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XDCAM for Dummies
Hi, everyone… forgive me if this was covered in the 4700 other XDCAM posts. I’m working on my first XDCAM to FCP project, and I have one Basic Question (so far). I’ve been given a 2TB hard drive which contains duplicates of original XDCAM EX material (about 1TB worth). I’ve used XDCAM Transfer to log it. I know how to import it into FCP, but the Basic Question is, does this turn each clip into a .mov file for FCP, thereby duplicating the size of the clip on the hard drive (shot.mov and shot.mp4)? And if that’s the case, if I’m editing .mov files in FCP, can the XDCAM shots then be deleted from the 2TB drive, since they’re duplicates and exist somewhere else? Again, my apologies if this is so-obvious-it’s-stupid, but it’s also my first project on my own, after decades of having tech support down the hall. Thank you so much.
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4 Replies
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No, do not delete your clips! FCP is just referring to the master clip on the drive. It is not duplicating it. Clips in the FCP browser are just reading from the master clip. If you delete the clip in the browser the clip itself stays on the hard drive.
Apple Certified Master Pro FCS 2
Sony EX-3
MacBook Pro -
Thank you! So then I don’t have to worry about a compressed Easy Setup to save drive space, since I’m just reading what’s already on the drive? I choose the HD Easy Setup that matches the existing footage? (Apple XDCAM EX 1080p24) Again, many thanks, and especially for the speed of your reply.
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The fastest way to setup your sequence is to just drag a clip to the timeline. You will get a message asking if you want FCP to change the timeline settings to match your footage. Just say yes and it will make it match your footage. That way you don’t have any chance of choosing the wrong format in easy setup. Good luck.
Apple Certified Master Pro FCS 2
Sony EX-3
MacBook Pro -
I don’t think you understood what the OP was writing.
He has a BPAV folder(s) with the .mp4 clips copied from elsewhere.
He ran them through the XDCAM importer in FCP. This stitches all the (related) XDCAM clips into one .mov file. That is, let’s say you recorded an hour long speech on two 16gb SxS cards. You will have several clips of not quite 4gb in length. The importer stitches them into one .mov file, which is what you bring into FCP.
This .mov file is what FCP is working with. So yes, you do have 2x the hard drive space… one with the original BPAV folders with your original footage, and then the ‘stitched’ .mov files created by the XDCAM importer (as if HD footage isn’t already enough of a hard drive hog…).
So long as someone else has the BPAV folders safely stored, yes you can toss the BPAV files once you have imported them into FCP. FCP is not working with these files.
BUT. If it’s *your* footage, don’t ever throw away the BPAV folders and the files contained therein. At least, not if it’s important footage…
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