple Final Cut Express HD - Manual (Page 922)

922 Part XI Project Management and Settings
When several clips are independent, they may all refer to the same media file, but
they refer to it independently. For example, if you recaptured a new media file for an
independent clip, other clips in your project would still refer to the original media
file. To reconnect all the clips to the new media file, you would have to reconnect
each one individually. Recapturing media for several independent clips can lead to
multiple versions of the same media file on your scratch disk, one for each
independent clip. Master and affiliate clips avoid the problem of independent clip
media management because all clips in a project that reference a particular media
file are handled by one master clip.
How Master Clips Connect to Media Files
The vital connection between a master clip and its media file is the clip property called
Source. A clip refers to a media file via this property, which contains a
directory path . A
directory path describes where a file is located within the file and folder hierarchy of
the file system. The hard disk is the top level of this hierarchy, as all files and folders are
contained within the hard disk. For example, the location of one of your media files
might be described like this:
/Scratch Disk/Capture Scratch/My Project/My Media File
You can find a clip’s media file in the Finder by selecting the clip and choosing
View > Reveal in Finder.
Identifying Master Clips
Master clips can exist only in the Browser; a sequence cannot contain a master clip. The
only way to identify a master clip is to view its Master Clip property in the Browser.
To view a clip’s Master Clip property:
1 Scroll or expand the Browser window to view the Master Clip column.
2 If there is a checkmark in the Master Clip column, the clip is a master clip.