Managing Videos shot with Filmic Pro

[Ambrosia7177]

Hello.

Last weekend I broke down and purchased Filmic Pro for my iPhone 6S Plus with iOS 13.5.x

It seems like a decent app as far as giving more more control while shooting video, but I'm not so crazy on how it handles my shot videos...


In the past, when I used iOS's built in Camera app, after I was done shooting photos/video, I would simply plugged my iPhone into my MacBook Pro, fire up the Image Capture application, and it displayed a nice gallery of thumbnails where I could then download them all to a folder on my hard-drive.

This workflow was key, because I usually shoot hundred or thousands of photos/videos per shoot.

The downloaded photos/videos followed a simple sequential naming convention like: IMG_5913.JPG, IMG_5914.MOV, IMG_5915.JOG, etc.

How can I mimic that workflow using Filmic Pro?


To be clear, I do NOT want to do anything with "The Cloud" or online accounts.

What I need is a way to transfer everything I shot onto my laptop and nothing more.

I want this to work just like how I would plug my Nikon DSLR into my MBP and again download all of the files to a new folder on my HDD.


Am looking at the Filmic Pro manual and resources online, but many seem outdated.

A little while ago I chose the "Save to Roll" feature, and when I did that Image Capture picked up just those two new videos, but the problem is that it's giving strange filename like: QAVL1176, BWET0513, MUAG8066,...

WTF?!

If I can get Filmic Pro to label my videos with logical filenames and allow me to *easily* transfer things to my laptop, then this new app is useless to me...


P.S. I'd prefer NOT using iTunes. I'm old-fashioned and I want to just work with my iPhone and my laptop's HDD like Image Capture does in unison with Finder...

 

[||\||]

I used to use the VSCO camera app and it would do that same thing. I don't think there is a way around this. The very first result in a Google search reveals:

The FiLMiC Library is the only way to maintain the filename encoding from the app. If you copy to the Camera Roll, iOS changes the filename to a nonsensical string of numbers and letters

Will saving directly to the Photos app result in quality loss? - FiLMiC Knowledge Base

At present saving directly to the Photos app should not result in quality loss/compression with the exception of anamorphic footage that has been de-squeezed in

filmicpro.helpscoutdocs.com

In VSCO, I noticed saving to the camera roll reduced the image quality, so I stopped using it. I suspect there is some compression applied when using a third-party app and exporting. Unless you need RAW files, I would avoid using anything but the stock application.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

I used to use the VSCO camera app and it would do that same thing. I don't think there is a way around this. The very first result in a Google search reveals:

The FiLMiC Library is the only way to maintain the filename encoding from the app. If you copy to the Camera Roll, iOS changes the filename to a nonsensical string of numbers and letters

Will saving directly to the Photos app result in quality loss? - FiLMiC Knowledge Base

At present saving directly to the Photos app should not result in quality loss/compression with the exception of anamorphic footage that has been de-squeezed in

filmicpro.helpscoutdocs.com

Thanks for the link. 👍

In VSCO, I noticed saving to the camera roll reduced the image quality, so I stopped using it. I suspect there is some compression applied when using a third-party app and exporting. Unless you need RAW files, I would avoid using anything but the stock application.

Duly noted.


So pardon my mobile ignorance, but what am I to do then?

To be clear, I just want an *easy* way to get video off my iPhone and onto a safer place on my MBP's hard-drive.

So if I avoid using the "Camera Roll" - I'm not even sure what that really means?! - and avoid using Photos, then how can I get my raw videos onto my laptop?

AND, how can I easily do this if I have hundreds or thousands of video snippets?

 

[||\||]

Thanks for the link. 👍




Duly noted.


So pardon my mobile ignorance, but what am I to do then?

To be clear, I just want an *easy* way to get video off my iPhone and onto a safer place on my MBP's hard-drive.

