FCP PROJECT IN EXTERNAL DRIVES

FCP 5
Motion 2
DVD Pro 4
I have made 4 FCP movies so that I will have plenty of memory I have purchased 4 external hard drives (LACIEs) each one is named LACIE 1, LACIE 2, LACIE 3, LACIE 4. I have logged and captured video from a camera to each of the LACIEs. The log and capture is good, I have all of the video files in the LACIEs) Each of the LACIEs has a different FCP File in it with a different name i.e. Dog Movie, Cat Movie, etc. Something went wrong. Now when I try to open a new FCP file from my desktop I get the message that a duplicate FCP serial number is already running on my network. I am the only user of the computer. There is no other FCP file open and/or running. So I opened LACIE1 and the FCP file in it Dog Movie and I got the (duplicate serial number is already running on my network) message BUT the FCP file opens and when it does I get a message that my "scratch disk" needs to be reset. Even though the FCP file appears to be open I cannot click on the Systems file or the Scratch Disk file to open them directly from the FCP file, I have to get the message. I am having the SAME problem trying to open ANY of my FOUR FCP files from all of my FOUR LACIEs.
I understand that each FCP file for each LACE has to have the "scratch disk" set to that LACIE. What I don't understand is that do I set the scratch disk to LACIE1 or the Dog Movie in LAÇIE1 or the Dog Movie work File in LACIE 1. What settings do the video capture, audio capture, video render and audio render which are the scratch disk settings have to be set to?
Also, I cannot open the system settings at all because the FCP appears not to be functioning even though the video is showing, then I get the message that "your settings have been changed do you want to save them? If I click yes, the FCP closes and I can't work on it; if I click no, the FCP closes and I can't work on it.
First of all I guess I have to get rid of the duplicate serial number FCP? How do I do that. I thought that by having my four FCP movies in separate external hard drives I would be keeping everything clean. I would appreciate any help anyone could give me. I am completely non-functional and can't work on any of my FCP files.

Is this an FCP 5.0 version and are you running it on an Intel Mac?
If so, the problem with the duplicate serial may be caused by that. 5.0 and Intel are not compatible and there are all sorts of odd quirks, even when it appears to work correctly at times. But this is one that I never heard of before.
That problem only usually crops up when you have the software running on two or more computers on a local network.
To your Scratch Disks; as David has already pointed out, you can have up to twelve of them. What will usually happen is the first one fills up then FCP moves on to the next one. So your other three will be sitting around doing nothing for a while.
The system I use also involves 5 drives but they get used for different things:
The system drive holds my project files in my user space.
Video 1 and 2 are for capturing -they are setup in a software RAID arrangement. Video 3 holds Render Files and stuff. Video 4 is for Mastering the finished product. This way no drive is trying to both read and write at the same time.

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Saving source footages and FCP project in EXTERNAL Hard drive

I have ran out of space in my Inbuilt harddrive of the computer....
Now i have got a new project to be done and i have external 1 TB hardrive.....
So my question:
1.) Can i save the source footages in External HD?
2.) Can i save the project in External HD and edit it and do everything as in External HD?
I have never done such thing so help would be acknowleged.
Thanks and if i am missing any information then do let me know!

Hi
YES - BUT
• External Hard Disk - MUST BE - Mac OS Extended (hfs) formatted (all mine are journaled)
• Should be FireWire or Thunderbolt - as USB/USB2 performs badly to me and especially when filling up.
• I do - create a folder on My external HD named as Movie project + date
- then Start FinalCut
- AND set up ALL Scratch disks to this folder
- then SAVE projects - and direct this to same folder
- then I also make a folder in this project folder (on ext.HD) named material - and in this I collect all photos, audio-files (all converted to .aiff - NO .mp3 or other) AND all texts in a text document to copy from e.g. Title, contributors etc. SO also a document describing how the project is to be done - sort of synopsis.
PROBLEM
When changing Scratch-disks in FinalCut Express or Pro (FCP-X i don't know) one must when starting up next time - FIRST CONTROL - where they are set - as they do not orient after project but after last settings. All material and Captures etc - can be stored in a very wrong location IF one doesn't keep this in mind !
MY OWN experience - very tedious to clean up - BUT at least FinalCut Pro can help in collecting in all parts if they go astray.
Yours Bengt W

Unable to move project from external drive back to FCPX.

