Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.1.2 User Guide

							 Chapter 14    Manage media, libraries, and ar chives 4 21
For information about using optimized or proxy media for playback, see Control playback quality 
and performance
 on page 85. For more general information about optimized and proxy media, 
see Manage optimized and proxy media files
 on page 425 .
Locate source media files
You can locate the source media file (on the hard disk) for any clip in your library. 
Locate the source media file for an event clip
 1 If you don’t see the Libraries list, click the button at the bottom-left corner of the Browser.
 2 In the Libraries list, select the event that contains the clip. 
 3 Select the clip in the Browser.
 4 Choose File > Reveal in Finder (or press Shift-Command-R).
A Finder window opens, with the source media file selected. 
You can also quickly find the source event clip for any clip in the Timeline. For more information, 
see Find a Timeline clip’s source clip
 on page 11 6.
Relink clips to media files
In Final Cut Pro, clips represent your media, but they are not the media files themselves. 
Final Cut Pro keeps track of the links between clips and media files automatically. However, there 
are times when you need to manually relink clips to media files.
One common scenario that requires relinking is when files are altered or re-created outside of 
your copy of Final Cut Pro. For example, if you send files out for color correction, you may need to 
relink the clips in your event to the color-corrected versions of the files when you receive them.
Another case requiring manual relinking is missing media files. For example, if you move or 
rename externally linked files in the Finder, or you move an event or a project to a different 
location, you need to relink the event or project clips (which appear as red frames with yellow 
alert triangles) to the files.
In either case, manually relinking connects the clips in Final Cut Pro to the correct files on your 
hard disk. Metadata in the relinked clips remains unchanged.
The new (relinked) files can have a different resolution and codec than the original files, but 
they must be the same media type. (In other words, you can’t relink a video clip to an audio file.) 
Relinked files must also have the same frame rate and similar audio channels as the original files.
The new (relinked) files can also be trimmed versions of the original files, but they must be long 
enough to cover all the clips that refer to the files.
When you relink clips to media files on your hard disk, all instances of the clips in the current 
library (including those in other projects or events) are updated to link to the new media files. In 
other words, if you used a clip in multiple projects or events, each of those projects and events is 
relinked to the new media file. 
Note:  You cannot undo the Relink Files command. 
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Relink clips to media files
 1 Do one of the following:
 •In the Browser or the Timeline, select the clips or the projects containing the clips you want 
to relink.
 •In the Libraries list, select an event or an entire library containing the clips you want to relink.
 •In the Timeline, select the clips you want to relink.
 2 Choose File > Relink Files.
The Relink Files window appears. By default, this window shows missing clips or events only.
 3 If you want to show all items in the selection, select All.
 4 Do one of the following:
 •To locate all the matching files: Click Locate All. 
 •To locate some of the matching files: Select items in the list and click Locate Selected. 
 5 In the window that appears, navigate to one of the files you want to link to, or to the folder that 
contains it.
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Text at the bottom of the window indicates how many potential matches to items in your 
original list were found (based on the filenames only).
Text indicates how many 
matches were found.
Note:  Final Cut Pro identifies matches based on proximity in the directory structure and related 
filenames. For example, if your original files were in two adjacent folders, Final Cut Pro looks in 
folders adjacent to the folder containing the file you chose and relinks all matching files in the 
relative path. If your original files were named “File1,” “File2,” “File3,” and so on, and you chose to 
relink to a file named “File1_A,” Final Cut Pro looks for files named “File2_A,” “File3_A,” and so on 
to relink the remaining items in your list.
 6 Click Choose.
Final Cut Pro analyzes the files to confirm that all attributes (in addition to the filename) match 
items in the original selection. Analysis results are shown below the Original Files list (for 
example, “3 of 3 files matched”). 
 7 Click the disclosure triangle next to the analysis results to show a list of old files (on the left) and 
the new matching files (on the right).
If a file was matched incorrectly, select it in the list and press Delete. The item is placed back in 
the original list at the top of the Relink Files window.
Items with no matches remain in the original list above. You can continue to locate those by 
selecting them and repeating steps 4 through 6.
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 8 To link the event clips to the new media files, click Relink Files.
All matched clips (including those in other projects or events) are updated to link to the new 
media files.
Consolidate projects, events, and libraries
In the course of creating a project, you might use media files from a variety of locations, 
including your local computer and external storage devices. If the media used in a project, an 
event, or a library is located in multiple folders or on multiple hard disks, you can consolidate all 
the media in one location (on one storage device). This process facilitates archiving and makes it 
easier for others to access the media (using shared storage, for example).
