Final Cut Pro Performance on M1 Max Mac Studio

[barry.pearson]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could give me some guidance regarding using Final Cut Pro on the base Mac Studio. I've recently gotten into editing videos at 1080p and have decided to download the 90 day trial of Final Cut Pro. Firstly I will say it's a huge improvement over iMovie and I'm managing to fumble my way around. However, I'm constantly running into two issues:

1. Storage issues. As mentioned I have the base 512GB storage on my Mac, and it feels as if I put around 5-10GB worth of media into my timeline it eats up all the free storage space on my Mac! Normally I will have around 50% of my drive free, but as soon as I start editing I'm getting messages telling me that I'm running out of space, is this normal? I do keep the media on an external SSD but I assume it consolidates it onto my Mac's internal SSD, but why is it taking up so much space?
2. Performance issues. I know I have the base version of the M1 Studio, but I feel that FCP can be really unresponsive when playing back. It can sometimes take up to 10 seconds between hitting play and the playback to start, and if there's any transitions or swapping between media it will stall and freeze the playback for 5-10 seconds before catching up. While I'm not sure, I'm wondering if this could be caused by the issues above?

Is there some optimal way to organise your files when using FCP? Or have I just got a machine that isn't up to the task (which would be very disappointing).

As always any suggestions, guidance and help will be very welcome.

 

[galad]

1. There is an option to decide whether to copy the files inside the project or not. Render files are stored inside the project too, so it's important to place the project on a disk with enough space if you decide to copy and render things.

2. FCP can run a lot of tasks in background to analyse the imported media if you tell it to do so. Check again the options in the import window. FCP by default will render in the background in ProRes format, this is often unnecessary if your computer is fast enough, ProRes takes a loooot of space. For my limited rendering needs I disabled background rendering in the preferences.
Check if there are background tasks running.

 

[R S K]

1. There are various generated files. Whether you have chosen to in fact have them generated no one can know. Those being render files for one, the others being optimized and proxy media. All of which can make your library grow exponentially, yes. What is taking up space, how much and where is easily seen in the library's info window. You can also delete any and all generated media from within FC.

2. Sounds to me like you have some 3rd party plugins or background tasks running. Again, something no one can know from afar. Having an overfilled disk with little to no free space could also be the problem. One should always edit from an external media disk or sorts, not the internal.

And yes, even a base model Studio is enough many times over for that kind of work. Therefore the issue clearly lies somewhere within the system as a whole.

You could try deleting FC's prefs by starting it while holding ⌥ and ⌘, but I doubt it's because of that.

I'd also suggest maybe taking a basic course in FC and/or media management, such as those from Ripple Training.

Media Management in Final Cut Pro – Ripple Training

NEW Learn how Final Cut Pro manages media; where it’s stored; how to copy, move and delete it; when to work with proxy media, and best practices for collaborating with other editors.

www.rippletraining.com

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

In general, wherever you choose to store the FCP library needs a much fast storage as you can get. I thought 4TB m.2 stick would be enough for some short videos I edit and I filled that up quite quickly: only 2 projects of about 20-minute videos. For video editing, I now see obvious benefits for some of the RAID options for m.2 so that storage can be 16TB-32TB or even more. I'm of the opinion that there is probably no ideal level of storage for editing video: there's likely always going to be a need for MORE.

While not as fast, I now appreciate having access to RAIDed HDDs for video editing too. One can RAID multiple big drives (over 20TB) to fully address storage SPACE needs, though those will be R/W slower than SSD.

And note: a natural tendency for new editors is to have a single FCPX library in which to create all videos. For constrained storage situations, a better option is to keep these libraries relatively small, with only a single project or just a few in them. Then you can offload these libraries when you are done editing to free up their space for another library and another project(s). If you later realize there's a little more to do in a prior project, you can offload the current library and pull the archived one back onto your editing storage. In short: think multiple small libraries instead of one ever-growing one.

Editing video is a system resource hog. I suspect there is no such thing as "enough power" to make it never stutter or pause while editing. I share this based upon use of a loaded M2 Studio Ultra, editing videos that are not really that complex or overly demanding. Do a bunch of little edits that require new renderings and even Ultra is "loaded." I've basically shifted into an approach that when I make a bunch of edits and start noticing the load, I do other tasks (not more editing) to give the system a while to complete current render updates. It will catch up as fast as it can. Then resume the editing with the horsepower freed up again.

 

[R S K]

I thought 4TB m.2 stick would be enough for some short videos I edit and I filled that up quite quickly: only 2 projects of about 20-minute videos.