So if I avoid using the "Camera Roll" - I'm not even sure what that really means?! - and avoid using Photos, then how can I get my raw videos onto my laptop?

AND, how can I easily do this if I have hundreds or thousands of video snippets?

There are applications that can reveal the iOS file structure and allow you to dig in and possibly find the files. The only other option is to save to the camera roll and possibly lose quality, definately lose the original file names. The stock camera app is pretty good. Unless you need RAW files, there isn't much of a reason to go elsewhere.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

How do I import my footage onto a computer? - FiLMiC Knowledge Base

How you import your clips from Filmic Pro to your computer will depend on whether you use a Windows or MacOS computer. Mac: Finder The easiest way to import foo

filmicpro.helpscoutdocs.com

 

[Ambrosia7177]

There are applications that can reveal the iOS file structure and allow you to dig in and possibly find the files. The only other option is to save to the camera roll and possibly lose quality, definitely lose the original file names. The stock camera app is pretty good. Unless you need RAW files, there isn't much of a reason to go elsewhere.

I just upgraded my phone to iOS 13.5.x last month. (I am *clueless* about using mobile phones for anything other than taking photos using Camera.app.)

But I noticed this a Files.app and I recall hearing somewhere that Apple was trying to make the mobile experience more like the desktop experience, so would that help out?

Yeah, I am starting to think that Filmic Pro is more hassle than it's worth.

I mean I really like how I can dial in the FPS, Bit Rate, ISO, and Focus, but if it's a PITA to transfer videos onto my Mac and the file names get fubared, then Filmic Pro is not for me?!

Isn't there a way to "download" the videos in Filmic Pro? (I'm just learning the app now, so simple things aren't so simple for me.)

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

I don't believe copying the footage to Files (if that option is even present on Filmic) is going to help you. Files is Finder-like on iOS, but is heavy on preferring cloud services (ie my Files app has links to my iCloud Drive, OneDrive, and NAS app).

You can store files in Files "On My iPhone" but I could only access those files using iTunes File Sharing - at which point you may as well just copy them directly from Filmic to iTunes, rather than Filmic to Files to iTunes.

Did you look at the AirDrop option?

 

[||\||]

I really like how I can dial in the FPS, Bit Rate, ISO, and Focus

Aside from adjusting the bit rate, all of this can be done using the native camera app.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

I don't believe copying the footage to Files (if that option is even present on Filmic) is going to help you. Files is Finder-like on iOS, but is heavy on preferring cloud services (ie my Files app has links to my iCloud Drive, OneDrive, and NAS app).

You can store files in Files "On My iPhone" but I could only access those files using iTunes File Sharing - at which point you may as well just copy them directly from Filmic to iTunes, rather than Filmic to Files to iTunes.

Did you look at the AirDrop option?

I am checking out the video tutorials you linked to above...

Bummer that Files isn't what I had hoped.

The iExplorer app looks promising, but I see it starts at $40!

In an ideal world, I would like my iPhone (and Filmic Pro) to behave like a DSLR - plug it in, the videos you shot pop up in a gallery/browser, you presumably select all of them, and transfer them somewhere on your Mac. So the whole experience feels like you are simply doing a file transfer in Finder...

I would be willing to pony up for an app that behaves like Windows Explorer / Finder / Pathfinder, but of course, free is better than having to pay!

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

iCopybot, iBackupbot, and iFunbox all likely offer similar copying options to iMazing (I have used all of them and liked all of them for different purposes) but since iTunes does what they all do in this case, I would just use iTunes.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

@Mr_Brightside_@

iCopybot, iBackupbot, and iFunbox all likely offer similar copying options to iMazing (I have used all of them and liked all of them for different purposes) but since iTunes does what they all do in this case, I would just use iTunes.

I just watched a video from the link above on using iTunes. Surprisingly, it was pretty straight-forward.

So here are some reservations I have about iTunes that maybe you can address...

