r/finalcutpro • u/ZeyusFilm • Jun 03 '25
The most common question asked on this sub is…
“Why is my library so big? It’s like 20gb of footage but the library is 200gb… etc”
The reason for this is generated library files. Generated library files include stuff like rendering, transcoding, stabilisation analysis data etc…
Generated library files can be deleted at any time and it won’t make any difference to your project. It will all get regenerated when Final Cut needs to or when you export your project.
Generated library files are not your actual original media. Completely different thing. It’s like scaffolding put up whilst you build a building. The scaffolding is not the building itself and it can be taken down and put back up as needed.
To delete your generated library files…
Everything can be deleted and regenerated. I do this every time I finish a project because it saves on storage.
👍
r/finalcutpro • u/GhostOfSorabji • Nov 06 '22
One of the most common questions that gets asked on this subreddit usually goes along the lines of “why has my library grown to such a huge size?” To answer this, we are going to have to delve into some of the essential differences between the various video codecs we commonly encounter and why these differences exist.
Arguably the most common codec we come across is H264, and its more advanced cousin HEVC (aka H265—similar to H264 but with more cowbell). Many cameras record H264: we use it because it affords high quality at comparatively small file sizes. The mechanism behind H264 involves some ferociously complex mathematics that condenses the raw information coming off the sensor and reduces it into a viewable form that takes up little space. While there are several complementary compression techniques involved, the most important one for the purposes of illustrating this discussion is temporal compression.
Imagine a single frame of video at 1920 x 1080. That’s a tad over two million pixels: if this was stored as uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 component video, every second would be about 166 megabytes—that’s almost 600 gigabytes per hour! Even this is not absolutely raw data: we’re doing a bit of whizzo math on the three colour channels to squeeze them into two colour difference channels and tossing out some of the colour data (that’s the 4:2:2 part—more on this later).
At 4K, you’d be looking at about 2.3TB per hour and at 8K, nearly 10TB—clearly impractical for sticking on YouTube or broadcasting over the air! Accordingly, we have to turn to compression codecs like H264 to make things practicable for delivery. One of the many tricks H264 has up its sleeve is, as I mentioned before, temporal compression. Essentially (and this is a fairly crude description) we take our incoming video and divide it into groups of usually 30 frames—this is called a Long Group of Pictures. We encode all the data for the first frame, using other compression methods along the way, but then we only encode the differences from one frame to the next up to the end of the Long GOP—lather, rinse, repeat.
The result of all this computational shenanigans is that we now have a video stream that is considerably smaller than its virtually raw counterpart and, provided we’ve chosen our compression settings with care, is virtually indistinguishable perceptually from the raw video. All fine and dandy but this does pose a number of problems when editing. For a start, the computer is having to perform a fair amount of computation on-the-fly as we whizz back and forth slicing and dicing our video. As we start to build up the edit with effects and colour grading, things can start to get a little strained.
This is where a digital intermediate format like ProRes comes into its own. Rather than the complex inter-frame compression of H264, ProRes uses intra-frame compression. Essentially, every frame contains all the data for that frame but the frame itself is compressed. Since the computer is no longer worrying about computing and reconstructing large amounts of frame data on-the-fly, it now only has to concern itself playing back a virtually fully realised data stream. Decompressing the frame is a very much simpler job and consequently the burden now shifts to how fast data can be read off its storage medium. Even a humble spinning rust drive running over USB3 can happily deal with 4K ProRes.
The downside is that ProRes files are very much larger than H264, typically ten times. The upside is a lower computational load and more control and fidelity over the final result. ProRes itself comes in a number of flavours: 422, 422HQ, 4444, 4444 XQ and ProRes RAW. So what do those numbers mean. They refer to another compression trick called chroma sub-sampling. It so happens that the Mark 1 eyeball is not terribly good at perceiving colour, consequently we can remove some of that information without any noticeable degradation.
