• Apple Final Cut Pro Legacy

  Any way to work with FCP 6 sequence in FCP 4.5?

  Posted by Alison Wolf on August 28, 2008 at 5:40 am

  I’m working in FCP 4.5 and was asked by client to pull in a sequence from another editor working in FCP 6.
  Anyway to get around upgrading to FCP 6 (I do have the software, but not the min. requirements!) I have a G4, 667 MHz, only 32 MB VRAM and 512MB of RAM. So to upgrade to FCP 6 I’d have to do the following:
  1. Increase CPU to 1.25GHz
  2. Install a new graphics card (ATI Radeon 9700 or better)
  3. Increase memory twofold to 1024MB
  4. Increase VRAM twofold to 64MB
  (And this is all I know about, there might be more?)

  Are these things possible? Easy to do? Inexpensive. IE, less expensive than buying a whole new machine?
  OR, is there some work around to enable me to open a consolidated cut from FCP 6 in 4.5?

  Zane Barker replied 18 years ago 3 Members · 2 Replies
• 2 Replies

• 

  Don Greening

  August 28, 2008 at 4:37 pm

  [Alison Wolf] “Are these things possible?”

  Probably.

  [Alison Wolf] “Easy to do?”

  Relatively. It depends on parts availability. Your machine is old by today’s standards.

  [Alison Wolf] ” Inexpensive. IE, less expensive than buying a whole new machine?”

  Probably not. For example, the RAM for your G4 is quite pricey compared to newer machines. You’d be much better off, price-wise, to find a newer refurbished G5 or early Mac Pro.

  [Alison Wolf] ” is there some work around to enable me to open a consolidated cut from FCP 6 in 4.5?”

  Have your client send you an XML file of the FCP v.6 project. This file is basically a text file that will tell your version of FCP how to display the timeline. I’m not even sure if FCP 4.5 was able to read XML files but I know for sure you could with FCP v.5. Even if you can open an XML file with your version you still need the referenced media to make it all work. The other way is to have your client send you a self-contained QT movie of the edit in a codec your G4 can work with,

  – Don
• 

  Zane Barker

  August 29, 2008 at 6:26 am

  [Don Greening] “Have your client send you an XML file of the FCP v.6 project. “

  XML’s can be the solution, but you also need to make sure that the format of video they are editing is supported by your old version of FCP. HDV and ProRes for example cannot be edited by FCP 4.5

  There are no “technical solutions” to your “artistic problems”.
  Don’t let technology get in the way of your creativity!

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