Final cut render problem

[Shane Ross]

I’m guessing, since you are new to this, that you are bringing in all sorts of Quicktime formats and just trying to edit them in FCP…without converting them to FCP edit friendly formats. Because if you drop a clip onto a sequence, and you need to render…there’s a problem. You should never have to render just to edit.

FCP is partially at fault here…for making it seem like you can do this. But you can’t, not without issues.

Step 1: Convert all footage to FCP edit friendly formats. For a list of those, look in the EASY SETUP menu (in the FCP drop down menu). THe most common format is ProRes 422. The footage must be the same frame rate as all the others, although frame size can vary. But when you convert footage, add that to the timeline, FCP will make the timeline match THAT footage. ANy footage you add that is different, FCP will ask that you render. Although if it is an FCP codec, you’ll get the GREEN render bar, meaning you can work with the footage without needing to render it.

My advice is to always learn the app you plan to use before diving in. YOu need to know how it works in order to work properly, and do things right. And…all of the above.

Shane
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Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Bill Merrick]

Hey thanks for the response, is there an easy way of converting the footage without having to pay for software? Pretty strange that you can’t use any format, is that one of apples cheeky schemes? I thought diving straight in was the best way to learn something like this but I must of been wrong!

[Shane Ross]

[Bill Merrick] “is there an easy way of converting the footage without having to pay for software?”

Compressor comes with FCP. It’s part of the Final Cut Studio package. It’s on the installer with FCP, Motion, Color, DVD Studio Pro, Cinema Tools and Soundtrack Pro.

[Bill Merrick] “Pretty strange that you can’t use any format, is that one of apples cheeky schemes?”

No. That’s the nature of a lot of editing software. Avid doesn’t work with any format either. They are designed as broadcast TV edit systems and DVD (well FCP 7 and earlier…now it has shifted more to include web). It and others are designed to work with many professional, and consumer level, camera formats. But not natively…as most of them are so highly compressed that they are unmanageable. Thus FCP requires that they be converted to an edit friendly format…ProRes.

If you want an edit system that edits any old thing, look at Sony Vegas on PC, and Adobe Premiere Pro on Mac and PC. But then you’ll have to have a beefy machine in terms of processor, RAM, graphics card in order to deal with these highly compressed formats.

[Bill Merrick] ” I thought diving straight in was the best way to learn something like this but I must of been wrong!”

Diving in IS the way, but you must learn how the application works. YOu need to read a few things, or watch a few tutorials to get the basics down.

Like the tapeless workflow with FCP:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhDnyWFAM10

Shameless plug, as this is my tutorial. But shows you how to work with most tapeless camera systems in FCP. I mean most, because a few FCP just doesn’t deal with, and also because FCP 7 was discontinued 2 years ago, but there are newer cameras…it might not work with the new cameras.

Shane
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Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

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[Bill Merrick]

Thanks again for the response, it’s really helpful. Yeah your going to facepalm even more at this but I don’t have compressor because I torrented final cut as money is a tough one atm, is there any other possible way to change formats? Can I import each clip into final cut then export it as a new format then just re import it?

Also came across this problem yesterday where I was working on a different video a few days ago and everything was fine with that and I started working on the new one. Now when I try to open the old one instead of just opening it up by itself it tries to load the old session into the new session timeline and I left it for 2 hours and it still hadn’t loaded, is that normal? Thanks for the tutorials, will have a browse through your selection.

[Bill Merrick]

Ignore the second half of what I just said, I just went back onto final cut a second ago and after hours faffing about yesterday, there was a tiny button which I had missed which sorted the problem. Think it’s time to look at a manual!

[Shane Ross]

[Bill Merrick] “Yeah your going to facepalm even more at this but I don’t have compressor because I torrented final cut as money is a tough one atm”

Yup…*facepalm*. But I knew you did that as soon as you asked how to get Compressor.

[Bill Merrick] ” is there any other possible way to change formats?”

MPEG streamclip. It’s free.

Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Tony Brittan]

Even though FCP 7 has been EOL’d, it’s still illegal to torrent the app. This is a professional (well, sometimes we may not act like it ) forum so it’s not a good idea to tell us that you’ve stolen the software.

Just sayin

Tony Brittan
Island Shore Productions
Kill Devil Hills, NC