How does it work? Imagine a block of 4 x 2 pixels: here we have eight samples for the luminance. If we use ProRes 4444, we also have eight samples for the colour (the extra 4 refers to the alpha or transparency channel). If we use 422, we only use one colour sample for every two pixels in a horizontal direction. In other words, in the top row there is only a single colour sample for pixels one and two, and another for pixels three and four, and we do the same thing on second row. This has the effect of halving the amount of colour data we need to store. In the case of H264, this uses a 4:2:0 scheme. Here, instead of using two different colour samples per row, we use the same pair of samples across both rows thus reducing the colour information to a quarter.
The HQ/XQ part refers to the compression level applied to the frame. ProRes uses a similar compression method to JPGs and acts rather like the “quality” slider one can adjust when exporting a JPG. Using these schemes lead to even larger file sizes but preserve more detail.
ProRes has another trick up its sleeve: proxies. These are low-res versions of the full-fat ProRes files that place a much lower I/O load on the storage. This can be very handy for lower-powered systems as they allow you to edit with even fewer constraints on I/O and computation. When you’ve finished, you can switch back to the full-fat version and everything you’ve done edit-wise with the proxies will be automagically applied ready for final rendering.
In an ideal world, we would always shoot material using a high-end digital intermediate like ProRes, CinemaDNG, BRAW, CineForm et al. Indeed, professional filmmakers will always shoot in these high-end formats to preserve as much detail as possible. Quite often, you’ll also shoot in a much higher resolution than is required for the final product, like 6K or even 8K, simply to have more data to play with as the film proceeds through the multiple post-production stages to final delivery.
While FCP is perfectly capable of working with H264, using ProRes confers a number of advantages in the edit that are worth considering. For folks only producing content for social media, the use of ProRes is arguably hard to justify, but for anyone involved in more serious filmmaking endeavours, ProRes is the weapon of choice.
In conclusion, when you turn on the “Create optimised media” flag in FCP’s import window, you are going to be creating these very large files, and if you do plan on editing in ProRes you need to plan your storage requirements accordingly. It is perhaps unfortunate that Apple use the term “optimised media” as one can potentially make the inference that “optimised” means optimised for storage, when in fact it really means optimised for performance. I should also point out that all of the above is a somewhat simplified description of what’s going on, but should convey the essential principles. Errors and omissions are mine alone.
r/finalcutpro • u/JoshBGK • 7h ago
What’s the best software for syncing a bunch of audio and video files? I use Final Cut Pro and there’s not really a viable option I’ve found for syncing all our video and audio for our videos! It’s not a podcast and it’s not multicam footage
r/finalcutpro • u/CorgiMinute3054 • 7h ago
Hey, I'm getting a message saying, "Unfortunately, we cannot verify Design Studio," and similar errors. I reinstalled the plugin, and it seemed like everything was fixed. However, after rendering, the same message appears on some shots again, even though it wasn't showing up before. Do you have any idea what could be causing this or how to fix it?
r/finalcutpro • u/mds789 • 7h ago
Since updating to 12.3 (OTP), noticed a bug with title/plugins that have drop zones. If I drop a video into the drop zone, it freeze frames the video for anywhere between 2-8 seconds before it the video starts to play.
I understand this can happen if the clip is too short, but one title that I've been using is 15 seconds long and I've dropped 30+ second clips in it and still get the freeze frame. I've tested with a handful of titles/plugins from various developers with the same freeze framing result.
Wondering if anyone else has experienced this or if there is something I'm doing wrong at this point? Dropping the clip into the timeline plays as expected, so I've come back to a clock issue/bug.
r/finalcutpro • u/bubblyuncly • 15h ago
I downloaded KEYFRAMELESS from GitHub but this is not loading property, can anyone help me by guiding me ?
r/finalcutpro • u/Genesis2543 • 13h ago
I press not now but happens again the next pop up
r/finalcutpro • u/George_Orama • 5h ago
Unless it's fillmed on a proper green screen I find the remove background feature from FCP useless. Even calling apps like Meet and Zoom do a decent job at it, Descript does it instantly really well. All of that means an annoying use of multiple apps..is there a way to make it work in FCP?
