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Activity Forums Apple Final Cut Pro Editing feature-length movie — recommended project duration?

  • Editing feature-length movie — recommended project duration?

    Posted by Rob Garver on November 11, 2016 at 8:40 pm

    The film I’m editing will eventually be 90-120 minutes. Is is better for FCPX to break up the film
    into, say, 20-minute chunks, with 5 or six project containing the entire film?

    Does it slow FCPX down to have projects that are more than 20 minutes long?

    For those of you who have edited features before on FCPX, how have you handled this?

    Thanks very much. – Rob

    Rob Garver replied 9 years, 8 months ago 2 Members · 2 Replies
  • 2 Replies
  • Oliver Peters

    November 11, 2016 at 9:27 pm

    I’ve edited an entire feature film in FCPX as well as a number of dramatic shorts. Everything can definitely be in a single library. You can have the entire film in one timeline (project), but it gets unwieldy for active editing and adjustments. This is especially true if you start adding something like an adjustment layer with a LUT or a timecode or a title over the whole timeline.

    My strategy is to cut each scene as its own project. Then combine scenes into reels and then reels into a final timeline. I keep my working versions along the way. So I will have tons of projects (sequences) of varying lengths by the time I get done. Depending on how you mix, color grade and/or distribute, you might have to deliver in reels anyway.

    I would also recommend working in proxy media, using FCPX’s internal proxy function. Typically I’ll keep the original camera media external to the library, but generated proxies can be inside the library, if you like.

    – Oliver

    Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
    Orlando, FL
    http://www.oliverpeters.com

  • Rob Garver

    November 11, 2016 at 10:06 pm

    This is very helpful .. thank you, Oliver.

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