Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Finished videos in FCP are HUGE?

Y

yabot

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 26, 2013
177
3
So i finished my first every video in FCP yesterday, its 5:55 long, shot in full HD with some slow/fast motion and a soundtrack behind it.

However its taking up nearly 12GB if HD space, is this normal?! even full HD films i sometimes rip dont take up this much space...
 
It all depends on how you exported. What settings did you use? Did you use Compressor? Was it full 1080p HD?

----------

Also, what's the purpose of the video when you're finished? Are you uploading it? Are you watching it on TV? Emailing it? Burning it to disc?
 
yabot said:
So i finished my first every video in FCP yesterday, its 5:55 long, shot in full HD with some slow/fast motion and a soundtrack behind it.

However its taking up nearly 12GB if HD space, is this normal?! even full HD films i sometimes rip dont take up this much space...
Click to expand...

When you import the camara files FCPX will transcode the files to prores format. This is an uncompressed format that is good for editing.

Then the idea is that after editing, you will click the "share" icon and export the video to some format more suitable distribution. There is a huge range of possable output formats, some good for maybe an iPhone and others better for BluRay discs. You have to pick. Most peopr would export more then once so they have several different size files.

When you import the video to FCPX you also have the option NOT to transcode the media. FCPX can save it as-is. It all depends on checkboxes you check or not inside the import dialog. FCP can edit from the camera original files or from prores files.

Keep those big Prores Files around until you are 100% for sure done and have done your export(s). They can be recreated from the camera files but I don't know if edits can hook up with recreated ProRes files (??)

Now lets look at cost. Say a 1TB disk is now about $90. That works out to 9 cents per gigabyte. Those "huge" 12GB files cost you $1.08 is space. Don't worry, buy more disk drives as you fill them.

If you shoot much video you HAVE to develop your own work flow. At can be anything but think about what you need to archive and backup. One possable workflow might be
1) Copy camera data to a folder called "Camera Archives". Make sure this is some place that gets backed up by Time machine and several other redundant backups.
2) import to FCPX and let it create ProRes files in the /Events folder.
3) Edit.
4) Export.
5) periodically go through Events and delete old footage.

Some people use the ProRes files in the events for an archive that is ket "forever". You pick. Just be sure to think about backups and how redundant they need to be. Write down the steps.
 
Last edited:
This is exactly why professional video editors invest in vast amounts of storage.

If you don't like it, downgrade to consumer grade software.

Alternatively, so some research on codecs and the difference between prores and others.
 
Borntorun said:
This is exactly why professional video editors invest in vast amounts of storage.
Click to expand...

Actually this is not a general rule. First of all as a professional video editor you probably work in a production house or in an editing suite that is rented by production and hence, you don't buy any of the material you work on. You don't even have to troubleshoot a problem because there is a technician whose sole job is to fix these problems.

Even if you own your own station and that's how you work, unless you have a very rapid turnaround, you can edit offline.

If you don't like it, downgrade to consumer grade software.
Click to expand...

This has nothing to do with the OP issue. He or she is not complaining because space has shrunk because of the project, he is concerned with the exported file size.
 
lighthouse_man said:
ProRes is also a compressed codec. It's just not as compressed as others.
Click to expand...

What I should have said is "ProRes has not intra-frame compression." In other words each frame is independent.

Modern compression take advantage of the fact that most of the video in a sceen does not change between frames, the background remains constant or maybe slightly shifted due to camera motion. So they are able to get greata bouts of compression by only saving the differences between the current frame and some "key frame" A key frame holds ALL the data for an image, thenon-key frame carry only the difference.

ProRes is in effect nothing but keyframes but of course when they are all keys, we don't call them that we just say "There is no intra frame compression."

This key based method is so good that when you remove it the files sizes become huge.
 
lighthouse_man said:
Actually this is not a general rule. First of all as a professional video editor you probably work in a production house or in an editing suite that is rented by production and hence, you don't buy any of the material you work on. You don't even have to troubleshoot a problem because there is a technician whose sole job is to fix these problems.

Even if you own your own station and that's how you work, unless you have a very rapid turnaround, you can edit offline.



This has nothing to do with the OP issue. He or she is not complaining because space has shrunk because of the project, he is concerned with the exported file size.
Click to expand...

Professional video editors = production houses, not individuals.

The OP's real issue seems to be a lack of understanding on the difference between an intra frame, and inter frame codec. It has nothing to do with the software.
 