UPDATE: I WAS USING SCENE REMOVAL MASK!!! Magnetic works so much better. THANKS
r/finalcutpro • u/Expensive-Fail6670 • 1d ago
2 weeks ago, i was 3d printing, 1 week ago I was messing with ESP32s and such, and now it's FCP. I saw something I want to recreate. Not sure if i have all the tools i need to do it. i did the shots as shown but im stuck there.
r/finalcutpro • u/Selenashines • 1d ago
I’m trying to clean up some of my file organization and want to move the few libraries I have on my internal MacBook storage to an SSD and HDD for working and backup respectively. But I’m getting time estimates of 15 hours up to “a day” to move these files.
The two libraries I’d like to move are currently sitting at 18GB and 75GB
I’ve read about deleting the generated files and will attempt that. Would zipping the library files help? I’m looking for any other assistance in cutting down these transfer times.
r/finalcutpro • u/idkwhyimalivehere • 1d ago
Hi all,
My friend is planning to start Twitch streaming and I offered to help subtitle his clips.
I know how to highlight and bold certain words (kinda I basically left a large space and just modified the word or words I wanted). But they do not move with a person but I am at a loss on how to get captions to follow a person over thier head like I see in some clips. Especially ones that get smaller as they go far away (although I did just keyframe the size for that).
I did do one for another friend using keyframes but I'm asking if there is an alternative or easier way rather than to painstakingly keyframe every movement. And even that was janky in timing when the people would backtrack suddenly.
If not, are there any tips and tricks using keyframes (and keyframe timing) that I should look into?
Thank you for any advice in advance.
Edit: I have been informed that there is object tracking. I am also learning the reason I didn't know if because I have a much older version of the Mac so it actually does not have object tracker. But I do have a new Mac that DOES have object tracking.
This is so exciting. Thank you everyone who responded.
r/finalcutpro • u/Emmanuel_Paris • 1d ago
Hi everyone. I’m editing a dual-screen project with two stacked connected storylines in the timeline (one called “left”, one called “right”), each containing a multicam clip. I use multicam cut-and-switch (number keys 1-9, or clicking in the angle viewer) at the playhead.
The problem: the switch only ever applies to ONE storyline at a time, and I can’t toggle which one. At first every cut went to the upper storyline only. Then I did something (I’m not sure what) and now every cut goes to the lower storyline only — never the upper one. It’s always all-or-nothing on one storyline, and I can’t find how to switch the targeting back and forth between the two.
Clicking on the storyline / on a clip in the other storyline doesn’t change which one receives the cut. What’s the correct way to control which stacked storyline the multicam switch targets? An instructor once showed me a click to do this, but I can’t reproduce it.
Running FCP on an Mac Studio M1 Max.
Thanks!
r/finalcutpro • u/Silver_Mention_3958 • 1d ago
r/finalcutpro • u/RSKurz • 2d ago
Anyone interested in more than sub-10-minute "just click here" videos regarding the latest Final Cut Pro update and features might appreciate my (growing) playlist and channel. 😉
r/finalcutpro • u/South-University-561 • 2d ago
i want to make a type of mogrt but for final cut pro using motion apple which i can controll duration color etc of a timer and progress bar
also a overlay i want
r/finalcutpro • u/ryan_pack1 • 2d ago
Hey everyone,
I'm working on a project that is sorta like a vlog/recap of a recent trip I went on, and I wanted to include in the corner of all my footage an overlay that displays the exact time of day when that clip was shot. (Sorta like the Ashton Hall meme where he puts the time of day in the middle of his video).
I can't find a way to do this automatically, since doing it by hand would be impossible since I have over 600 short clips/shots that are all a couple seconds long, and I don't want to spend 2 days straight manually typing out each time. I've tried looking at the time code generator, but that doesn't seem to link to the actual video, it just links to the timeline. I figure some tool that can read metadata would be the solution, but also maybe not. I saw a plugin called Metaburner, but it is paid and it looks like from the screenshots it might not include an actual time.
Hoping the solution is Ideally free
Running FCP 10.8.1
All my footage is shot on an Iphone 13. It was downloaded straight onto my desktop from the photos app on my mac, then imported into FCP.