The consolidate command places the files in the current library storage location. You view and 
set storage locations for media, cache files, and library backup files using the Library Properties 
inspector. For more information, see Manage storage locations
 on page 434.
The Consolidate command follows these rules:
 •When you consolidate files out of a library to an external folder, the files are moved.
 •When you consolidate files into  a library from an external folder, or from an external folder to 
another external folder, the files are copied.
These rules prevent broken links from other libraries.
Note:  If the media is already external, and no other libraries are using it, you can manually delete 
the original media after consolidating to save storage space.
Collect the source media files for a library, an event, or a project in one location
 1 If you don’t see the Libraries list, click the button at the bottom-left corner of the Browser.
 2 To select files to consolidate, do one of the following:
 •Select a library in the Libraries list.
 •Select one or more events in the Libraries list.
 •Select an event in the Libraries list, and then select one or more projects in the Browser.
 3 Choose File > Consolidate [item].
 4 In the window tha t appears, confirm the library to consolidate the files into. 
 5 If you want to include optimized and proxy media, select the checkboxes in the window 
that appears.
 6 Click OK.
Final Cut Pro copies the media into the current library storage location. To view or change library 
storage locations, see Manage storage locations on page 434.
If a message appears stating that there is nothing to consolidate, all of your media files are 
already consolidated at one location, on one storage device.
Note:  If you have customized any Final Cut Pro effects, transitions, titles, generators, or themes, 
you must manually back up and move the Motion Templates folder located in your Movies 
folder. Similarly, you must manually track and move any third-party effects, because they are not 
managed within the Final Cut Pro library.
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Back up projects, events, and libraries
Backing up your work and your media consistently is an essential part of your workflow. Some 
people back up daily or weekly; others back up when a project is complete. To protect your 
media, it’s recommended that you back up to a storage device or partition different from the one 
where you store the media files used with Final Cut Pro.
Final Cut Pro provides both automatic and manual tools that let you:
 •Back up projects, events, and libraries manually. See Copy or move items between libraries and 
hard disks
 on page 432.
 •Enable automatic backups of the database portion of Final Cut Pro libraries. See Restore a 
library from automatic backups
 on page 76 and Manage storage locations on page 434.
 •Back up projects by duplicating them as snapshots. See Duplicate projects and clips on 
page 64 .
 •Collect the source media files for a library, event, or project in one location. See Consolidate 
projects, events, and libraries
 on page 424 .
Important:  When you import media into Final Cut Pro, you can select the “Leave files in place” 
option to link to the files in their current location rather than copy them into the library. In that 
case, Final Cut Pro creates symbolic links (also known as symlinks), which are special files that 
point to the media files. When you copy or move clips between events, Final Cut Pro copies or 
moves the symbolic links only (not the source media files). To replace the symbolic links with the 
actual source media files, select the events and choose File > Consolidate Event Files. For more 
information about files and clips, see Media files and clips
 on page 22.
Note:  If you have customized any Final Cut Pro effects, transitions, titles, generators, or themes, 
you must manually back up and move the Motion Templates folder located in your Movies 
folder. Similarly, you must manually track and move any third-party effects, because they are not 
managed within the Final Cut Pro library.
Manage optimized and proxy media files
Final Cut Pro can play back many media formats. For a complete list, see Supported media 
formats
 on page 46. Final Cut Pro also provides options for transcoding your media (converting it 
to a different format or changing its settings) to make it suitable for editing.
 •Create optimized media: This option transcodes video to the Apple ProRes 422 codec format, 
which provides better performance during editing, faster render times, and better color quality 
for compositing. If the original camera format can be edited with good performance, this 
option is dimmed.
 •Create proxy media: This option creates video and still-image proxy files. Video is transcoded to 
the Apple ProRes 422 Proxy codec format, which provides high-quality files useful for offline 
editing at the original frame size, frame rate, and aspect ratio. Final Cut Pro creates medium-
quality (one-half resolution) proxy versions that increase editing performance. Video proxy 
files often take up considerably less storage space than optimized files, which can allow you to 
work on a portable computer instead of a desktop computer with significantly more memory 
and processing power. Still images are transcoded to either JPEG (if the original file doesn’t 
have alpha channel information) or PNG files (if the file has alpha channel information). 
Still-image proxy files facilitate faster processing and rendering when the original image is 
very large.
Note:  For better import and playback performance, Final Cut Pro automatically transcodes 
all MP3 audio files to WAV audio files. When transcoding files, Final Cut Pro always retains the 
original media for future use.
