FCPx with earlier FCP projects

I cannot understand how apple can call this "FINAL CUT".... It will not open Final cut projects.
I guarantee that Adobe will NEVER make a version of Photoshop that cannot open a .psd file.
Even Microsoft will never make a version of Excel that cannot open a .xls file. I really agree that it should be called iMovie X.
It CAN open iMovie projects but not Final Cut!!!!!!! Apple, you owe all Final Cut Pro users a BIG FAT apology and a refund!!!

This isn't ridiculous at all. It happens to our company regularly: A new above the line employee is brought on, a company wide rule changes, a safety law changes, a technique for a machine is refined... Often it happens a year or more later.
In fact, I have two clients who regularly update old safety or instructional videos rather than re-make them from scratch.
Two weeks ago a manufacturing machine was updated by the manufacturer to make it safer and comply with OSHA regulations. Rather than re-shoot and re-edit the entire (text heavy, btw) video I just grabbed the drive from a shelf, opened the project, updated it to FCP7 (after duplicating the save file before it was updated), made the changes and sent out the master DVD and an invoice.
The original video is two years old and the change was unexpected by both me and the manufacturing company. The change was instigated by OSHA, complied with by the machine manufacturer, and (by law) adopted by the manufacturing company who, again by law, must notify and train employees about the change in workflow.
That's how projects come to be updated sometimes years later.

Similar Messages

Can't open FCP project

Hi everyone
I encountered a problem with my FCP project and I'm not sure how to fix it.
The current workflow is like this - A project is started on FCP 4.5 and later on brought to FCP 5 for final master to BetaSP. (Reason for doing this is becoz we can only master straight to BetaSP on da FCP 5 suite)
This workflow worked for the previous 4 projects.. but it failed with the current one. The project will open till about 90% and then FCP5 will suddenly quit. The project opens fine on FCP 4.5.
Any ideas on what I can do to save this project?
Thanks for the help!
Zee~

one thing you can try is to open the main project in 4.5
duplicate the playout sequence you need to playout
then create a new project and move the duplicated sequence into it
save and close
then try and open the new project in FCP5 and see if that works for you
if thats a no go, then unmount your media drive
then try again to open the the project in FCP5
if it opens then remount the media drive and reconnect the sequence to the media

How do I import old FCP projects that have mysteriously changed to Linux Executable files? Is it as simple as renaming the files with the.fcp extension?

I had some FCP projects on an old G3 tower that I finally want to finish. I was able to grab everything, media, etc. to my macbook pro but all of the Final Cut Pro actual movies/projects have turned into "linux executable files" that FCP X won't import.
I tried googling this issue but didn't really see any good answers. Would it be as simple as renaming the files with the .fcp extension? I can't recall if my old version (really old) of FCP saves projects as .mov or .fcp files, but I'm assuming I'm not the only person this has happened to.
Thanks for your help!

I had some FCP projects on an old G3 tower that I finally want to finish.
What version of FCP was this? The project files can probably no longer be opened in the newer version of the OS. You could try adding the .fcp suffix, but I don't think it will help for this. Projects files are .fcp.
Regardless of the version, no legacy FCP projects will import into FCPX.
Media is a different matter. These are probably QuickTime .mov files. If these are appearing as Unix ececutables, they're probably not recoverable either.

FCP Project won't open in new version

I want to work on an old FCP project I haven't touched in years. I have all the files but not the application any longer (was FCP from 2004). I downloaded the new FCPX trial version but it won't recognize the older files. Do i need an older FCP version?

Depending on what you need to accomplish with this old project, don't discount the possibility of importing a flattened Quick Time movie and working with it in FCPX. Not ideal, but perhaps acceptable.
It seems like a waste to pay the considerable amount pf money that getting either Final Cut Studio 3 or 2 would presently require. (If you go to Amazon, you'll find new sets of FCS3 selling for premiums ranging from $300 to nearly $1,000 above the original price; used sets are selling for nearly as much as the original price.)
The apps in these suites were great for their times, but it's been well over four years since they recieved a refresh. Many who own them (myself included) continue to use them and expect to continue to do so on operating systems like Snow Leoppard for some time. But sooner or later, a new OS version will break them as will the dereasing cability to handle new formats.
Good luck.
Russ