If anyone has any experience with this any information would be much appreciated!
r/finalcutpro • u/metalstone02 • 3d ago
I recently bought a Final Cut Pro course, and so far I’ve gotten familiar with the interface. I still have a bit of the course left, but I keep feeling tempted to edit in CapCut because it’s just so much easier and faster.
The problem is, I don’t want to rely on CapCut anymore. I want to commit to Final Cut Pro because I know it’s a more professional editor, and I want to invest my time into learning it properly.
Did anyone else go through this when they first switched? Did Final Cut feel difficult or overwhelming at the beginning? How long did it take before it started feeling natural?
I’d really appreciate hearing how you guys got over that initial learning curve. I could use a bit of motivation to stick with it instead of going back to CapCut every time.
r/finalcutpro • u/CinemaMedia • 3d ago
Hey everyone the more I’m using fcp and the magnetic timeline learning it mastering it the more that Final Cut Pro is growing on me I actually really like this program.
r/finalcutpro • u/Avis001 • 3d ago
I used to rely on mLUT from motionVFX for its own browsable preview. But since they moved it behind a subscription, I couldn't justify paying monthly for it.
The stock alternative — Custom LUT effect, open the dropdown, dig through the list, repeat for every clip, with zero visual previews — am a bit too impatient for tat.
So I built lutfx: a small free tool that converts every .cube file into its own effect in the Effects browser, organized by category, each with a thumbnail showing the actual look. You just drag the effect onto a clip like any built-in effect, and skimming previews work like they do for stock effects.
Install (Homebrew):
brew install avis001/tap/lutfx
Use:
lutfx ~/Downloads/MyLUTPack --category "Film Looks"
Restart FCP, and every LUT in that folder shows up under Effects → Film Looks. Works with single files or whole packs (subfolders included).
A few honest notes:
- It's not a plugin — no FxPlug, nothing running at render time. Under the hood it generates Motion template files that wrap FCP's own built-in Custom LUT filter with the LUT pre-selected.
- Full transparency: I built this with heavy help from AI. Which is documented in the README if you're curious. I've been using the results in my own edits, so it's real-world tested, but treat it like any young open-source tool.
- Free and MIT-licensed, source here: https://github.com/avis001/fcpLutToEffect
- macOS 13+, .cube files only for now.
[ Haven't had anyone else try the tool - If u face any issues pls do create a issue on Github or post it as a comment here. I'll address it within 24hrs ]
r/finalcutpro • u/apcdgworks • 3d ago
This video is done using apple motion and fcpx where the camera in motion help me to achieve this result
r/finalcutpro • u/Sklonaut • 3d ago
Hello, I’m completely new to Final Cut Pro, really finally needed to do an upgrade and I’m happy I did it. I started by making a huge video essay which was probably out of my league. It honestly felt great and I love learning Final Cut Pro. However, of course I made the project file 1080p HD60p. This wouldn’t be a problem if I hadn’t deliberately recorded everything in 4K to make sure I could export at 4K. So in the browser- the main video that poses the issue in the timeline saying it’s not 4K; it says it is in in the browser, and I know it is truly in 4K. So I’m in this weird limbo where the main video I use in the video essay says it’s 1080p when I inspect it on the timeline- even though in the browser, it’s 4K- when I try to make a new project and copied in and it just doesn’t work because I think the info of being 1080p from the original project is still carrying over. I really don’t wanna have to re-edit everything. It took me a while. Is there any way to do this? When I try to modify it to a 4K file too, it just doesn’t work. I tried re-linking all the files too even though I don’t have anything to do with it thank you. Please help out.
r/finalcutpro • u/hakanaksut • 3d ago
Hi, i am trying to create this aspect ratio in Final Cut. Should i use just square aspect ratio ? Or should i create a 2160x3840 vertical timeline and insert my media in this ? But then how can i make it like square ?
Thanks
r/finalcutpro • u/nBreathableAir • 3d ago
Does anyone know how to get keyboard shortcuts cuts to work on Final Cut Pro while using the iPad version of the program?
r/finalcutpro • u/Consistent_Way_2120 • 3d ago