Sorry, but you, too, clearly need some basic training in media management. Because I'm currently editing a 50-minute video that barely takes up 100GB, as it should be. Even if it were all ProRes it would not be above 300.

I'm of the opinion that there is probably no ideal level of storage for editing video: there's likely always going to be a need for MORE.

If you never actually delete anything or archive it elsewhere, obviously, yes.

I suspect there is no such thing as "enough power" to make it never stutter or pause while editing.

I'm sorry? I have multiple M-Macs, from M1 Air to Max etc. and never once has anything ever "stuttered or paused" on any of them. Not even with 4-8 camera 4K multicams. Even 12K material didn't make the Air stutter.

So I don't know what's going on with your system, but there's clearly something very wrong with it if that's what you're seeing with anything less.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I'm not lying and it's no attack on Apple, so it doesn't need such absolute defense.

It's the edits- not the minutes- the drives the amount of space needed. If I piled enough edits on 5 minutes of video, I could probably eat up 100GB of space.

That last bit must be impossible. I won't call you a liar as you are apparently calling me, but I can't imagine a way to not get some FCPX "frames dropped" stutters editing multiple streams of 4K... and even more so with 12K. Maybe if the video was ultra-simple, with minimal edits and stored on abundant very fast storage.

I wish it all worked as perfect as you describe but that's just not how it works. I generally edit 1080p and 4K. There are frame drop stutters after enough edits (are rendering new footage). But good for you that it is perfectly flawless even with 12K video editing on a MB Air.

 

[R S K]

1. I never once said you're lying. Maybe re-read.
2. It has zero to do with "defense" (ironically, coming from you) but rather with facts.
3. Sorry, but my project actually consists of over 1.5 hrs of ProRes footage. HD and UHD mixed. You do the math. If it even went over 300GB I'd be doing something very wrong and clearly wouldn't know what I'm doing.
4. I really don't care if you believe me or not. Simply try Youtube where you will find endless videos showing the exact same performance tests. Never mind that even Apple themselves say "you can create, edit, and seamlessly play back multiple streams of full‑quality 4K video without dropping a frame" for the M1 and even "Up to 10 streams of 8K ProRes video playback" for the Studio. And that's just the "Pro". The Ultra? 22 streams of 8K. But now I guess Apple is "lying".

All of which I can confirm 100% btw. From internal storage in the more extreme cases. But sure, if you can do THIS on an older Intel MacBook Pro, there's no way you could possibly do better on an M-Mac. No way.

But if you don't want to concede there is clearly something wrong with your system if that "must be impossible" but instead want to get all ad hominem, then just continue as you are. No skin off my back. I couldn't care less. 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

[HDFan]

I'd also suggest maybe taking a basic course in FC

The best FCPX training and information site I've found is Larry Jordans'. Well worth the $200.

Larry Jordan | Apple Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro webinars, training and tutorials.

 

[0339327]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could give me some guidance regarding using Final Cut Pro on the base Mac Studio. I've recently gotten into editing videos at 1080p and have decided to download the 90 day trial of Final Cut Pro. Firstly I will say it's a huge improvement over iMovie and I'm managing to fumble my way around. However, I'm constantly running into two issues:

1. Storage issues. As mentioned I have the base 512GB storage on my Mac, and it feels as if I put around 5-10GB worth of media into my timeline it eats up all the free storage space on my Mac! Normally I will have around 50% of my drive free, but as soon as I start editing I'm getting messages telling me that I'm running out of space, is this normal? I do keep the media on an external SSD but I assume it consolidates it onto my Mac's internal SSD, but why is it taking up so much space?
2. Performance issues. I know I have the base version of the M1 Studio, but I feel that FCP can be really unresponsive when playing back. It can sometimes take up to 10 seconds between hitting play and the playback to start, and if there's any transitions or swapping between media it will stall and freeze the playback for 5-10 seconds before catching up. While I'm not sure, I'm wondering if this could be caused by the issues above?

Is there some optimal way to organise your files when using FCP? Or have I just got a machine that isn't up to the task (which would be very disappointing).

As always any suggestions, guidance and help will be very welcome.

Hi Barry,

I hope I can address your concerns thoroughly.

1. Because you're new to FCP, it appears you don't fully understand how the program works. FCP is as professional application and transcodes your files for maximum quality. Yes, you can turn this off (edit in place) but that may result in wait times while rendering.

2. Turn off Background Rendering. This is likely why your suffering lagging. FCP will try and render in the background, which takes bandwidth and time. Turning this off, will lower the quality while editing, but is better overall. It will also make FCP a more stable program in general.