The HD was recently replaced in my iMac. Fortunately I had backed up my FCPX events and projects to folders on an external drive. I have down loaded FCPX again to the new HD but I'm unable to move my project back into FCPX. Having opened FCPX, I then open the project library, select the external drive, open the folder containing my project but the "current version fcpproject" is grey (not available). I was however able to drag the "fcpevent" file into the event library.
Any help will be appreciated

Since there is no disclosure triangle on your external showing in your project library, there are two possibilities:
1) There are no projects presently located on the drive.
2) Project files are on the drive but FCP can't see them because they are not at the root level of the drive.
So either way, to straighten this out you will have to move some files in the Finder – even though best practices (as both Tom and Luis have pointed out) are to stay within FCP to do that.
Move the existing CurrentVersion file to a temporary folder to hide it from FCP.
Unless you know that the Ball project is at a specific location on your external, do a spotlight search on Final Cut Projects. If something comes up, with FCP closed, navigate to it in the Finder and move it to the root level of the external drive. Then open FCP and it should now be accessible in your project library. Select it in the library; go to File>Move Project. Things should now work.
But if you don't have another copy on your external, open FCP and hot the plus button at the bottom of project library and create a new project. That will create a Final Cut Projects Folder in your Movies folder (which is where it should be in your home directory). Close FCP. Open the temp file and drag the CurrentVersion file that you hid to the Final Cut Projects folder.
Hopefully, you wil now be able to get back to work.
Russ

Share or Backup Project to External Drive

Ok,
I've figured out a solution, and it probably isn't the best. I couldn't really find answers around, so I thought I'd post this to either; a) help or b) get better ideas.
It should be noted that FCPX crashed a couple of times while I tested this on my MBP. I found the FCP manual to be a little lacking on this subject, but I wanted to be able to work with a project on an internal media drive on my Mac Pro, then move it to external drives for sharing & backup purposes. Here's what I came up with:
1. From the media drive root, copy the "Final Cut Events" & "Final Cut Projects" folders to the root of the external drive.
2. If you have published specific motion generators or titles for your project, you will need to copy the "Motion" folder from the Username>Movies>Motion folder to the external drive. . . if you will be using another computer for this project, you will need to add all the relevant files to the new computer's Username>Movies>Motion folders so that everything is accessible from there (as far as I know, FCPX won't recognize them unless they are installed there).
3. Be sure you've copied any external files (i.e. ProRes files stored on your media drive, imported into FCPX, but original media stayed in it's initial location outside the Final Cut Events folder).
This last part is the trickiest because I've found that those clips won't reconnect using "Modify Event References" when you get to the new workstation (or at least it's never worked for me). However, I've found a trick that works great for this:
4. To reconnect media, have FCPX open to a PROJECT TIMELINE with missing media. Open a Finder window to a parent folder containing all folders & files that may contain disconnected media. Do a search for ".mov" and narrow the search to the parent folder by clicking its name at the top. Click the "+" at the top-right and change the Kind from "Any" to "Movie."
5. Drag all the resulting movies from the Finder window (BUT DO NOT LET GO OF THE FILES) and hover them over the timeline. If this search contains some media you don't want in that event, it would add them if you dropped these files. Instead, just hover over your timeline until FCPX appears ready to add the clips, then drag them BACK to the Finder window! Now, when you click on the event in FCPX, you will see the clips reconnected!
6. Repeat steps 4-5 but replace ".mov" and "Movie" with something like "aif" and "Music" for any audio files you have.
I hope that wasn't too confusing. I should have just done a screencast since it probably took me longer to type! Please let me know if anyone has a better solution.
Thanks,
Lawrence

Thanks Andy,
I saw that post, and thought the correct answer listed didn't really cover some of the caveats I have encountered (like the published Motion generators), nor the issue of reconnecting (which hopefully will be an issue resolved soon). I have tried deleting the pref's file on the new machine, but I didn't get great results. So I just thought I'd try to combine my issues more succinctly here.
As far as making a copy of the whole media drive, that's not really what I want either. I would like to be able to move the specific projects to an external drive that backs up my active media drive projects & events, but then be able to also quickly move them to archived drives and delete them from my internal media & media backup drives. As my archives go, I will usually designate drives for clients who do a lot of work.
So for my purposes, I am using Chronosync to synchronize certain folders.
I appreciate your help. Always appreciated all the great support we get from knowledgeable guys like yourself!
Lawrence

