Repetitive tasks in Final Cut Pro 4.5

i am working on a series of projects that involve making what ar basically picture slideshows. i alternate between a picture and a transition i randomly pick out of the lists. is there any way for me to automate the task of manually inserting 150 pictures and transitions? QuicKeys? i know fcp does not support applescript (if only!). i have looked at traffic, but, being a student, it is out of my range currently, and i dont do these super-repetitive projects often.
thanks.
Mac OS X (10.4.4) final cut pro 4.5 hd

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Patrick

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Final Cut Pro X 10.1.2 background task

Final Cut Pro X 10.1.2 background task is running without stopping, it's going from 0-100 in a second, very fast. And really doesn't let me work on my project. When I play a video on timeline, it plays the sound but doesnt view the video itself. What should I do?

Also…you might have to delete project render files (File menu).
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How can I restart media import in final cut pro?

The operation of background activities on Final Cut Pro is often convenient, except when an import gets interrupted by an inadvertant media removal. I usually have multiple SD cards connected to my Mac doing imports, and if I have more media than I have adapters/slots to connect them with, I will invariably unplug the wrong card, and interrupt an import that is in progress. When I put the card back in, there is nothing that I can see to "restart" the import of that media where it left off at, or at least start over, and overwrite any incomplete files. Instead, it seem that I need to import the card into a new event, and then use finder to then move the media files into the old event folder structure. Only then, can I get something that seems to work.
Is there some other way to reliably restart the import, or otherwise force the import to actually work? It seems that if I try to import to the same event, again, I see the animation of the closing file selection dialog toward the events, but the background tasks window shows no activity, and I don't see anything ever complete as an import.
This, also blocks any attempt to "share" the project too, because it keeps complaining about an import which has not finished, and thus the project is still referencing "media on the camera" . That limitation has got to go away too! I really want to construct my project, share it, and move on. Waiting for media to "import" when I actually can construct the project with the preliminary media view doesn't make sense. Even if importing needs to happen for conversion/rendering for the share, just do that in the background. Let me say "share", and go do something else with my time!
I have submitted feedback on this, but if anyone has pointers of simplifying import from SD cards that would be great!

Select the photos you want rotated, open the Inspector (command-4). In the Video section of the Inspector, hover your mouse near the Transform and click show if it's not already open. The rotation setting is in there.

A Case Study Question in the Use of Stills with Final Cut Pro

Believe it or not, for the last week I have been reading endlessly about pixels, resolution, aspect ratio, Photoshop resizing, the bloody battle over the usefulness of the term "dpi" in video discussions, and generally about what one should do in order to use still images in a film edited in Final Cut Pro. And yet, though I have a PhD from an Ivy League university, and can understand a lot of things, I am sorry to say I am still at a loss.
Much of the discussions of photos on forums like this one are either quite technical or broadly philosophical. But my questions are completely practical and specific. I am not a photographer or a printer, nor am I an experienced editor. I am just a fairly smart person trying to use photos in his film. So I am going to ask some specific questions and hope for specific answers, without any philosophical waffling or technical mumbo jumbo.
I have one of those HP all in one printer/fax/scanner machines. I am told this device, while not fancy, is perfectly adequate to the task. Some of my photos I scan with this device from prints. Some of them I get from other people. (I have stopped downloading photos from the web, as the quality is nearly always poor.) I have Photoshop Essentials (not Photoshop). I am making a 90-minute HDV documentary, 16x9. The doc is mostly HDV footage with a still here and there. I want to be able to move on the photos (zoom, pan, etc.). I want, obviously, for them to look good. My sense is that the work flow is: (a) scan the photo (or obtain from some source as a digital file); alter the photo in some way in Photoshop; and (b) import the photo into your FCP project.
Question #1: If I have a 6x8 print, what settings should I scan it in with -- is it possible there really is no difference between scanning in it at 72dpi and 300dpi? Is it really all about the dimensions of the image? Isn't a photo whose dimensions are enlarged in Photoshop to make it available for panning and zooming in my sequence going to look fuzzier and more pixelated if it was originally scanned at 72dpi than at 300dpi? Also: Does it matter if I save it as a jpeg or tiff? Bottom line: What settings do I use in my scanning software when I scan a photo for this purpose?
Question #2: Once I have the image file on my hard drive, I suppose I now have to load it into Photoshop Elements and do something to it. What is it exactly I am using this program for? I'm going to take a wild guess. I use PS Elements to (1) crop the photo so that it has a 16x9 aspect ratio, and (2) resize it so that I can do pans and other Ken Burnsy moves on it in FCP. Bottom line: What exactly do I do in PSE to the photo and what settings do I use to both (a) make it available for moves and (b) not injure the quality of the photo by increasing its dimensions?
(In passing, I will say that I have done experiments that show that if I increase a photo's dimensions to, say, 4000 pixels by 2000 pixels, the photo's quality definitely and obviously suffers. I don't understand how a picture can be increased in size without losing sharpness. So, what am I doing wrong? Is this a function of it having been scanned in improperly to begin with?)
Question #3: If I am obtaining a photo from an outside source -- say, a professional photographer -- what are the specifications I ask for in both a hard print and a photo file? If the former, what dimensions do I ask for? If the latter, do I specify resolution and dimensions and file type?
These are my questions. At this point, I really don't want to know WHY any of this is the way it is. I just want someone to say: "Do this; do this; and then do this."
Thank you very much.