3. I heavily recommend you get an external drive for your scratch disc. It is never recommended to edit on your boot drive, even if you have lots of extra space. Ideally, get something fast like a Samsung x5. I have found that much of the slowness of FCP has to do with the speed of your scratch disc. Furthermore, being able to read the system from your internal SSD, and the files from your external scratch disc, will increase the efficiency and speed of your process. I use RAID 0 SSDs for my scratch discs and then transfer them to a raid 5 for long term, minor edits.

4. FCP requires a lot of ram. If you have less than 32 gig, you should shut everything else down while editing. Even with 32, only run what is necessary at the time. Give FCP the most ram you can.

5. Keep your primary SSD as clean as possible. Make sure you have at least 20% empty at all times. This allows for virtual memory and keeps things fast. I actually keep all my documents on a separate drive for my MP.

6. Restart in SafeMode and then reboot to standard mode. This cleans things up.

7. If you're still having issues, you can reset the FCP preferences by holding down Comman + Option while you open it.

Good Luck.

 

[R S K]

and transcodes your files for maximum quality. Yes, you can turn this off (edit in place) but that may result in wait times while rendering.

Transcoding (which can just as well be done for "leave in place" footage btw, so that's irrelevant) is entirely optional. Either you select it upon import or do it manually later or you don't. And it has very little bearing on your render speeds. That is 99% determined by the content i.e. if and which filters were used etc. Not rendering the timeline before export will make a difference, yes.

Turning this off, will lower the quality while editing, but is better overall.

Background rendering has no bearing on quality whatsoever. If anything then it makes for worse performance on older, weaker machines, with projects with heavy effects, and/or LongGOP material. It also makes no difference in terms of stability either.

If you have less than 32 gig, you should shut everything else down while editing.

That is a very outdated notion. At best only relevant with pre-Apple Silicon Macs, but even then the GPU is by far the most relevant factor when it comes to performance in FC, and my old Intel MBP with "only" 16GB still edits 4K+ to this day perfectly. On an M1 Air with just 8GB on the other hand I've even edited 8K just fine.

Restart in SafeMode and then reboot to standard mode. This cleans things up.

🤨 Where are you getting that from?

 

[R S K]

Oops… double post. Sorry.

Is there no delete button? 🤨

 

[0339327]

Transcoding (which can just as well be done for "leave in place" footage btw, so that's irrelevant) is entirely optional. Either you select it upon import or do it manually later or you don't. And it has very little bearing on your render speeds. That is 99% determined by the content i.e. if and which filters were used etc. Not rendering the timeline before export will make a difference, yes.



Background rendering has no bearing on quality whatsoever. If anything then it makes for worse performance on older, weaker machines, with projects with heavy effects, and/or LongGOP material. It also makes no difference in terms of stability either.



That is a very outdated notion. At best only relevant with pre-Apple Silicon Macs, but even then the GPU is by far the most relevant factor when it comes to performance in FC, and my old Intel MBP with "only" 16GB still edits 4K+ to this day perfectly. On an M1 Air with just 8GB on the other hand I've even edited 8K just fine.



🤨 Where are you getting that from?

I use FCP on a daily basis.

1. Transcoding does lower rending time because FCP works natively with ProRes and the larger files keep more data in each frame.

2. Background rendering turned off means more editing will take place with unrendered files resulting in lower quality viewing until rendered.

3. I run task manager alongside FCP to keep an eye on things. FCP uses lots of ram and the more you provide, the smoother it will run.

4. Safe mode boot is an Apple Support tool and absolutely cleans things up when it boots up.

 

[R S K]

I use FCP on a daily basis.

Great! Only that doesn't make your claims any more factual.

1. Again: irrelevant. Today's hardware, in particular Apple Silicon Macs, makes virtually no distinction between LongGOP footage and ProRes in terms of performance. (I'm just going to assume we're not talking about any 10 year old Macs here) Even on "simple" M1 chips the difference is nominal. Including rendering. And transcoding massively compressed footage into ProRes does not make it even an iota better, only larger and less CPU intensive… on older machines. IN-APP rendering is set to ProRes by default to preserve max quality for export (should you have chosen to render the timeline) and, again, for performance reasons. But, again, the latter is even irrelevant on M-Macs.

2. Nope. Editing in FC, as with any NLE on the market, is non-destructive. There is no "more editing" taking place. But then I don't even actually know what that means. But if you're somehow suggesting there is some kind of "generational loss", there is no such thing.