FCP Project File & other Editing programs

G'day, I apologise if this has been brought up earlier but this is a question I've had for a while.
FCP projects obviously maintain the file extension .fcp for the file projects.
My question is can FCP open, use and edit other file projects such as those from Windows Movie Maker or Vegas which have extensions .wmm and .veg respectively?
And can those other editing programs such as Vegas open and operate FCP project files?
I'm currently operating from a university computer with the latest FCP software (FCP5) available.
All answers are greatly appreciated.
Final Cut Pro 5 Other OS
Other OS

I've never tried, but I'm 99% sure you cannot simply open a project file from another program, and have FCP read it, and vice versa. Such things are not common practice among most applications (as it would require Apple licensing proprietary technology to competitors).
There are however, ways to do this. There is a plugin for Final Cut called Automatic Duck that provides import options between pro apps like FCP, Avid, After Effects, Combustion, etc. However, its not free, and would most likey not support an app like Vegas, and certainly not Windows Movie Maker.
The other way to do it is to utilize an Edit Decision List (EDL), which is a textual summary of all your edits and sequences in the project, and importing this along with your clips may allow another program to rebuild your project. I've never really needed to use one before, but I know FCP is capable of importing and exporting them (I would assume it uses XML). I have no idea how well EDLs are supported in Vegas, and I would assume that there is no support for them in WMM.
Good Luck

Fcp project file shown as exec

i have a project edited from a friend with fcp 7, he gave me all of the files so i can edit it. i use fcp X, but it shows the fcp project file as an exec file. (executable)
no f*cking chance to open it.
i dont get it! of course you should open an fcp 7 project file with fcp X, or i am wrong??
can anyone help?

YYou're wrong. The project formats are completely different. You need to open the fcp7 project in the application and export an XML file. You then need to use the utility 7toX to convert the fcp7 XML into an XML version that can be read by FCPX. That converted XML can be imported into FCPX to create the project and its sequences in X.

I have Video camera movies that are HD format.. I am doing editing work on them using Final Cut Pro, but using DV PAL format for the projects I am editing. When I then tried to copy my work done in FCP Project that's originally DV PAL , into a new FCP Pro

I have Video camera movies that are HD format.. I am doing editing work on them using Final Cut Pro, but using DV PAL format for the projects I am editing. When I then tried to copy my work done in FCP Project that's originally DV PAL , into a new FCP Project that is HD, and tried reconnect media with original HD movies (video), the sequence project got distorted for all the text, shapes used and all.. everything changed its orientation and scale.. Is there a way by which I can preserve my work done on DV PAL and switch it preserving its proportions, scale and orientation, but on a HD project sequence?? Appreciate your help and advice..

Yes. A couple of ways that might work.
First Way
What you need to do is load one of your hd clips in the viewer and edit into a new HD sequence. Does it display correctionly?
OK, select the clip in the hd timeline and copy (command-c). Now go to the HD sequence with the material that's distorted. Select all (command-a) and paste attributes (option-v) and choose basic motion and distort. That should maek things work. What won't work is anything that you've adjusted as far as basic motion or distort in your PAL sequence. That I'm pretty sure you'll have to redo.
Second Way.
Choose your original PAL sequence and do a Media Manage changing the sequence preset to the appropriate HD paramenters with the media offline. You then should be able to reconnect these clips with your original HD media.

I open FCPX, see Events and Projects, then they disappear

Here's what's going on:
1. Was using macbook to edit, via an external drive (with events and projects folders on root level)
2. Tried using Imac to edit, so I closed everything out, Unmounted drive and mounted it on iMac before opening Final Cut.
3. Opened FXP X and found that one of the elements was simply not in any of the projects that used it. It is possible, I suppose, that During the creation of these elements I was using a clip stored not in the elements folder, so it was lost track of, but there's no red frames saying I've got detached Video.
4. Tried opening the backup I'd made of events and project folders on my second external drive (events and projects folders also on root level.
5. At first when FCP X opens, I see the projects and events that I want to see, including the missing event appearing in the project list thumbnail sorta timelines in the project browser, but within seconds, projects and events diappear, leaving FCP looking like there are no projects or events. Clean Slate.
6. I notice that the events and projects browsers at first show events and projects as being contained in the external drive. When all disappears, it seems to be because the external drive is no longer recognized or superseded by the Macintosh HD, which becomes the only HD shown in either browswer.
Not sure if the 1st issue (disappearing element) and the 2nd (disappearing events and projects before my eyes) are related.
But at a loss.
Thoughts?