Studio X is absolutely correct; while DPI has no meaning in the video world, it often has significant meaning in scanning (and, of course, printing). If your scanning program only allows image size adjustments in DPI, then you'll have to adapt to that ... keeping in mind that the scanner's DPI setting directly relates to pixel resolution. And it is pixel resolution (not DPI) that will make all the difference in the world for images used in video. You can test this yourself by scanning an image at 1000 x 1200 @ 72 DPI and again at 1000 x 1200 at 300 DPI. They will look identical on TV or projection as long as the pixel resolution remains the same.
As an example, my Epson scanning software allows me to adjust image size by DPI or pixel resolution. Wanting to maintain the correct aspect ratio for the image area that I'm scanning, I adjust the DPI setting which in turn adjusts the pixel resolution automatically. But it doesn't work the other way around; if I adjust the pixel resolution settings manually, the DPI setting does not change. Your software may vary.
As Jim Cookman suggested, a scan setting of 300 DPI works well for most images ranging from 3 x 5 to 4 x 6 (typical snapshot size) in a DV Sequence. I may scan smaller images at 400 or 600 DPI and larger images (8 x 10 and up) at 150 DPI. Other size images fall in between those numbers. But I'm constantly watching the pixel resolution numbers to make sure I'm getting what I'll need to support the animation I intend to apply to the images once in FCP. Also bear in mind that I don't always scan the entire image. I only scan the area of an image that I intend to use in my program.
So the answer is that it all depends on your scanner's software and how far you plan to push into an image once in FCP. Do a few experiments ... you're a bright fellow so it shouldn't take long for you to find the formula that suits your purposes.
I haven't edited an HD Sequence using images yet, so I cannot offer definitive pixel resolutions for you there.
On to your specific questions:
1. See above. There is no one correct answer It all depends on what you intend to do with the image once it's in FCP. If you only plan to push in about 10%, you won't need much higher resolution than the equivalent of your FCP Sequence resolution. If you plan to push in further, you'll need a higher resolution to support that move.
2. I've been doing these for many years (SD Sequences only) and I've never loaded them into Photoshop first. I import the entire folder into FCP and drop it on the Timeline so I can see what the images look like on TV; unless your program is for CD-ROM or web delivery, that's where it counts. When you place them on the Timeline, FCP will automatically scale to your Sequence settings and pixel aspect ratio. If I see that some of them need adjustment using an external editor such as Photoshop, then and only then do I use that program. And by the way, if you have a vertical image and a 16 x 9 aspect ratio in FCP, how do you propose to crop it to fit? Perhaps you meant another term instead of "crop."
3. If it's a print, it won't matter what size they supply because you'll control the image size when scanning. If it's a file ... once again, the size (pixel resolution) depends on what you intend to do with the image once in FCP.
I really don't want to know WHY any of this is the way it is. I just want someone to say: "Do this; do this; and then do this."<<</div>
With that attitude, how did you ever earn a PhD from an Ivy League university? But if that is truly all you want, you might consider hiring an experienced editor to do it for you.
-DH

Can't Export Any Videos From Final Cut Pro X?

Hello all-
I just downloaded FInal Cut Pro X today, and as I tried exporting my first video to YouTube, I found I had no luck. I am able to select the option to export to YouTube, enter in my account details, edit the video preferences, but when I click submit nothing happens. The little export box just disappears. This happens for every single one of my share options.
Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this? I'm a little peeved that I just spent 300 dollars on a software that doesn't even let me export the video.
Thanks much,
Megan

Did you open the background task window?