3. FC (and other Pro Apps) rely by far the most on GPU performance i.e. VRAM while editing, not RAM. Look up the "AVFoundation" and "Metal" frameworks. And you could have 250 apps open idly in the background and it wouldn't matter one bit due to macOS's superb memory management and what is called Grand Central Dispatch. Of course, if you're trying to render out a 40 million polygon Cinema 4D project in the background… oh well. macOS can't save you from yourself.

4. Feel free to post a link to where that is substantiated. Because safe mode does nothing other than prevent certain software from loading as your Mac starts up. Login items, system extensions that aren't required by macOS, and fonts that weren't installed by macOS. Sure, it also performs a basic check of your startup disk, but running the First Aid feature of Disk Utility (via Recovery) does a much more comprehensive check and is much simpler to invoke. I might also clear out some system caches, including font caches and the kernel cache, but that, too, can be done much easier and much faster with e.g. "Onyx". That's aside from it being highly doubtful that any of that even has anything to do with his actual issues. But hey, if he wants to waste some time for peace of mind… 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

[0339327]

Great! Only that doesn't make your claims any more factual.

1. Again: irrelevant. Today's hardware, in particular Apple Silicon Macs, makes virtually no distinction between LongGOP footage and ProRes in terms of performance. (I'm just going to assume we're not talking about any 10 year old Macs here) Even on "simple" M1 chips the difference is nominal. Including rendering. And transcoding massively compressed footage into ProRes does not make it even an iota better, only larger and less CPU intensive… on older machines. IN-APP rendering is set to ProRes by default to preserve max quality for export (should you have chosen to render the timeline) and, again, for performance reasons. But, again, the latter is even irrelevant on M-Macs.

2. Nope. Editing in FC, as with any NLE on the market, is non-destructive. There is no "more editing" taking place. But then I don't even actually know what that means. But if you're somehow suggesting there is some kind of "generational loss", there is no such thing.

3. FC (and other Pro Apps) rely by far the most on GPU performance i.e. VRAM while editing, not RAM. Look up the "AVFoundation" and "Metal" frameworks. And you could have 250 apps open idly in the background and it wouldn't matter one bit due to macOS's superb memory management and what is called Grand Central Dispatch. Of course, if you're trying to render out a 40 million polygon Cinema 4D project in the background… oh well. macOS can't save you from yourself.

4. Feel free to post a link to where that is substantiated. Because safe mode does nothing other than prevent certain software from loading as your Mac starts up. Login items, system extensions that aren't required by macOS, and fonts that weren't installed by macOS. Sure, it also performs a basic check of your startup disk, but running the First Aid feature of Disk Utility (via Recovery) does a much more comprehensive check and is much simpler to invoke. I might also clear out some system caches, including font caches and the kernel cache, but that, too, can be done much easier and much faster with e.g. "Onyx". That's aside from it being highly doubtful that any of that even has anything to do with his actual issues. But hey, if he wants to waste some time for peace of mind… 🤷🏼‍♂️

1. Depending on the files you're working with, in my experience of over 20 years, transcoding definitely results in a smoother workflow. Your experience may be different. I'm shooting with professional cameras in log. If you're editing small h.264, or even log in a DSLR, where you're getting an hour of footage on a 32 GB SD card, sure. I'm getting 55 minutes on a 256 GB SxS or XQD card.

2. Correct, NLE is non-destructive. What I'm saying is that background rendering slows things down, even on my MacPro. Turning background rendering off, will, by definition, result in viewing, non-rendered footage, with is displayed in worse quality. It does not change anything vis-a-vis the actual footage or the quality on export.

3. Per Task Manager, while running FCP, my App Memory shows 33.98 GB. When spec'ing my machine, I reached out to Apple's senior FCP team via e-mailing an executive. Of course they recommend a ton of ram, but the point is that multi-tasking uses lots of ram. In this case, the OP is having sluggish issues. I offered a number of options that may help reduce that and from which I personally benefit.

4. Safe Mode clears certain things and also checks your boot drive. This was recommended by a MacPro senior product specialist at Apple when I had certain issues that resulted in case escalation. There are several things one can do to easily fix certain problems. Booting in Safe Mode is the easiest and, in my experience, the most helpful. Add to this, remove demons from the user and system libraries, remove unnecessary log-in options and an occasion PR reset and your Mac will generally run very well. Of course there are other good housekeeping items, like maintaining 20% of empty space on the boot drive, but SafeMode is a quick and easy step to take.