1.) As a privacy nut, I am fearful of my data getting copied and cached and storied in places that I am unaware of or don't have control over. It's not like I am doing nude video, but I still worry about things like interviews of people getting storied in some secret cache on my Mac and me not knowing it - or even just that it could waste precious storage space.

2.) Is iTunes going to be "phoning home" or snooping in my videos (or photos)?

3.) One thing that annoyed the hell out of me when I switched to Apple in 2008 was the fact that you could NOT "cut and paste" (i.e. "move") files in Finder. (What a dumb arse design!)

It appears there is a similar issue using iTunes and Filmic Pro.

I want to CUT and paste files, and NOT make copies because once I move things to my Mac, I want the storage space freed up on my iPhone.

I need an easy way to make sure all files get moved over to my Mac which is another reason why CUTTING and pasting makes more sense - if you MOVE files then you know they got moved.

Am I supposed to manually reconcile all of the files on my iPhone adn then again on my mac to make sure everything got copied over before I delete the originals on my iPhone?

Requiring me to do that would be ludicrous!!


If you can help me address those concerns, then I'd be okay with using iTunes.

If not, then I would hope that one of the free/paid "explorer" type apps would help me accomplish the workflow that I want.

Thanks!

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

1. Not a question...iTunes doesn't store anything (except IPSWs) unless you tell it to.
2. No.
3. Within File Sharing on iTunes, I simply dragged a file (Word doc) to the desktop in Finder. It was copied there. I was then able to delete that file from my iPhone by hitting delete in File Sharing.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

1. Not a question...iTunes doesn't store anything (except IPSWs) unless you tell it to.
2. No.

In an old thread I complained about using iTunes to listen to mp3's that I recorded from Internet broadcasts because by default iTunes was making a COPY of everything I opened to listen to.

Are you sure that iTunes isn't making copies of things or caching them, because it certainly does that when you listen to music files...

3. Within File Sharing on iTunes, I simply dragged a file (Word doc) to the desktop in Finder. It was copied there. I was then able to delete that file from my iPhone by hitting delete in File Sharing.

Okay, that doesn't address what I said above about wanting to *MOVE* files versus *copy* them.

Now since FilmicPro only allows you to take videos, I suppose this is less of an issue, but when it comes to photos and videos, I easily shoot over 1,000 photos a day - often a few thousand.

So copying things isn't an option, because it gives me no way to reconcile the original files versus what was copied.

When you MOVE files they are either in the original place or the new location, but not both locations.

If you only have the copy feature, what is to say that files do not get copied over, and then when you delete the original you delete the only copy?

It's not like I'm going to go through and manually verify that 1,000 videos got copied over successfully to my MacBook Pro before deleting the originals on my iPhone?!


P.S. I looked at iMazing's website but I don't see where it offers a MOVE/CUT feature.

Certainly there must be some app out there that behaves like a file manager?

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

1/2 that was due to an iTunes setting that is well documented that you had enabled. In this case, iTunes File Sharing is the conduit, much like Image Capture is.

3 Yes, it does. You cannot perform the function you want to. I am explaining how it will function with iTunes. Command+A the files within File Sharing, drag them to the folder where you want them in Finder, allow them to copy, and then Command+A and delete the files from your iPhone, using FS. I'm not sure why the Image Capture transfer is more trust-able than the iTunes one, but essentially it's the same process. If you are always selecting all the files to copy, then selecting all to delete, there is little margin for error. When you drag the files to Finder you will notice a little popup that denotes the number of files - you can easily spot check by seeing 1,002 (or whatever) popup while dragging, then checking the Finder status bar to confirm your export folder has 1,002 files.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

1/2 that was due to an iTunes setting that is well documented that you had enabled.

Right, you guys taught me that in the past. But the point is software is notorious for stashing away your data in places you'd never imagine - especially mobile apps!