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You can create optimized and proxy media during the import process or in the Browser, after the 
media has been imported. You can also create a proxy file for a clip using the Info inspector. After 
transcoding is complete, the optimized and proxy files are stored in your Final Cut Pro library or 
in an external location you define in the Library inspector. For more information, see  Manage 
storage locations
 on page 434.
To control whether Final Cut Pro displays optimized, proxy, or original media in the Viewer, and 
whether video playback is optimized for quality or performance, choose the corresponding 
options from the Viewer Options pop-up menu in the upper-right corner of the Viewer. For more 
information, see Control playback quality and performance
 on page 85 .
Important:  If you use proxy media for playback, make sure to switch back to optimized/original 
media before sharing your project. This ensures the highest quality in the exported file. For more 
information, see Share projects, clips, and ranges
 on page 400. 
Create optimized and proxy files during import
During import, Final Cut Pro either creates an alias file that points to the media file in its original 
location, or creates a copy of the original media file. After the files are imported, transcoding, 
optimization, and analysis are performed in the background.
 1 Do one of the following:
 •To import a file from a compatible file-based recording or storage device, or from your computer: 
Connect your device to your computer, turn it on, choose File > Import > Media (or press 
Command-I), navigate to and select the media you want to import, and click Import.
 •To import a file from a tape-based camcorder: Connect your device to your computer, turn 
on the device, and set it to VTR or VCR mode. Then choose File > Import > Media, and 
click Import.
 •To import from an archive: Choose File > Import > Media. Select a camera archive from the list 
on the left, click Open Archive and navigate to the files you want to import, and click Import.
For more information, see Importing overview
 on page 23 .
 2 In the window tha t appears, choose how you want to organize the imported media in your 
library:
 •To add the imported media to an existing event: Select “Add to existing event,” and choose the 
event from the pop-up menu.
 •To create a new event: Select “Create new event in,” use the pop-up menu to choose the library 
in which you want to create the event, and then type a name (for example, “Chris and Kim 
Wedding”) in the text field.
To learn more about events, see Organizing libraries overview
 on page 56.
 3 Choose a storage location for the media files:
 •To copy the files to the current library: Select “Copy to library” to duplicate the files and place the 
copies in the current library storage location. You can set storage locations for each of your 
libraries using the Library Properties inspector. For more information, see  Manage storage 
locations
 on page 434.
 •To link to the files at their current location: Select “Leave files in place.”
Note:  If you select this option, Final Cut Pro creates symbolic links (also known as symlinks), 
which are special files that point to the media files. If you later copy or move clips between 
events, Final Cut Pro copies or moves the symbolic links only (not the source media files). To 
replace the symbolic links with the actual source media files, select the events and choose 
File > Consolidate Event Files. For more information about files and clips, see Media files and 
clips
 on page 22 .
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 4 Select one or both of the transcoding options.
Final Cut Pro will transcode the files in the background, after the import process is complete.
 5 Click Import.
The import may take a while, depending on the option you selected in step 3. You can see the 
status of all the background processes currently running in the Background Tasks window.
Create optimized and proxy files after import
 1 Control-click one or more clips in the Browser and choose Transcode Media from the 
shortcut menu.
 2 In the window that appears, select the “Create optimized media” checkbox, the “Create proxy 
media” checkbox, or both, and click OK.
Note:  If the original camera format can be edited with good performance, the “Create optimized 
media” option is dimmed.
The transcoding process may take a while, depending on the options you select. You can see the 
status of all the background processes currently running in the Background Tasks window.
Note:  MP3 audio files from projects created with versions of Final Cut Pro earlier than 10.0.4 can 
be manually transcoded to WAV audio files using this process.
Create optimized and proxy files when importing by dragging
When you drag media from the Finder into an event or the Timeline in Final Cut Pro, it is 
automatically organized, transcoded, and analyzed based on the import settings that you specify 
in Final Cut Pro preferences.
 1 To specify import settings, choose Final C ut P ro > Preferences, click Import, and select the import 
settings you want to apply to your media.
For detailed information about import settings, see Import preferences
 on page 444.
 2 To import one or more files, select a file (or Command-click multiple files) in the Finder and drag 
the selection to the Timeline or to an event in the Libraries list.
Generate a proxy file from the Info inspector
You can create a proxy file for a clip using the Info inspector. You can check to see whether a 
proxy file exists for a clip by viewing the clip’s information in the Info inspector. If the file you’re 
viewing in the Info inspector doesn’t have a proxy file, you see a red triangle.
