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Can I get FCPX to link to Proxies created by Redcine-X?
Hello, this is my first post.
I got a project consisting of Red footage. I imported the raw files into FCPX, made selects, and then created proxy files just for the clips I intended to use in the edit. That alone took 24 hours to convert the footage, and it would have taken over 48 hours had I converted the entire project.
While working on the rough cut, I decided I wanted to incorporate some more content that was on footage not yet proxied. However, I didn’t want to have to stop working in FCPX and I wanted the files converted asap. Therefore, I used Redcine-X to convert about ten more clips at the same time as I continued working in FCPX.
The problem is, now I cannot get these Redcine-created proxy clips to be read by FCPX in proxy mode along w/ all the other proxy media. My guess is I have to go back to square one and have FCPX do the conversions, but just in case, is anyone aware of a workaround or some way to “trick” FCPX into accepting the Redcine-created Proxies in proxy mode?
** I have already tried moving the Red-created proxies into the Proxy Media folder, and it didn’t work.
Thanks!
Phil C.
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15 Replies
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Why use Proxy mode?
Just use regular mode. Do the edit, then relink to R3D in the end using RCX.
You can then send that relinked FCPXML back to Final Cut Pro.
Jeremy
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My computer can’t handle the raw Red files … it kept crashing.
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I assume you have the latest Red plugin?
Even so, just use the ProRes files in FCPX, and don’t use Proxy mode. Just use the regular full res mode.
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I didn’t create Regular ProRes files. I went straight from the native to proxy. Does it take less time to create regular ProRes?
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It doesn’t matter what codec files you made. If you made ProRes Proxy files, that’s cool.
Just don’t use the Proxy mode in FCPX. Use “Original/Optimized” mode and use the files you created from RCX to edit with.
You can reconnect to R3D later in the process.
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I’m having similar issues. I want to use the proxy files that were created by the RED camera. They are .mov files and the codec is Linear PCM, Apple ProRes 422 LT, cn32. I COULD import these directly into FCPX, but I want FCPX to recognize these as the Proxy media. For some reason, FCPX only recognizes Proxy files that it makes by itself. So if I use the RED-camera-created Proxy files, then how do I link back to the original full RED media at export?
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You could try simply relinking to the R3D files after you import the Red created Proxy files using FCPX.
Or you could send an FCPXML to Resolve or RedCineX and relink there, but those will be more difficult to do.
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Thank you Jeremy for these suggestions. The first one is the one I want to do. You wrote “simply relinking to the R3D files” but sadly I am not finding this so simple. The RED-created proxy file, a .mov file that is ProRes 422 LT, is viewed by FCPX on import as Original media. If I right click on the clip in either the browser or the timeline, there is no option to Relink. Under File menu it says Relink, but this OVERWRITES the proxy file directly in the browser and timeline which cannot be undone and then I no longer have RED-created proxy files to work with in the timeline. Plus, FCPX will batch reconnect all .mov files to .mov files but relinking .mov to R3D file would have to be manually attempted clip by clip, and on a timeline with 1000 clips that would be insane. So I’m stumped. I’ll go and read this long article next.
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[Jeremy Garchow] “You could try simply relinking to the R3D files after you import the Red created Proxy files using FCPX. Or you could try this” [proxy cheat using Finder aliases” method]
FCPX is not currently designed to use new proxies created outside the product. It’s not a matter of those being a certain format. The SQL tables inside CurrentVersion.fcpevent have pointers to the symlinks inside the library, which themselves point to the proxy files. Besides those internal pointers, those tables also contain data about the file to prevent a mis-match. This includes pixel aspect ratio, audio config and timecode. The SQL tables also seem to contain Primary/Foreign keys which tie together the rows corresponding to a given proxy and media file.
However even if your constructed proxies match the config data exactly, they will not match the internal pointers or the inter-table relational links, so those will never work. In fact the SQL rows corresponding to proxies will not exist, since FCPX never created any proxies. The proxy and media pointers apparently each consist of two independent locators, the file inode to the proxy file plus some method of locating the symlink — either another inode or a path pointer.
If the FCPX-created proxies (or media files) are relocated within the disk volume, renamed, or even if the symlinks inside the library are totally deleted, FCPX will successfully relink those and rebuild new symlinks based on an inode lookup. However that doesn’t help for new proxies created by external methods.
The reason the above “proxy cheat” works is there is evidently an undocumented backup method of relinking *existing* proxy references inside the library to FCPX-created external proxies. That method is triggered by copying Finder aliases (which are different from symlinks) inside the library. That in turn causes FCPX to scan those, read the path information from the alias, and build new symlinks. The library proxy folder will be left with two sets of pointers to each proxy file, the aliases you dragged in plus the FCPX-created symlinks. The new symlinks are disambiguated with an (fcp1) suffix. The “proxy cheat” method also can be unreliable — even for existing FCPX-created proxies, if those are relocated to a different-named hard drive.
Note: Finder calls both aliases and symlinks “aliases”, so this is confusing. In Finder easiest way to differentiate an alias from a symlink is do “Get Info”. If there is a “select new original” button it’s an alias. If not, it’s a symlink. In terminal ls-l will show the symlink path whereas an alias appears as a regular file.
There are ways to create proxies that satisfy the FCPX check for audio channels, aspect ratio, and timecode — articles have been written about that. However this requires that FCPX-created proxies once existed — either inside or outside the library. If those FCPX-created proxies never existed, there are no references inside SQL tables inside CurrentVersion.fcpevent, hence there is nothing to relink those proxies to.
Since the data store is based on SQLite and that on-disk file format is documented, you may wonder why can’t a SQL guru write an app to do this. It’s because the application-layer schema and data dictionary are totally undocumented. IOW what the column names and values mean. Inside FCPX, the programmatic interface to the underlying database is apparently an object-oriented “graph database” using Core Data, which in turn uses SQLite as the persistent data store. The SQL column names and values are generally not human-readable CHAR fields, but either complex descriptors or Binary Large Objects.
The bottom line is I don’t know of any way to use externally-created proxies when FCPX-created proxies never existed.
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I usually make Proxies though RCX (making sure to keep the same audio setting as R3D), and then I import that footage in to FCPX and just use the Original media method.
Then I select the clips I want to relink on the timeline, and relink to R3D, then export.
I can then relink to the ProRes movies for editing. It’s pretty seamless.
I do not use the Proxy switch in FCPX.
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