How to rename folder in Final Cut Pro X project library?

How to rename folder in Final Cut Pro X project library? I can't double click on folder, when I right click it just gives options to erase. Can someone help?

I think you may have misunderstood - the question is regarding renaming a project "folder", not a project name.
Still, the accepted answer here makes no sense to me at all - it's about renaming an event. So we're all confused ;-)
BTW as of 10.0.5, I still cannot rename a project folder while background tasks are running - no clue is given that this is what's going on, second-clicking on the folder just (frustratingly) does nothing. When background tasks finish, it works again.

VIDEO_TS content into Final Cut Pro HD?

Is there a way I can get content from a DVD's VIDEO_TS folder into Final Cut Pro HD?
I gave some footage to a person for editing purposes and I'm not very satisfied with the results. The image quality isn't the greatest and I'd like to add some effects to the video by importing the content into Final Cut Pro.
I would then like to re-encode the video with Compressor's High Quality Encode option with the hopes of improving the video's quality.
Is this possible and can someone please guide me on how to accomplish this task.
Thanks in Advance

If you're saying that you gave someone video footage (DV perhaps) they cut it and gave you a DVD, you're not going to get better quality by taking that DVD footage into FCP. You'll be compressing something that's already been compressed once and it's going to get worse everytime you do it.
You would be far better off getting the original footage and perhaps the project file that the editor created and recutting that way. Or even better, get the editor to make the changes you want and, if there were compression problems, do it again using better settings.
That being said, you can do what you want but you'll have to use software to demux the files... Mac the Ripper, etc. Do a search here for more info.
rh

IChat and Final Cut Pro

So I have about an eight year-old Sony TRV 330 camcorder and am desperate to transfer old tapes to iMac - got rid of old Windows Vista to get an iMac that'd make this possible. Hooked it up dozens of times (firewire/IEEE 1394, camera) opened iMovie 08 and nothing - it always defaults to built-in iChat camera. Read up on line and it was recommended to try using iMovie 06 to transfer footage, then to export to iMovie 08. Downloaded 06, still the same. Procured Final Cut Pro 5.1.4, hooked up firewire, nothing - not even iChat camera popped up in capture screen, although I noticed audio input channels were moving with the present audio in the room.
What am I missing? From what I've read, this is not an impossible task. How come my computer(s) do not seem to be able to even detect the camera? The obvious answer is there is something wrong with firewire and/or camera, but I know both work because I tried them on the very old laptop of a friend of mine (which she got rid of days ago) and all I did was plug it all in and footage started playing on iMovie capture screen.
Also tried Quicktime Pro, same thing - iChat, that green light, my mug on screen.
What am I missing? Again, I know firewire works, as does camera. Again, when in Log and Capture, it always defaults to iChat, which I cannot seem to disable and, even so, the computer doesn't seem to be recognizing the camera. Again, I understand the camera is not technically compatible and well, outdated, but again, others seem to have had much success with the same mix of iMac, camera model and FCP.
I am thinking, even with a brand-new HD camera, it will still default to the bloody built-in iChat camera (despite changing setting on iChat says "Automatically open iChat when external camera is turned on" to OFF).
Can't tell you how much this is needed. Thanks so much in advance.
Jay

All you ever wanted to now about Rosetta is right HERE.
Not to be snippy, but in the future, it is probably a good idea to start a new thread instead of tacking a question onto a related thread. That way, if someone has the same question, they can quickly find the answer in a search rather than wade through another thread.
Stick around. We'd love to see you asking questions and helping others too.
Peace.

Sharing stops at 33 % final cut pro x

Hi, i have a mac mini OS X 10.7.5, my video is 54 seconds long, 1080p Final cut pro x. I have tried to share as i have done in the past by sharing to master file but when it starts it goes well until it hits 33 %. I tried to upload to youtube and the same thing, stops at 33%. I tried to dvd and same thing stops at 33%. when i press Render All it stops and stops, i press Play but it stops and stops.
what can i do? I dropped the audio track and a couple of video tracks onto the editor instead of importing and thought that this was the problem but i have done videos before where i dropped tracks and they shared just fine, (perhaps mising link to video/audio file?
i am doubfounded and any help would be greatly appreciated. many many thanks in advance.

