FCP App is now a Massive half TB size

[Terry Flaxton]

PS – I know about moving library elsewhere – so I’m asking what protocol or route do I take to do this so that I don’t lose anything – plus, what do I then do to get rid of everything from the original location. I.E. give me a point by point if you can – thanks in advance for giving time foto someone who should really have read up on this before starting (my issue is exacerbated because everything I do is 4k and soon to work in 8k (and does anyone know how high the internal architecture can go in resolution terms and whether Rec 2020 can be used?)

Made my first video in 1976, A long term programme maker, DP, editing etc – changing with AR/VR/MR media –

[Mark Suszko]

I don’t think the app itself is that big, but you may be storing the libraries and raw media and renders in the same folder/partition as the application, and if you always set your projects up to ingest the footage and make an independent copy of it in the library to work from, and keep all your renders in there as well… then yeah, you’re going to eat up space. Fast.

So, I’m not an expert in FCPX, but how I do things is, the library files and raw footage and renders are all kept in a RAID drive, apart from the system drive. When I work on a new job, I create a new library for it. Before that, though, I make a new folder in the RAID drive and transfer the contents of my P2 cards to that folder. If something should then happen with the P2 card or links to it, it won’t affect me. (The only times I seem to have trouble in FCPX are times I have ignored this procedure and worked direct off the cards, go figure).

In the preferences settings for imports, you can choose to work with the files in their current location, ( in my case, on the RAID) or copy those files to the Library. If you copy the files to the library, that’s safe and performance is good, because whatever happens to the media elsewhere, say, on a memory card, you still have it all, and the RAID will run faster and smoother than working directly with the P2 card or SDHC cards… But, you’ve doubled the amount of media in storage.

I think hard on each job about how much I need to have a safety copy of the footage in the library, versus leaving the original files in place and working directly from them. For many of my jobs, the redundancy is not needed after the master has been rendered out and archived.

From time to time I go thru the folders on the RAID and purge old raw footage folders and libraries that are no longer of use, to reclaim drive space. Typically I get back 2 to 3 terrabytes during these “house cleaning” periods.

[Terry Flaxton]

Thanks Mark – I allowed myself some luxurious stupidity. I’ve taken far too long learning this system because FCPStudio was good up to HD. Premier always struck me as clunky compared with FCP Studio – I never liked Avid nor any of the sub editing systems. I then dabbled with 4k until now but it’s become pressing with 8k on the horizon. FCPX is far more powerful than FCP probably because it uses all cores, the architecture is not limited and soon everything will be 10 bit at least (I can’t stand 8 bit solarised skies) and next up rec 2020 and ACES…

So thanks for taking the time to respond.

I’ve start doing what you’re suggesting – and have a full mind (as I always did with FCP) as to storage, recognise the units that make up FCPX and as of right now I’ve moved all files into another drive and optimised and consolidated…

Thanks again – Terry

Made my first video in 1976, A long term programme maker, DP, editing etc – changing with AR/VR/MR media –

[Jeff Kirkland]

Also it pays to tell FCPX to delete unused render files in each project from time to time. Easy to forget and probably the number one cause of bloat in libraries.

—-
Jeff Kirkland | Video Producer & Cinematographer
Hobart, Tasmania | Twitter: @jeffkirkland

[Terry Flaxton]

Thanks! I’ll take this all on board – still a newbie after editing for 40 years 🙂

Made my first video in 1976, A long term programme maker, DP, editing etc – changing with AR/VR/MR media –

[Patrick Donegan]

One thing I would recommend is to use to run through your hard drive
and see where all the large files and folders are located.

FCP X 10.2.3 – user since FCP 1.25
iMac mid 2011, MBA mid 2012
iPhone 4
HVX-200, Shure wireless mic
Miller Solo tripod
Advanta-Jib

[Bill Rabkin]

You might want to take a look at Final Cut Library Manager, from Arctic Whiteness (https://www.arcticwhiteness.com/finalcutlibrarymanager/). This nifty utility lists all of your FCPX Libraries in a single window. For each, it shows (among other things) the total size and the size of Optimized, Proxy, and Render files within that library. You can selectively delete any of these that you no longer need, to reclaim the disk space.

I’ve used FCLM for years. It has helped me to get more FCPX work done without running out of disk space.

Bill
FCPX 10.4
iMac 27″ 2017
macOS 10.12.6