Value of mounting FCPX events/projects on external drive

Friends,
I'm wondering how much value I would get if I mount FCPX events and projects on an external drive? I have an imac i7 with a 2TB HD. The drive is less than half full. I've noticed that FCPX slows down while rendering, and it renders often when adding titles and music. I have a 1 TB FW800 external that I could use. Would I notice any speed benefit?
Thanks!
Steve

Most everyone here probably uses an external Firewire or several to keep their projects and events on. Of course, you can copy the Final Cut Projects folder and Final Cut Events folders from your system drive's Movies folder to the root (top) level of your external drive. You should make a backup first. Then you should remove the projects and events from within the same Projects and Events folders that you just copied from on your system drive. You need to only have one set of the same projects and events on your system so FCP X does not get confused. It is possible to "hide" your originals away in another folder other than the Movies folder or at the top level of your system drive, but that's another topic. Another point is that, generally, FCP X cannot work with an external drive that is also used as a Time Machine destination drive. Finally, the external needs to be formatted in Mac OS Extended Journalled to work with FCP X. A recent update to FCP X may have fixed the Time Machine restriction. There are a lot of threads on this forum that talk about these things. You can also watch this short tutorial about how to copy your projects and events to an external drive from within FCP X ...
http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/FCPX-media-on-the-go/1
Best wishes.

FCP 10.1 - External Drives stopped connecting

After a couple of days of using FCP 10.1 - suddenly when an external drive is connected - FCP doesn't recognize it.
The OS registers the drive, so clicking on the "projects and events" folder on the external drive is the only way which projects show up in the FCP GUI. Why?
How do I fix this?
Thanks!
Rob

The drives do not appear in FCP 10.1 interface. You open library either by double-clicking them or use the Open Library.

Can't move a project to external drive. Followed Apple's help instructions. Is it because I partitioned the external drive?

When I drag the project to the external drive in the event library, it does not lock on. Thus, options for Move Project or Move Project and Events don't show up.The WD external drive has been formatted correctly. It has 2 partitions, one for Time Machine, one for saving files and folders.

zarathu wrote:
You don't say if you are using iMovie 11. The only way to move a project is to have '11.
And then you have to save it as an Archive. You can move the archive. You can also save it as a disk image but that will be a completed document.
If there is no"Archive Project" in your file menu, you are out of luck.
The issue here is that the iMovie 11 Help files are incorrect (see below).
It is actually very simple to move a project and all its associated components to an external drive.
You have to do it however in the Project Library and not mix it with the Event Library as the help files suggest.
Type in External Drive into iMovie Help and read through the results.
Best, Z.

Saving i movie 09 project to external drive for future editing

Hi, could someone please help. I would like to know how to save my i movie 09 project onto an exernal hard drive. Also, do I need a specific Apple external drive to save my project onto or can it be another one that i have used in the past for my pc?
Another silly question. If I upgrade my i movie via the upgrades, will i lose my current project?
any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
kind regards.

my question is the same... i have all these imported video clips in my imovie but want to save it to my passport/external hard drive so i can edit it later. I need to make more room for my other imported movies.

Moving an FCP project to another drive.

i am new to FCP, and my current project is on a small drive. i want to move that project to another drive. i already transfered the project files manually to the new drive, but before i delete the project i want to make sure my transfer is correct. any ideas?
i mean, is there a special way to move projects? or just the manual way ( the same way you move ordinary files )...
thanx

There are certain folders that go with each project - video capture, audio files, waveform files, render files; these are known as your scratch disk. If you transfer all of these folders to a new drive, you'll have everything you need to be up and running. Sounds like you did that, so just double check that you have all the files associated with your project and you should be good to go.
There is also Media Manager. You can use it to copy all of your files to a new location, among other things. I've only used a little, so rather than explain it wrong I'll just say look it up in the FCP manual.
Hope that helps.
jesse.

Cant read .mts files with FCP-X on external drive after recovery

I used Data Rescue 3 on my Imac to recover lost files. They came back on the external drive as .mts files but will not import to FCP X. Why?? Do they need to be in some kind of file for FCP X to recognise them??

Forum search is your friend.
FCP cannot import .mts files without the folder structure that contains their metadata. You can use ClipWrap to rewrap the files to QuickTime.

Install FCP studio to external drive

I want to install FCP studio to my macbook pro and install all supporting media to an external drive so i don't waste space. has anybody done that.
thanks
macbook pro Mac OS X (10.4.9)

As Jerry notes, templates can be installed on a non-system disk.
Pay close attention during the install process when you are given Options. A number of people have clicked through those moments without paying much attention and placed all there support files on the system disk - much to their dismay.
good luck.
x

Cant move projects to external drive

The instructions I have, say to drag the project to the extenal drive that is showing in the event library. It does nothing when I drag the project?
Thanks,

This is an error in the Help files. What you need to do is drag the project to the external drive that shows up in the PROJECT library. If you scroll up you should see it.

