-
How can you tell if a QT MOV is a reference movie or self contained?
Hi Everyone,
I was wondering if there was a quick and easy way to tell if a QT movie has been exported as a self contained movie or as a reference movie? I haven’t seen anything obvious in the info windows in QT or FCP other than file size, which can be misleading.
Thanks
Michaelle -
3 Replies
-
The only way to even get a clue is to look at the file size. If it is abnormally small, that should clue you in to the file being a reference file. It is for this very reason that I never create reference files, and I always advise people here to avoid them. When hard drives were cheap, reference drives were essential, now they’re just an accident waiting to happen.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
-
Move them to another machine. If they open, they are self contained.
File size is the key factor but if you open them in Quicktime and hit command-j to bring up the properties, then click the ‘resources’ tab, you will see were the media is stored. If it’s one location, it’s most likely self contained, if there’s a laundry list, it’s a reference.
Jeremy
-
Understood, thanks for the tips. Luckily, Final Cut Server knows when a clip is a reference file so that is at least one good thing about this.
thanks
Michaelle
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up