Premiere Pro CS6 Project Manager gives error & will not manage project - OS X Lion 10.7.5

[Athentikos]

Premiere CS6 project manager reports  an error and will not manage my project. I have tried several times with both "Create New Trimmed Project" and " Collect Files and Copy to New Location". I have also tried to manage the project with options checked and unchecked (Include Preview Files, Include Audio Conform Files, Rename Media Files to Match Clip Names). Every time I try to manage the project, the process takes a few hours and then gives an error asking me to try again.

The project is 90 minutes long and uses multiple footage formats:

Sony FS100

Sony NEX7

Sony NEX-5n

Canon C300

Canon 5DmkII

Panazonic HVX200

My computer is:

Processor  2 x 2.66 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon

Memory  12 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

Graphics  ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024 MB

Software  Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 (11G63)

Is this a bug, or are there specific things I can do to troubleshoot the problem? I have read of issues with AVCHD. I have confirmed all of my AVCHD folders are intact. Any other Ideas?

THANKS!

[excited_Genie16B8]

Honestly, I'd advise you to skip this feature.  File management is best done using a proper File Manager (like Finder), not an NLE.

[Athentikos]

1. Is there a better way to use the finder than to select each file and choose "reveal in finder" and then manually copy each file? This is a feature length documentary with 5 TB / 485 hours of source footage edited down to 90 minutes.

2. Is there a way to parse an exported XML file to disply just the file paths of all the files used in the project? Then I could use automator to copy the files.

THANKS!

[excited_Genie16B8]

First I'd ask why are you copying the files?

[Athentikos]

To send the project to a colleague to color and also to archive the project with only the files used in the edit. Side note - when I try to send the sequence to Adobe Speed Grade, it also reports an error.

[excited_Genie16B8]

only the files used in the edit.

That's the part I'd recommend against.  Keep all files in all folders intact and unaltered.

[Athentikos]

I appreciate your warning against it, but I have 485 hours / 5 TB of source footage that I edited down to 90 minutes. I do not need to archive all 485 hours of footage with the project file. I keep that separate in my media library.

Again, I appreciate the sentiment of your warning and appreciate your prompt reply. But, there is either a bug in Premiere, or something else is causing the error, because Adobe clearly presents project management as a feature of Adobe Premiere. If this feature is not functional, then Adobe shouldn't promote it.

Since I have a need to manage my media and cannot do it through Adobe Premiere, is there a way to pull a list us files used int he project either through parsing XML or some other alternative?

Thanks for your help.

[SimonHy]

If it's a corruption in your project that's causing it, you could try opening a new project and then importing just your master sequence into it. Hopefully whatever is causing the issue won't come through and you might find that you're then able to do a project manage from the new project. That's what I'd try anyway.

I honestly think advising people not to use Project Manager is misguided. It's an essential feature. There's a whole bunch of professional workflows that aren't possible without it.

I have heard of people cracking open the project file with a text editor to find the links to all the media, but have no experience with such myself. Hope you manage to get something worked out.

[Athentikos]

Simon,

Thanks for your reply. I have imported the sequence into a new project and am still not able to manage the project. Project management has always been a part of my workflow. I edited on FCP for the last 10 years and made the switch last year to Premiere CS6 because I was using new AVCHD cameras ... and Apple crippled FCP in my opinion. But it seems that project management is different in Premiere than FCP.

It seems that if I am not able to manage the project with Premiere, then my next best bet is to figure out a way to parse the XML file and use automator to copy the footage used in the sequence to a managed project directory. But, I would prefer that Premiere do what it is supposed to do ...

[Kevin-Monahan]

What exactly does the warning say?

FYI: the Project Manager won't trim Long GOP footage, like the 5D footage. That is a limitation of the Project Manager. Are following all the recommendations from the Help article?  Trim or copy your project.

Also, check out the video tutorials at the bottom of the Help page for more details.

[Athentikos]

The error says that Premiere encountered an error and to try again. I have tried this with varaitions on all the options - turning them on and off on different attempts to manage the project. In my last attempt, I was simply trying to copy the files to a new location with no hadles, no name change.

Can Premiere manage AVCHD files from Sony FS100 and the like?

[LocationImages]

I'm having the exact same problem on 2 different machines.  Media Manager was an essential part of our archive process when we were using FCP.  To move a project onto a different drive, that you can return to any time and not have to search to reconnect media and that only has a fraction of the media footprint of the original project is incredibly important for us.  All of our raw media is saved somewhere else, but the point is that the final show is saved with only the media associated with it in a different location for storage sake.  I've been fully on board with a lot of the Adobe features, but this issue really hurts our process.  And the fact that the feature sits there taunting us makes it hurt a little more.  I can't even figure out a good workaround.  Please fix this feature.

[Athentikos]

Kevin,

I'm not trimming the project files. I am only trying to copy the files used to a new location. I have created 2 new project and imported the sequence from the old project that I need to manage. I tried to manage the project several times with no success. I stripped the project of subtitles and the project management went further before it crashed, but it still ended up reporting the same error message:

"An unknown error occurred during the Project manager operation. Please save your project and retry the operation."

Is this issue something that Adobe is working to fix? If so, can you provide an eta of the fix?

