Can’t import optimized media

[Bret Williams]

Where are you seeing the transcoded/imported file? Is it a .mov, but still an h264? If so then it’s probably a format that X considers natively supported and it won’t optimize because there would be no benefit. X just rewrapped it as a QuickTime. That doesn’t help your situation of course. What about MPEG stream clip or resolve, etc.?

[Richard Jordan]

I’m importing the files to an external hard disk. Yes, they are .mov with H.264 codec, definitely not ProRes 422. I can individually convert each file to ProRes 422 with Compressor, though the quality goes down. However the point is that I understand that FCPX can import media as ProRes 422, but for me it doesn’t !

Richard Jordan

[Bret Williams]

There’s no reason the quality should go down with Compressor. That’s odd. It’s certainly physically impossible for it to go up.

X doesn’t have the ability to convert all files to ProRes as I mentioned. Formats that are considered natively supported still need to be rewrapped, but it won’t convert to ProRes. Apple knows best, right? 🙂

You can always right click on the clip in the event (bin) and see what your transcoding options are. Choose transcode media. If “optimize” is is greyed out, then it’s either already created a ProRes 422 file, or it won’t because it considers the format optimized.

[Andy Neil]

Also, make sure you’re looking in the right place for the ProRes media. If FCPX transcoded the clips (which as Bret says won’t happen if X considers it a native file) they would be inside the Library in the Transcoded Media/High Quality Media folder, not in the Original Files folder.

Andy

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107277729326633563425/videos

[Richard Jordan]

I’ve just read a white paper on managing media in libraries:
https://images.apple.com/final-cut-pro/docs/Media_Management.pdf
and decided to switch from saving the clips separately on an external media to saving them as managed media. Now things have become clearer; the Original Media folder contains the H.264 files and the Transcoded Media folder contains the Apple ProRes 422.

My original plan was to capture the Panasonic AC8 footage with FCPX and edit the whole project on FCP7, but I guess it’s time to take the plunge and learn the new version. 🙂

Thanks Bret and Andy for the support.

Richard Jordan

[Bret Williams]

Not to confuse a newbie, but more and more the benefits of externally managed media are becoming the choice for many. You can share media between libraries (projects) without having to duplicate the files. Not just between your own projects(libraries), but with other users too. It’s simpler to browse and manipulate files in the finder too. I can render After Effects right to the externally managed folder and forget about it. And a keystroke can always consolidate them into the managed library.

If you’re looking to learn X, the best way is to watch a couple of the simple workflow tutorials and then jump into a project that isn’t on a huge deadline with a client watching over your shoulder. 🙂

[Bill Davis]

Then welcome to FCP-X!

Best advice I can give you. Do NOT come to X with the mindset of “let me figure out how to do all the stuff I did in Legacy – but now in X.”

That makes learning X needlessly difficult.

X is different. It’s workflow and functions are fundamentally different – EVEN if (perhaps especially if) it LOOKS like you’re doing the same functions you did in legacy.

When I teach X, I start with import – spend a LOT of time on teaching new users the database system – and only THEN do we ever move into the storylines. If you jump directly into storyline editing without understanding the “front end” functions, you’ll waste a LOT of time paddling upstream against rapids you could have avoided if you simply learned to navigate the river by understanding the flow in the first place.

Good luck.

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