3 Yes, it does. You cannot perform the function you want to. I am explaining how it will function with iTunes. Command+A the files within File Sharing, drag them to the folder where you want them in Finder, allow them to copy, and then Command+A and delete the files from your iPhone, using FS.

I'm not sure why the Image Capture transfer is more trust-able than the iTunes one, but essentially it's the same process.

If you are always selecting all the files to copy, then selecting all to delete, there is little margin for error. When you drag the files to Finder you will notice a little popup that denotes the number of files - you can easily spot check by seeing 1,002 (or whatever) popup while dragging, then checking the Finder status bar to confirm your export folder has 1,002 files.

Well, Image-Capture.app offers a feature labeled "Delete after import" which I don't take as literal, but I *assume* means that the application copies the photo/movie over, and IF it is successful copying the file THEN it deletes the original on your iPhone.

So THAT is the difference in workflows.

And I have had a handful of times where the copy did not work using Image-Capture.app, and the original file(s) were retained on my iPhone, so I was able to try again and not lose any data. Now I cannot speak to how exactly the code works, but it appears to be trustworthy, and it is more reassuring to me that I am not telling Image-Capture.app to move over 1,000 files and only 997 get moved over and I delete the orphans unknowningly.


And to your last point, YES, I could take inventory of how many files I originally have on my iPhone from my latest photo/video shoot, copy them over, then verify that I have the same number of files on my Mac, but of course, using a "move" procedure would be so much easier!

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

You are correct about that Image Capture feature, I had forgotten about it.

I understand that iFS is not the ideal solution for the workflow you envision, but is your best option available IMO, and is preferable to using a third party application, whose developer may not be as careful with your data (I'm not casting doubt on any software listed here, I'm just saying). I myself use it to transfer videos to the VLC app, and find it mildly clunky, but workable overall.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

@Mr_Brightside_@

You are correct about that Image Capture feature, I had forgotten about it.

I understand that iFS is not the ideal solution for the workflow you envision, but is your best option available IMO, and is preferable to using a third party application, whose developer may not be as careful with your data (I'm not casting doubt on any software listed here, I'm just saying). I myself use it to transfer videos to the VLC app, and find it mildly clunky, but workable overall.

So let me repeat your advice and make sure I get the best solution possible...

First, it would appear there are benefits to using Filmic Pro over Camera.app, agreed?

Assuming the answer is "Yes", then I guess my workflow will be this...

Use-Case:
- Go out and shoot video using FilmicPro

- There isn't an easy way within Filmic Pro to see how many videos you have shot because each on is like a row in an endless list, and after maybe 20 you'd go nuts trying to count, so I guess that option is out.

- On my Mac, go to my "VIDEO" folder and create a new subfolder for the shoot (e.g. "iPhone_158")

- Next, plug my iPhone into my MBP - whether at home or out in the field.

- Launch iTunes

- Click on the "device" icon at the top of iTunes

- Select "File Sharing" from the left menu

- Under "Apps", choose "Filmic Pro"

- To select all of the files from my latest videoshoot, do Cmd + A to select all files

- To be doubly sure, make note of how many files there are...

- Choose "Save To" and then the folder I created above (e.g. "iPhone_158")

- iTunes copies over all of my files

- Finally go in and delete all of the files out under Filmic Pro in iTunes.

The PITA part is that the only way you know how many files you're dealing with is to manually count them, because iTunes won't even give you a file count for the selected files, and if I had shot hundred of videos, then this would be a real pain, and it would be easy to miscount. So I guess I just have to trust that "Select All" means that I am grabbing everything.

I guess two other things I could do are...

1.) Shoot less, and copy over to my MBP more, so I am dealing with less files

2.) Spot-check for any crucial (award-winning) videos and make sure I have them before I go deleting things in iTunes. And furthermore, maybe do a quick video preview of all files before I delete things to make sure I have what I need.


How does that sound?


Most certainly not as efficient or safe as if there was a "MOVE" (or "Delete after copying") feature, but alas it sounds like that is my only option, right?