Last edited:
Borntorun said:
Professional video editors = production houses, not individuals.

The OP's real issue seems to be a lack of understanding on the difference between an intra frame, and inter frame codec. It has nothing to do with the software.
Click to expand...

Whatever man...
 
ConfusedBatman said:
Congratulations, welcome to professional freaking video editing.
Click to expand...
You just made my entire day and I'm only two hours into it. I have no pitty, I have about 6 terabytes worth of disk drives that are practically full because of projects that need to be sent out. Additionally I have two >45minute videos to finish and a client just informed me that instead of sending my footage to another editor I have to do the entire video myself.
LaDirection said:
Seriously.

That guy is the reason why Apple destroyed it's video softwares and relaunched FCP as iMovie Pro.
Click to expand...
Eh thats a little harsh...but not that far off the bat lol.

To the OP: Download AJA Data calc on your iPhone or google it and start reading about editing codecs. Seriously if your even moderately into video editing you will realize how insane the space requirements get. I laugh when people think 1TB is overkill for space, and God help me if someone asks for a 4K project. ProRes is most likely what your going to edit, and export at and ProRes is massive because its a codec specifically designed for editing, it makes it so your CPU doesn't barf and keeps your video looking good throughout the editing process, H.264 video commonly used on video cameras and what not is VERY VERY compressed so it can fit on the small storage of consumer cameras and it was never meant to be an editing codec EVER, with a fast machine you can edit H.264, in fact I do it sometimes but if the project is longer ProRes is just wayyyyy better. Once your done with the video and your 100% sure you don't need to modify it anymore, you can delete all the original media, the giant ProRes render files, and convert the master file (probably ProRes if its 12gigs for 5 minutes~) back to H.264 and you'll get your disc space back. But I would go ahead and buy the largest and fastest hard drive or 2 (or 20....) if you plan to do this more often. Its allot of fun so don't be discouraged.
 
Last edited:
nateo200 said:
You just made my entire day and I'm only two hours into it. I have no pitty, I have about 6 terabytes worth of disk drives that are practically full because of projects that need to be sent out. Additionally I have two >45minute videos to finish and a client just informed me that instead of sending my footage to another editor I have to do the entire video myself.
Click to expand...

Hah, you're welcome. I have a 1TB HDD That's 2/3 full, and that's just video game reviews.
 
OP, export (share) as one of those (too big) pro-res files and then send that through Handbrake for excellent quality at small file size. If you have 12GB Pro-res, it will probably (Handbrake) compress down to just a few hundred megabytes at a good default setting like AppleTV 3 or High Profile. You've already done the hard work. Render it out and use HB to optimally balance quality vs file size. Easy.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
OP, export (share) as one of those (too big) pro-res files and then send that through Handbrake for excellent quality at small file size. If you have 12GB Pro-res, it will probably (Handbrake) compress down to just a few hundred megabytes at a good default setting like AppleTV 3 or High Profile. You've already done the hard work. Render it out and use HB to optimally balance quality vs file size. Easy.
Click to expand...

Pretty much. Handbrake produces the best quality H.264 in my opinion.
 
nateo200 said:
Pretty much. Handbrake produces the best quality H.264 in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Do you think it is better quality then Apple's "Compressor"?

I'm very impressed with the quality I can get from Compressor. It is especially good at removing noise and compression artifacts from HD video when you down sample. At $50, I think it is one of the best deals Apple has.
 
Last edited:
I've worked with both and I lean toward the workflow referenced above: master (edit) it in FCP X, export the finished edit to a Pro Res file, then run that Pro Res file through Handbrake. After I got this working I basically quit using Compressor, as I find HB both dead simple and a very capable tool for my purposes. It's a subjective opinion but also a "just works" (for me).
 
x264 isnt compatible with everyone.

If you plan on sharing your video, with clients expecially, you need to share and deliver your media in a friendly container that they can view.

Also, I recently discovered x264 isnt cool with our FTP site. For whatever reason when viewed through a browswer the files arent viewable, but pro res, h264, mp4, etc are.
 
Chad3eleven said:
Also, I recently discovered x264 isnt cool with our FTP site. For whatever reason when viewed through a browswer the files arent viewable, but pro res, h264, mp4, etc are.
Click to expand...

x264 doesn't have a level of compatibility on its own — it's all down to the profile. For those who don't have the time or inclination to read up on this, Apple's H.264 has fewer advanced options and therefore less scope for running into trouble, as well as a bunch of presets (though Handbrake has presets too).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back