Hi Leavethegunand takethecannoliproductions,
I would recommend viewing the progress details to see if that helps indicate where the issue is:
Final Cut Pro X: How to view progress when sharing files
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5614
To view the progress of shared items (entire projects, a selected range of a project, or individual clips), open the Background Tasks window. You can open the window by doing any one of the following:
Choose Window > Background Tasks
Press Command-9
Click the Background Tasks icon in the toolbar.
Beyond that, here are some basic troubleshooting suggestions for Final Cut Pro X in general:
Final Cut Pro X: Troubleshooting basics
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3893
I hope this helps get you on the right track!
- Ari

Stop Sharing Process And Restart Final Cut Pro X

Hello, i am pretty new to Final Cut Pro X. I have created and edited a video file in it. Now i am going to share it using Master File option. My question is that when the sharing process starts, which i can see in the background tasks option, is there any way i can stop the sharing process, let us say save what percentage is done, then close the Final Cut Pro X, and let us say i have to shutdown and restart my Mac again. Can i restart the sharing process from the same point???

NNo. You can cancel the process, but you have to start over.

Is Final Cut Pro 10.1.4 working with OS X 10.10.3?

Apple just updated OS X Yosemite to 10.10.3 and I'm using Final Cut Pro 10.1.4. Are there any reports of compatibility problems using FCPX with the latest
OS X update?

During an editing session yesterday of about 6 hours my Mac shut down twice for no apparent reason.
This is the first time this has happened on this machine.
Looks very much like a Kernel Panic to me.
I was pushing the machine hard and it was heating up using AVCHD PAL 1920 x 1080P footage.
Could be just too hot and it didn't it??
Also getting a (new for me) Background Tasks busy when shutting down, there are no BG Tasks running that I'm aware of.
The only thing changed is the move to 10.10.3.
Al

Final Cut Pro 5.1.4, iMovie 7.1.4 and Sony tapes - help...

So I have about an eight year-old Sony TRV 330 camcorder and am desperate to transfer old tapes to iMac - got rid of old Windows Vista to get an iMac that'd make this possible. Hooked it up numerous times (firewire/IEEE 1394, camera) opened iMovie 08 and nothing - it actually always defaults to built-in iChat camera. Read up on line and it was recommended to try using iMovie 06 to transfer footage, then to export to iMovie 08. Downloaded 06, still the same. Procured Final Cut Pro 5.1.4, hooked up firewire, nothing - not even iChat camera popped up in capture screen, although I noticed audio input channels were moving with the present audio in the room.
What am I missing? From what I've read, this is not an impossible task. How come my computer(s) do not seem to be able to even detect the camera? The obvious answer is there is something wrong with firewire and/or camera, but I know both work because I tried them on the very old laptop of a friend of mine (which she got rid of days ago) and all I did was plug it all in and footage started playing on iMovie capture screen.
I can't tell you how much this is needed. Thanks so much in advance.
Jay

After reading this in earnest, I realized this is what I've been doing all along, Miller. End result always the same.
There is a prompt:
"Unable to locate the following external devices:
Apple FireWire NTSC (720X480)
Your system configuration may have changed, or your deck/camera may be disconnected or turned off.
Please check your connections and click "Check Again," or click "Continue" to set external device to None."
What am I missing? Again, I know firewire works, as does camera. Again, when in Log and Capture, it always defaults to iChat, which I cannot seem to disable and, even so, the computer doesn't seem to be recognizing the camera. Again, I understand the camera is not technically compatible and well, outdated, but again, others seem to have had much success with the same mix of iMac, camera model and FCP.
I am thinking, even with a brand-new HD camera, it will still default to the bloody built-in iChat camera.
Still desperate. Sadly, I am poor and my livelihood depends on this.
Wide open to any and all ideas, variations. There may even be one I haven't tried.
Thanks so much in advance.
J

Can't Open Final Cut Pro 7

Hello All,
I've run into a glitch that I can't seem to get out of. I was having some timeline difficulties (playback freezing, etc.), so as I have in the past I closed FCP7 and trashed my preferences. When I went to reopen FCP7, I get to the Final Cut Pro loading window (the one that says "Licenced To:" and "Version:") and behind this window is the "Choose Setup" window. I can move the "Choose Setup" window, but I can not select any option or drop down menu on it. So that is where I am stuck.
I've searched, but can't seem to find what I am experiencing. Does anyone have any ideas as to how I can solve this?
In adavnce, thank you for your input.
Regards,
Marc