Thanks for your help,

Scott

[Kevin-Monahan]

I did a Collect and Copy function for a number of different projects and footage types and the Project Manager seems to be working fine for that. Again, it won't trim Long GOP footage, but should be able to manage it otherwise. You might try it on clips using a different codec to see if the functionality of the Project Manager is broken or the footage is the problem.

If you are still having trouble, please file a bug report: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish

[Guest]

It doesn't work for me either in long projects.  I narrowed it down in my project to MXF files from a Canon XF300 by breaking out my different sources into different timelines.  Other sources (5dMKIII, AE Renders, QT transcodes) work.  MXF files do not, giving same error as OP.  Filing a bug report.

EDIT: Should have specified I'm doing the "collect and copy" function.  Not attempting a trim which I know doesn't work.  I have to resort to hand copying files from their original reel folders, which is a pain.

[Filmhooligan8]

New problems that have come up outside of unknown errors:

• The trim goes through ok, but then when opening the trimmed project, there are \\\\\ lines through the footage, making it black in the program and     nonexistent audio. There is no pattern to it, part of the clip will be fine and the other part is basically non-existent. Check Enable, locking and all that it's     not any of those. Some of it happens to Pro Res LT footage, and some to the XDCAM EX 35mb/s footage, so it's not codec specific.

• Project manager says that there isn't enough space to trim to on a volume, but the original project is under 1.2, and the drive I'm trimming to is 2 TB, so the     project is getting bigger, not smaller.

• In some trims, the clips aren't actually trimming. I'm getting the trimmed clips, as well as the raw source, significantly increasing my project size. This happens with all Pro Res LT footage.

Kevin do you or does anyone else have any suggestions?

[kevinbf]

I think the issue is the C300 footage. We've not been able to use the Project Manager with any project that contains footage from our C300. P2, AVCHD, other formats seem to work fine. Love for this to get fixed as it would help us archive our projects much more effectively.

[Mathias - Troika]

Hello Kevin.

The this doesn't solve the problem when Canon MXF files is involved (As C300 in files) Adobe really need to fix this - An actually I would say - as I migrate form FCP - that Adobe needs to get the core functions in Premiere 100% solid before new features is introduced. I would pay a full update price - If just CS 7.0 will be functioning as Cs 6.0 was supposed to.

[bramity]

Archiving projects with only the files used in the edit is a fairly common practice. I always keep a raw copy of everything tucked away on a hard drive that ends up in a closet, but also keep project managed versions of my projects on a hard drive that is always attached to my work station. Plus there is always the issue of handing the file off to another editor or motion effects person or colorist.

Anyway, point being, rather than criticize someone else's workflow, either provide a solution or keep your mouth shut.

[Guest]

I too am having this problem. I have a 45 min project and have tried 5 times to media manage. It always fails and kills the program. I'm using Sony XDEX .mp4 files mainly with some ProRes files as well. Also some GoPro video. I also used to use FCP and this is a must in my workflow. If there is a fix, I would love to find out as much as you!   Hopefully they will find a fox for this. I intend on calling them Monday morning to get a human to see the problem with me.

Good luck!

[Filmhooligan8]

Also having the same issue. Just upgraded to CS6, running OSX 10.8.2. The project has 2TB worth of video and stills, and Project Manager will run for ~2 hours and then give the "Unknown Error Occured, please save your project and then try again." This has happened 3 times now. Attempting to manage 10 sequences, which have 3 streams of 1080 Pro Res LT, but XDCAM footage that is imported, but not used in the timeline. When I Calculate the size, it actually increases the resulting project size by ~500GB.

Has anyone had any luck in figuring out this problem?

Justin

[JimmyFunGuy9]

Wow, I just got back from NAB 2013 and met with the Adobe staffers and told me to simply use the Project Manager+Collect Files so I can move my project to a bigger and faster machine to complete the task. Like the others in this section, here, I cannot copy the files manually one by one as it is nearly an hour long, with numerous files and formats. I get the same errors as the other posters and I'm told to try again. What???? This is a feature?  We need a fix now. It worked fine in Final Cut Pro and I am not going to start all over and cut this on FCP 7. I came back from NAB ready to finish this task and that simple commnad craps out? I do realize that a small minority of users actually write in. I guess this is ready for a recall. Fix this!

[Mathias - Troika]

Adobe definately need to fix this promtly. The Project Management function is absolutly crucial for pro workflows! And Canon MXF is a widely used format. Adobe - you got a fix it!

[dsfsdsdfsdffdsf]

I'm having a similiar problem managing a current project. As part of the job scope I need to hand over rushes to the client. I've cleaned my shots up and attempt to copy the trimmed timelines into a new folder and get the same error (Premiere has encountered an error, will close now..), regardless of whether I'm reducing or just copying the media. Material is a mixture of 60D and Sony FS700 both in native form, so there is some long GOP material in there but I still don't understand why it crashes when I simply try and copy.

My workaround to meet this deadline is to individually nest each clip in the timeline then send the nests as a batch through AME. A little tedious, but it has to be done somehow..

[kevinbf]

To be clear from my post above I was only trying to "collect and copy" the entire project, not trim the clips, as I knew there were issues with that. Really need this to work for archiving and transferring projects.