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

I'll only make notes on the areas that are incorrect or need tweaking:

- To select all of the files from my latest videoshoot, do Cmd + A to select all files GOOD

- To be doubly sure, make note of how many files there are...

- BEGIN DRAGGING FILES TO FINDER VIDEO FOLDER

- To be doubly sure, make note of how many files there are... THIS POPS UP ONLY WHILE DRAGGING

- iTunes copies over all of my files

- Finally go in and delete all of the files out under Filmic Pro in iTunes USING Cmd + A

 

[Ambrosia7177]

@Mr_Brightside_@

I'll only make notes on the areas that are incorrect or need tweaking:

- BEGIN DRAGGING FILES TO FINDER VIDEO FOLDER

- To be doubly sure, make note of how many files there are... THIS POPS UP ONLY WHILE DRAGGING

You're always such a source of Apple wisdom!! 👍

Okay, so I have come one step closer towards the "Apple light" and now you have me using iTunes... ;-)

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

If you haven't already found it, I made a screenshot of the popup that appears with the number of files while dragging.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

If you haven't already found it, I made a screenshot of the popup that appears with the number of files while dragging.

Yes, I should have been more clear in my last post.

Now to be clear, so that red circle with number inside supposedly reflects the number of files that I have selected and am dragging over to Finder, correct?

Is there any practical limitation of how many files it would show?

Would it show 2,000, for example?

And when I drag the files over to Finder and release them, then to really do this the thorough way, I would then want to look in Finder and make sure my target directory has the same number of files, correct?

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Yes, I should have been more clear in my last post.

Now to be clear, so that red circle with number inside supposedly reflects the number of files that I have selected and am dragging over to Finder, correct?

Is there any practical limitation of how many files it would show?

Would it show 2,000, for example?

And when I drag the files over to Finder and release them, then to really do this the thorough way, I would then want to look in Finder and make sure my target directory has the same number of files, correct?

Is there any practical limitation of how many files it would show?

Would it show 2,000, for example? I can't imagine this being an issue.

And when I drag the files over to Finder and release them, then to really do this the thorough way, I would then want to look in Finder and make sure my target directory has the same number of files, correct? Yes.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Is there any practical limitation of how many files it would show?

Would it show 2,000, for example? I can't imagine this being an issue.

And when I drag the files over to Finder and release them, then to really do this the thorough way, I would then want to look in Finder and make sure my target directory has the same number of files, correct? Yes.

Not as good as my desired "CUT and paste", but I guess this will do.

Thanks (as always) for the help!!

 

[ColdCase]

When I want to get hundreds of photos and videos off my iPhone, I use airdrop. I select the ones I want and share via airdrop. They end up in the downloads folder (which I cleared out previously), where you can subsequently move them wherever. I haven't done more than a couple hundred at a time, so I dunno if there is a point it gets squirrelly. But it does tell you if the share was successful or failed. Dunno if thats an option for you, can you share Filmic files?

 

[Ambrosia7177]

When I want to get hundreds of photos and videos off my iPhone, I use airdrop. I select the ones I want and share via airdrop. They end up in the downloads folder (which I cleared out previously), where you can subsequently move them wherever. I haven't done more than a couple hundred at a time, so I dunno if there is a point it gets squirrelly. But it does tell you if the share was successful or failed. Dunno if thats an option for you, can you share Filmic files?

Thanks for the thoughts, but I think @Mr_Brightside_@'s suggestion is the best option.

There are a lot of things I'd have to tweak and unlock to set up Airdropping - I read one of the links above or wherever.

Also, if the Bluetooth or Wi-Fi pukes you could lose data, but I think using a wired connection and iTunes are more reliable.

And @Mr_Brightside_@ did show me a way to get a file transfer "headcount" and to basically confirm that all files got copied over, so he gets the prize this time! ;-)