Michael, et al,
Here is the scoop with my problem and how things seems to have gotten back to normal:
Firstly, one should always take step one and two in your troubleshooting tips (see Guinness solution). For me it was a couple of martinis, but it's best to step away from one's machine for a little bit and begin to think rationally (a difficut task for me since in my case there would be about 40 hours of editing plus Motion graphics to recover to where I was).
I disconnected both of my external hard drives and launched FCP7 with the same result, but this time I saw a Bias Soundsoap purchase advisory appear. This was a product I experimented with as a trial version some years ago, but never actually purchased (good product, but with Soundtrack Pro it was redundant). I remember deleting the application, but apparently I didn't do as complete of a job as I thought and some of the program's files were still installed on my system. I removed them via these instructions:
http://www.bias-inc.com/support/faq/cView.php?faq_id=59
After I connected my external firewire dirve that contains my FCP files, FCP7 launched correctly.
Thank you very much for your assistance with this. I used to follow these forums extensively when I was starting out, and your help reminded me why this is such an outstanding resource.
Regards,
Marc
Edited for syntax

Why my final cut pro is in photo mode? (Photo is appearing on the top of my timeline)

Hello,
I hope someone can help me.
My final cut pro is in photo mode. over my timeline (middle left of the screen) , there is the icon movie and next to it the word "Photo". When I export my edit to Compressor i can use only the photo format and not the video even if im working on a video sequence. it is not recognized as such. it is weird.

Gablofski wrote:
Let face the evidence I have to make some progress with FCP
Because the FCP X UI is so accessible, and because people can accomplish a lot of tasks intuitively, new users often try an intuitive approach to learning the application. However, FCP X is actually a deep/complex app and making the effort to get some structured training is a good investment (IMO). There are books, video tutorials - with and without practice exercises - and, of course, classroom learning. Lots of good sources for that, including Lynda.com, Ripple Training, Larry Jordan, the Apple Pro Training from Peacjpit. Many contributors here recommend Izzy. Tom Wolsky, who is the top contributor here is a teacher/author with info on his site. All of them offer some form of samples so you can see who's style best fits your needs. Do a search.
Good luck.
Russ

HT1531 does final cut pro works for my mac book pro 4 gb ram i5 processors

why am not able to support power pc applications in mac

Babowa: Here is a recent post I made on this subject (responding to the oft mentioned claim on this forum that "installing Rosetta into Lion" would allow FCPS to be installed).
I would love it, if the OP (or you, perhaps, if you do not mind goting through the process again) could confirm the "Terminal Instruction"installation method:
It never made sense to me that (a) one could install Rosetta into Lion and get any results at all, let alone get an installer written in PPC code to run; or (b) if installing Rosetta into Lion worked for an installer written in PPC code, then why wouldn't an application written in PPC code work also?
And the answer is...
Anytime an operating system is updated, there is a chance that some of your software will no longer function 100% correctly, until the publisher releases an update of that software for the newly updated operating system. And that is what is going on here...
The Final Cut Pro installer is NOT written in PowerPC code! There is some minor instruction in the installer that makes a call to the operating system in Lion, that Lion is incorrectly interpreting as being PPC code and hence giving the Dialog Box that says that it cannot run a PowerPC program.
This minor instruction is attempting to execute the following instruction in Terminal:
$ sudo installer -package /Volumes/Final\ Cut\ Studio/Installer/FinalCutStudio.mpkg -target /
If you execute this instruction in Terminal sans Rosetta, the program will install perfectly!
Somehow, the "installation of Rosetta" into Lion, and perhaps Mountain Lion interferes just enough between the program and the operating system, to allow the program to make this call to Terminal and install the program. Since this instruction will work in Terminal without Rosetta installed, it obviously has nothing to do with PowerPC code or Rosetta.
So the best advice would appear to be to use this instruction in Terminal and wait while the installation program completes all of its tasks with the concluding statement:
installer: The install was successful.
This method avoids any pitfalls that may occur by installing Rosetta, which has no place in Lion or Mountain Lion and may be the cause of future problems!
Since I do not have Final Cut Pro, I cannot confirm this, but maybe I can borrow a copy somewhere soon...

Repetitive tasks in Final Cut Pro 4.5

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