Projects and events can disappear if they are exact copies, clones of other projects and events on other drives.

Sharing FCP projects between user accounts problem

Hello!
I'm working on a project with several other colleagues. Each of us has his own User account on the computer (dual G5 / 10.4.7) because we have different preferecnes regarding keyboard layouts, desktop colour etc. We would like to have our FCP project files accessible to each of us.
I have tried different approaches to solve this task, but haven't fully succeded yet (I tried creating the project file within the /Users/Shared foler; putting it into a dedicated /Users/FCPProjects folder and applying chmod/chown commands; creating a Editors group with NetInfo and assigning those foders to this group; I even tried to work around this using ACLs).
The problem is that when we click "Save All" command in FCP, we get three or four OK-only dialog boxes in a row saying "Access denied". The project file is in fact saved (I can see it by checking the Modified time in Finder), but FCP seems not to be aware of this and doesn't want to quit. It's an unpleasent situation because it allways makes us worry about losing our work.
Could someone please give us instructions on the correct procedures for resolving the issue.
Thank you
Best regards
Mato Ilijic

matoid,
ACLs should work for you, and it seems that they are. You shouldn't have to deal with the error dialogue either, so let's see if we can't get rid of it.
First, let's talk about groups. I have looked at your "step by step," and I notice that you didn't bother to change the group ownership of the "shared" folder that you created. Fine, ACLs still work, but the group ownership of "wheel" might be the cause of your error messages. ACLs are a more advanced system of access controls than the older POSIX system, but POSIX still exists, and might affect your work.
Let's assume that you have your standard users that will be using FCP placed properly into a common group. For this discussion, I'll call that group "fcpusers." Under the POSIX paradigm, any "shared" folder can be owned by any one of the users in this group, but it must have a group ownership of "fcpusers" in order to work properly for everyone. When it does, every new file or folder created in it will "inherit" that group ownership.
Now, every user on a given machine will have read access to that shared folder. If a non-member of group "fcpusers" attempts to save a file there, however, an error message is likely to appear. One other possibility is that the file is saved, but with an "unknown" group ownership. This is because of a conflict between the groups the saving user is a member of and the attempted "inheritance" from the enclosing folder.
I want you to try the following. Please do this exactly as I outline it:
1) Create a new group in Netinfo Manager. Duplicate the "admin" group. Change the name of the duplicate to "fcpusers," then delete the "realname," "generateduid," and "smb_sid" properties. Change the GID to "101." Select the "users" property, then choose Directory>Insert Value. Type the short name of one of your users. Repeat this procedure for every user of FCP. Select any admin users in this group who will not be using FCP, and click the "Delete" icon. Finally, choose Domain>Save Changes.
2) Create a new folder in /Users/Shared. For this discussion we will assume that you will call it "FCP_Data." Further, we will assume that one of your FCP users is named "usera" (your terminology ;-)). Open Terminal. Since you seem to be well-versed in the use of Terminal, I will simply post the commands needed:
<pre style="overflow:auto; font-family: 'Monaco'; font-size: 10px">sudo chown usera:fcpusers /Users/Shared/FCP_Data
sudo chmod g+w /Users/Shared/FCP_Data</pre>
3) Before anyone begins saving files in this directory, make sure that their umask is changed using TinkerTool. Also, I recommend that all media gets saved here, too. I'm not sure how close FCP is to iMovie, if it doesn't save all data in a "package," but it is likely that media is being referenced using "placeholders." If this is the case, and media for a given project is scattered all over the file system, there could indeed be ownership issues. If media needs to be on externals, this same "shared" folder can be created there. Just make sure that #1, the volume has "ownership and permissions" in effect, and #2 all media is kept within the "shared" directory structure.
You must use TinkerTool to change the umask such that members of the group have read/write permission. TinkerTool doesn't specifically say this, but the corresponding umask is "002" (the OS X default is "022"). BTW, umask is subtracted from the "full permissions" value of "666" when saving non-executable files ("777" for folders and executables).
Once you have a properly configured "shared" folder and a proper umask in place, your users can begin to populate the shared directory. If any existing projects are to be added, they must be copied by a user into the shared directory, not simply moved. Only when a copy is made will the new copy inherit the proper group ownership. Just to be sure, I will include one more set of commands to use, once the shared directory has been populated:
<pre style="overflow:auto; font-family: 'Monaco'; font-size: 10px">sudo chown -R usera:fcpusers /Users/Shared/FCP_Data
sudo chmod -R g+w /Users/Shared/FCP_Data</pre>
Please follow these instructions carefully, then report the results. This should work, and without using ACLs.
Scott