You may disagree or have other advice for the OP. I have been using Final Cut since version 3 on a PowerMac G4 and, admittedly, many things have changed over the years, though nothing as much as the change to Apple Silicone. Maybe I have some old habits but the flow works for me. I edit all types of video but my cameras are all professional. A typical FCP project is 1 - 2 TB of footage.

I offered advice based on my experience and workflow and I stand by that advice. Feel Free to disagree.

 

[R S K]

Well, if we're going to flex unnecessarily 🙄… I've been in the business for over 30 years, so well before FC even existed, 15 of those as an Apple Certified Master Trainer (FC, Motion, and more) and Tech Series Presenter Video, among other things. In part working directly with the FC team. So, there's that.

1. I already explained the whole codec differences thing. And seeing that you are still on an (old) INTEL machine (which the OP does not have), that explains why your reality is very different from Apple Silicon users, as I've also explained, as well as the now rather outdated and inapplicable notions concerning RAM and codecs.

2. Switch your viewer to BEST QUALITY and there will be absolutely no difference in playback whether rendered or not. Except on your machine, it's likely to stutter like crazy, yes. That's old INTEL hardware for ya. 🤷🏼‍♂️

3. Again: exponentially less relevant on Apple Silicon. And swapping to disk is anything but a bad thing under macOS, even less so — you guessed it — on Apple Silicon.

4. I already explained safe mode, yes. PRAM (nor SMC/NVRAM) reset does not exist anymore on Macs of this decade. So again, you are speaking from an archaic standpoint which is simply not useful in this context, which was and is my point. It has nothing to do with disagreeing.

 

[0339327]

Well, if we're going to flex unnecessarily 🙄… I've been in the business for over 30 years, so well before FC even existed, 15 of those as an Apple Certified Master Trainer (FC, Motion, and more) and Tech Series Presenter Video, among other things. In part working directly with the FC team. So, there's that.

1. I already explained the whole codec differences thing. And seeing that you are still on an (old) INTEL machine (which the OP does not have), that explains why your reality is very different from Apple Silicon users, as I've also explained, as well as the now rather outdated and inapplicable notions concerning RAM and codecs.

2. Switch your viewer to BEST QUALITY and there will be absolutely no difference in playback whether rendered or not. Except on your machine, it's likely to stutter like crazy, yes. That's old INTEL hardware for ya. 🤷🏼‍♂️

3. Again: exponentially less relevant on Apple Silicon. And swapping to disk is anything but a bad thing under macOS, even less so — you guessed it — on Apple Silicon.

4. I already explained safe mode, yes. PRAM (nor SMC/NVRAM) reset does not exist anymore on Macs of this decade. So again, you are speaking from an archaic standpoint which is simply not useful in this context, which was and is my point. It has nothing to do with disagreeing.

1. I use both Intel and M2Max machines for editing. The chipsets are very different but FCP is the same program no matter what chipset you're running.

2. Of course, having the viewer set to best quality increases quality; while not playing. But while watching moving video, it does reduce in quality until rendered.

3. Safe Mode is still relevant in Apple Silicone. PR ram and SMC are different.

4. Great that you're so well trained, experienced and certified. None of those things will help the OP solve the problem. As I've stated from the beginning, the point of stating my experience is to provide relevance to the solutions I've offered, which are based on the years of experience.

The point of the forum isn't aggrandizement; the point is to provide solutions.

Best.

 

[R S K]

1. and 2. You clearly do not know what you're talking about and are conflating unrelated things endlessly.

3. I never claimed safe mode was irrelevant, so your reading comprehension skills leave a lot to be desired. And it's SMC. 🙄

4. None of your "solutions" were or are Apple Silicon relevant. If you want to continue to insist they were/are because you don't know any better, fine by me. Knock yourself out.

The point of the forum isn't aggrandizement; the point is to provide solutions.

Oh, the irony.

I'm out. 👋🏼

 

[0339327]

And it's SMC

Corrected. This was autocorrect.

You clearly do not know what you're talking about and are conflating unrelated things endlessly.

LOL😮‍💨

 

[Burnincoco]

I started with Final Cut Pro 1.0 on a Mac Cube many decades ago. Even was a FCP teacher for a while.
This year I changed to DaVinci Resolve and never looked back.
you said you downloaded the trial and are still fumbling? Fumble with Resolve and you will thank me later.
FCP is so behind in tech and features it’s not even funny.

I’m working on three 4k real estate projects at the same time all running in an M2 Max MBP 2TB, lots of color correction, lots of transitions, titles, luts, no frame skips, no external disks, and I still have 1TB left to install Baldour’s Gate once it comes out.
You can also do this with FCP if you manage it right, but it’s better on Resolve