Can no longer export projects to external drive in FCPX

I've been successfully using FCPX to edit original movies and export them to an external drive. After installing the latest FCPX updates I am suddenly now not able to export anything. The entire Share menu is greyed out. What's the problem?

Thanks David.
I have a hazy idea of all this stuff. For the matter, I have been using a single external drive [Seagate 2 TB, with firewire 800] having 3 partitions: I am using one partition [1 TB] for placing my camera footage [as FCPX is unable to make camera archives of the footage, I am resorting to making disc images of the footage and importing relevant files into my events which I am placing on another partition [500GB] of the external drive which I have named as 'scratch disc'. I keep my projects also upon this scratch disc.
Now my question is this: Evidently in time to come I would have this drive filled up with camera archives [in my case disk images], events and projects. Finished projects would have to be moved over to a different drive [for archiving] and thereby allow space in the working drive to import and edit more clips. After making this duplicate copy, can I boldly delete the project from my scratch disc? While making a duplicate copy of the project, what should be the option I should make? My need for the archived project would be like this: to dub it into other languages. Should I opt for duplicate project and referenced events or duplicate project+used clips only. Whichever of the two I choose, when I reopen the project at a later date from this new drive, will I be able to access all the clips in the timeline of the project and also will the referenced events also appear in the event browser?
Sort of confused and would like to be guided through this important phase of handling or managing data.

HOW do you save FCP X to external drives?

How do I set the scratch disk or change where my project is saved in FCP X?

With hair tearing frustration I can second that:
Just freed up 1tb drive, formatted for OSX Extended so we dont get the FAT 4GB file limit,
proceeded to make that my time machine backup, then loaded all my footage (which i archive off my cam manually by copying the BDMV folders, as my JVC only has 32GB internal so i do 'daily' footage copies and erase the cam) onto the drive, ready to use with my amazing new fcpx and, - Whoa!
The amazement continues as only my moviecore drive (fat32) shows up in fcp, and not my AVCHDCore!!!
In one day of toying around, my meagre 320GB startup disk is so full of needlessly cached video files (which also had to be copied FROM the external disk when log/transfer or import from camera is performed), that the VM storage bound itself into knot and i had to force restart my machine.
While many professionals have workflow issues, FCPX seems great compared with the clunky, premiere style NLE of past versions, its a breeze with the clip/subclip management/linking happening in the background, not to mention proper multitask rendering.
But the orwellian treatment to your loyal customers who proudly use (or, used to) your products in both home and professional environments is staggering.
Please dont americanise your approach to your customers Apple, removing peoples rights and capabilities and telling them you're making it easier for them.
Steve's gone 5 minutes and you guys drop the ball.
Thouroughly unimpressed.

Transfer iMovie project from external drive??

I posted this on the iMovie forum with no luck. I thought I would try here in case it was a Snow Leopard issue.
My Apple died, so I transferred everything from the external backup to my new apple. It was all backed up with Time Machine. Everything went perfect except for my iMovie Project. It copied well, but I cant open it. The message says:
If the project is already on your hard disk, then the disk may be completely full, or you may not have permission to modify that folder. Correct the problem and try again.
the computer hard drive shows 28 GB are open for use (this is after the iMovie project was transferred over). I had this problem before on this new computer because I was using it for my business and had an administrative account separate from the guest account so others did not have access to some files. Anyway, I found out that I could open the iMovie project on the guest account but not with the administrative account. I still can not open it with the administrative account. I thought the administrative account was the only account I had now. There is a guest account which is disabled. I enabled and tried that, but when I logged in, the desktop did not even include the hard drive??
Anyway, I do not want to have to go to the guest account to work on my project, I only want access to everything on the one account.
When I check the permissions for the file. It shows that there are two "Everyone" listings with the icon of 3 people. One of them has "Custom" as a privilege and the other one has "Read & Write" as a privilege. I don't know what any of this means.
I know I said a lot. I was hoping to give as much info as possible.
Please help.
Thank You

I fixed it. I kept playing around with privileges until I found the right option. I have it now, thank you.
I did this earlier but no luck. I am good now.

FCP PROJECT IN EXTERNAL DRIVES

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