Need help in exporting my FCP project to work on my laptop

I'm taking a long trip and I'd like to export all that's needed to work on my FCP project from my PowerMac G5 to my Powerbook Pro. I could really use some advice on this.
1. It's most likely that all of my files will not fit on the Powerbook hard drive (half is devoted to Windows). I know there are issues with importing footage to a firewire drive, but what if my footage is already imported? Can I get a tiny firewire external drive and move all my video files to work with? Or will I still be at a risk of dropped frames or other problems? Can I even get a USB drive for this? WD makes a great tiny one. I've got a huge Maxtor firewire drive, but I need one that is portable and doesn't need external power. Any recommendations? Is this just a stupid question and there's no way this is possible?
2. Will I run into a problem of installing my Final Cut Studio on my Powerbook Pro since it's already installed on my PowerMac? I guess if I absolutely had to, I could uninstall FCP from my Powermac, then install it on my Powerbook, then uninstall it from my powerbook when i'm done with my trip, then reinstall it on my PowerMac. But it'd be much simpler if I could just install it on my Powerbook and leave the already installed version on my PowerMac alone.
I'd love some advice with this. Thanks!

I'm taking a long trip and I'd like to export all
that's needed to work on my FCP project from my
PowerMac G5 to my Powerbook Pro. I could really use
some advice on this.
First, do you mean Macbook Pro? Also what version of FCP are you running? If you have a Macbook Pro then you must have FCP 5.1 in order for it to run on your notebook.
1. It's most likely that all of my files will not fit
on the Powerbook hard drive (half is devoted to
Windows). I know there are issues with importing
footage to a firewire drive, but what if my footage
is already imported? Can I get a tiny firewire
external drive and move all my video files to work
with? Or will I still be at a risk of dropped frames
or other problems? Can I even get a USB drive for
this? WD makes a great tiny one. I've got a huge
Maxtor firewire drive, but I need one that is
portable and doesn't need external power. Any
recommendations? Is this just a stupid question and
there's no way this is possible?
You are correct in assuming that you need not put your media files on your system drive. Get a small Firewire drive that is bus powered, I recommend on from G-Technologies, maker of the G-Raid.
2. Will I run into a problem of installing my Final
Cut Studio on my Powerbook Pro since it's already
installed on my PowerMac? I guess if I absolutely had
to, I could uninstall FCP from my Powermac, then
install it on my Powerbook, then uninstall it from my
powerbook when i'm done with my trip, then reinstall
it on my PowerMac. But it'd be much simpler if I
could just install it on my Powerbook and leave the
already installed version on my PowerMac alone.
This depends on what version you are using. I believe that you can have 5.1 installed on both a desktop and notebook with one license. However, be sure to check the license that came with your software just to be sure. If you do not have 5.1 (and you don't have a MBP but instead a Powerbook (not Pro) then you will have to uninstall and reinstall.
Once you have these issues worked out it is a matter of transferring your project files to your new FW drive.
2 - PowerMac G5 2.0Ghz DP Mac OS X (10.4.6) 1- Mac Mini

FCP Project file won't open

Hello,
An FCP project file I worked on this past Friday suddenly won't open. When I try it immediately gives the helpful "general error" message. I tried opening the autosave files as well, with no luck. I tried renaming the project file and manually adding the .fcp extension, but still nothing. I'm not sure why it's doing this, since nothing unusual happened in the last few days. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Power Mac G5
6gb ram, dual 2ghz processor
FCP 5.0
Also, does anybody know where I can purchase an unused version of the FCP 5.0 bundle? I can't upgrade because of OS and processor restrictions on my old G5. And I can't buy a newer mac right now. All of my related FCP programs are starting to act buggy, and I don't have the install cds anymore. Any ideas?