If a proxy has not been 
created for a clip, a red 
triangle is shown.
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 1 Select a clip in the Browser.
 2 To open the Info inspector, click the Inspector button in the toolbar (shown below), and click the 
Info button at the top of the pane that appears.
 3 Scroll down to the File Information section of the Info inspector, and click the Generate 
Proxy button.
The proxy file is created, and a green circle appears next to the proxy item in the Available Media 
Representations section, indicating that the proxy file for the clip is available.
To control whether Final Cut Pro displays the proxy media in the Viewer, choose an option from 
the Viewer Options pop-up menu in the upper-right corner of the Viewer. For more information, 
see Control playback quality and performance
 on page 85.
Delete optimized or proxy files
You can delete optimized or proxy media files at any time, no matter where they are stored. 
Original media files are not deleted, so you can always regenerate optimized and proxy files from 
the original media.
 1 Do one of the following:
 •To delete optimized or proxy files for one or more projects: In the Browser, select one or 
more projects.
 •To delete optimized or proxy files for one or more events: In the Libraries list, select one or more 
events in the same library.
 •To delete optimized or proxy files for a library: Select a library in the Libraries list.
 2 Choose File > D elete Generated [item] Files.
 3 In the window tha t appears, select any of the following:
 •Delete Optimized Media
 •Delete Proxy Media
 4 Click OK.
The selected files are deleted from your storage device.
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Note:  The Delete Generated Library Files command is unique among media management 
commands in Final Cut Pro in that it affects external media as well as managed media (in the library).
Manage render files
Rendering is the process of creating temporary video and audio render files for segments of your 
project that Final Cut Pro cannot play in real time. When you add effects, transitions, generators, 
titles, and other items, they require rendering before you can play them back at high quality.
In the Timeline, an orange render indicator appears above clips that need rendering.
Render indicator
By default, background rendering begins 5 seconds after you stop working and moving the 
pointer in Final Cut Pro, and it continues while you work in a different application. You can 
turn off background rendering or adjust this setting in Final Cut Pro preferences. You can also 
manually start rendering for a project or a portion of a project.
Render files are stored in your Final Cut Pro library or in an external location you define in the 
Library inspector. For more information, see Manage storage locations on page 434.
Over time, render files can accumulate and take up storage space. If you want to free up storage 
space, you can either delete unused render files in selected events or delete all of the render 
files for selected projects or events. You can also delete all render files for a given library. Original 
media files are not deleted, so you can always regenerate render files from the original media.
Render all or part of a project
In the Timeline, areas of your project that need rendering have an orange render indicator.
Do one of the following:
 m To render a portion of your project: In the Timeline, select the clip or clips that you want to render 
and choose Modify > Render Selection (or press Control-R).
Note:  The selection must be a clip selection, not a range selection.
 mTo render all portions of your project that need rendering: Choose Modify > Render All (or press 
Control-Shift-R).
Final Cut Pro renders the portions of the project that you defined and removes the 
corresponding orange render indicator. You can view the progress of rendering in the 
Background Tasks window. 
Delete project render files
 1 Select one or more projects in the Browser.
 2 Choose File > D elete Generated Project Files.
 3 In the window tha t appears, select Delete Render Files and click OK.
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Delete event render files
 1 In the Libraries list, select one or more events in the same library.
 2 Choose File > Delete Generated Event Files.
 3 In the window tha t appears, select Delete Render Files.
 4 Select whether to delete unused render files or all render files, and click OK.
Note:  If you choose to delete all render files in an event, any project render files in that event are 
also deleted.
Delete render files from a library
 1 Select a library in the Libraries list.
 2 Choose File > D elete Generated Library Files.
 3 In the window tha t appears, select Delete Render Files.
 4 Select whether to delete unused render files or all render files, and click OK.
View background tasks
Many Final Cut Pro tasks take place in the background:
 •Importing
 •Transcoding
 •Video and audio optimization and analysis
 •Rendering
 •Sharing
Final Cut Pro manages background tasks automatically, so you don’t need to do anything to 
start or pause them. If you want to see the progress of any of the background processes, you can 
open the Background Tasks window. The tasks being performed and a percentage of completion 
are shown in the window.
Important:  If you actively use Final Cut Pro while background tasks are running, the background 
tasks will pause. The tasks resume when you stop using Final Cut Pro.
View tasks that are running in the background
 1 Do one of the following:
 •Choose Window > Background Tasks (or press Command-9).
 •In the toolbar, click the Background Tasks button.
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