I can't upgrade because of OS and processor restrictions on my old G5
Huh? According to the requirements for FCP 6, it needs A Macintosh computer with a 1.25GHz or faster PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, Intel Core Duo, or Intel Xeon processor and Mac OS X v10.4.11 or Mac OS X v10.5.5 or later. How does your computer not fall into this range?
Patrick

Event Library will not show External HD with the current project.

Problem opening the project I'm working on...I start FCPX and the Event Library quickly shows the external hd with the current project I want but only for a slit second, then it fires up a error message(the I can't possibly read) and acts as if the hd doesn't exist. I can see the hd on the desktop(share is on) and the drive is partitioned, with one of the parts as a Time Machine BU(but I have turned TM off).
Tried:
permissions
restarting
moving file to main drive
moving file to another drive that isn't a TM drive
Thanks in advance for any advice

It's been documented that Time Machine drives cannot be used with FCPX (they disappear just like you are talking about). However, I would genuinely be surprised if you couldn't partition a drive so that one partition is devoted to TM and the other to FCPX, as the two partitions should be seen as two separate drives.
That said, when FCPX sees the TM drive partition, it might do something that dismounts the other partition from its view as well. For example, it might look at a drive-level identifier and decide that anything with that identification is not suitable for FCPX.
Give this a try -- eject the TM drive partition in the Finder prior to opening FCPX. So you should only have in the Finder the partition you are using with FCPX. To be safe, reboot before trying all of this.
EDIT - then open FCPX and see if you can see the drive and it stays visible.

FCP Projects Converted To .m2v In Compressor Are Not Accepted ?

Normally I export my FCP projects as QuickTime Movies and drop them into iDVD 08.
I have just exported to Compressor and ended up with a .m2v and a .ac3 file which work in Toast and DVD Studio Pro but cannot be dropped into the iDVD window.
They jump straight out !
I have also tried importing them via the File menu with no success.
What am I doing wrong ?
I have just searched the iDVD Help menu again and discovered this:-
"MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 files, QuickTime VR movies, and movies with sprite or Flash tracks cannot be added".
Does that mean that my .m2v files (which I believe are MPEG-2) will not work and the best I can do is to export from FCP as QT Movie ?
Message was edited by: Ian R. Brown

That is what it means. iDVD will not accept pre-encoded files. However, I would be curious to know why you would want to use iDVD when you have and know how to use DVD Studio Pro? IMHO, on big disadvantage to iDVD is that it doesn't use AC3 or compressed audio, it uses uncompressed PCM.
Mike

What to do with a Corrupt project file? Render Errors?

Hello,
I have a FCP project that has somehow gone corrupt. It still opens and I have access to it, but after working in it for a while, renders go crazy. I am working in DVCPRO HD 1080i60 with many layers, and a 2.35 matte. Sometimes a render misses layers, sometimes a renders put an image from the sequence in the wrong place, sometimes the render just plain goes crazy like it was on acid.
I have recently switched computers and am having the same problem. Therefore I think my project is somehow corrupt.
Does anyone know a good way to port the project to get a clean start? Please let me know. I am thinking of trying to do an XML port for the project, but the file is huge (300MB) and I worry...
Thanks,
D

Hi
And this external hard disk - HAS TO be Mac OS Extended formatted (not often solsd so)
AND - Moving Events and Projects - Should be done within iMovie - NOT via Desktop/Finder !
If so there is a great risk that iMovie can't find them again !
Yours Bengt W

Fcpx with magic bullet green and pink flash frames

Hi I'm using fcpx with magic bullet. all recent updates. an imac 3.4ghz 32gb ram 512ssd drive and 512mb card. I keep getting pink and green flash frames whenever i colour grade in magic bullet.
first 22 secs of project were fine, next day I added to it, flash frames everywhere throughout the entire project. tried everything. is it a bug?
cheers

This problem is completely averted, for me (and reportedly most others), by exporting using "Send to Compressor" rather than using any FCPX presets. That is, no flashes or green/purple/upside-down frames show up in the final output.
I would hardly have believed that the "engine" used in Compressor is different to FCPX - but that is obviously (simplistically) the case.
This is also some confirmation that the problem is with FCPX - not the plugin.

FCPx with earlier FCP projects

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