im working that way: i have 400gb of material (one ssd drive 500gb) and create library on another (second ssd 1tb) of course i leave files in place. My projects are overdosed with transitions, mask etc. Another case that need to keep in mind how speed of your devices where material location is can afford you to do comfortable work without render lags . USING in Library method means faster relationship files and project (logically). by the way: ПРИВЕТ ИЗ РОССИИ С ЛЮБОВЬЮ! ;)
Great explanation. I think some folks get confused that massive library-bloat is down to this, when it's really the cache files in library that make it huge. I do practically everything on dropbox and this can cause problems, constantly writing big temp files over a modest internet connection, and of course filling up dropbox with massed of temp files. So I always have my cache located outside the library (in my case in a folder on the desktop) then, at the end of the project I just dump the cache files. And as you say, if I'm collaborating and we're all pulling from the same pool of footage (again on dropbox), then we agree to get organised and keep footage in well-structured folders outside (with a massive "dont touch" warning!). At the end of those jobs, we can always tidy up and consolidate everything into the respective libraries before archiving, to save tears if we have to revisit a job months/years later.
Thank you for the video! As a Final Cut novice, I've encountered tutorials suggesting to leave files in place to save space, but they failed to mention that moving the file at all would result in an error message. It has to remain in its exact spot for the "leave file in place" function to work effectively.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I have been going CRAZY trying to figure out why my storage is off the charts and how to organize my hard drive so I don’t get crashes !
I guess I'm confused. If I want to back up my footage I would use a different hard drive. A back up on the same device doesn't make sense to me. I still can't decide which makes the most sense for me.
I have tried both methods. First I always copied to library for several years. This last 6 - 8 months, I've been leaving files in place. I'm going back to copy to library as I find it easier to keep control of my files this way. I do backup my work on separate hard drive. Thanks for this great video Will........Take care, Bluefin.
What you’re saying actually happened to me after losing the files on my external drive. All I had was a lot of “Missing Files”. My advice is; if you’re working for a client, PLEASE import files to library! No matter what I do now, I import all my files. If I need more space, I simply get another external drive.
You don’t HAVE to import to library, the important thing is to have a back up of your footage whichever approach you take, but yes, I prefer importing to library too personally 🙏👍😎
just making two copies of them (different locations) and using ssd drive will avoid you from that. Why would you said "working for a client blah blah blah PLEASE" there is many ways to work properly ! Otherwise in most cases u can just return money))) Experience costs even more money that most of regular users can gain from editing.
This is very good and reveals the storage scenarios in FCPX. One prob with libraries is that they can become huge while editing a file that is no that large. I ended up with about a 350gb file which caused me not to be able to save my project. Knowing that I have the option not to save media to the Library allows me more options for storage management.
One scenario I don't see, or haven't seen folks speak of is that when you import to Library, although that's the description of the FCP option, it doesn't necessarily have to import to the Library, as FCP allows you to set your storage location to import Media into any folder/drive you wish that doesn't have to be your library. Therefore the option to import media to Library could be misinterpreted.
I've just started learning to edit videos (using FCP) I am a long time Logic Pro X user.. ( since the 19997) that application also gives you an option to save all files inside of the project folder as a default. I can not tell you how many times making this the default option has saved my ass after accidentally deleting, files, setting up a new computer, or hard disk crapping out. I learned the hard way (only once) what can happen when you leave files in place with Logic Pro....... So I will not be making that mistake with FCP. ....Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
definitely comes down to what your own personal workflow looks like. The major issue is when working on multiple projects and using proxy media, space is the main issue. I work off a NAS with 16TB of storage. Its just not possible to edit off an internal hard drive with that many projects and not run out of space.
I agree with the suggestions here. I always copied files into the library, however, it seems that FCPX has more issues and crashes more often with larger projects (+- 1 hour or more) when having the files imported into the library vs keeping them in place. Don’t ask me why, but FCPX runs out of application memory when I have the files imported.
Interesting, I can’t say I have experienced that but it’s rare I’m working on a 1 hr timeline. I have noticed more crashes in general with the latest update though. Thanks for watching 👍🙏😎
When you copy files onto the library you will have these files in 2 places taking double of the storage. That's the typical recipe that will fill up your storage space and crash the app.
Excellent video! I’ve always been a fan of copying to library. I much prefer to delete the footage from folders and drives once the project is finished and just keep it all in the library.
Just wanna say … I was watching ur videos ages ago and now I just saw you again … and damn I’m loving the look 🔥 ur videos are dope !! Definitely learnt how to organize better 😭
I'm not a particularly heavy video guy but from my perspective having things in the library and the redundancy it builds in makes sense, even for non-critical projects... Storage is cheap, losing assets and projects is expensive!
I do both. It depends on the size of the project. For smaller projects I import to library and edit on my 1T MacBook. For bigger projects I usually edit on an external SSD drive and leave files in place. I used to always leave files in place nor am more flexible about that now.
You very clearly explained the pros & cons as well as the various scenarios. You did get a bit repetitive towards the end (meant as feedback, since you asked) but I still think you did an excellent job here, you have a new subscriber! :)
This is awesome!! I’ll be definitely using this for my film, I was wanting a creative way to show the passing of time/days! Thanks for taking the time to explain & share this! 🙏🏾🙏🏾
Great video, thanks! I think importing from a SD card to a library actually can save more space since in the import window you can select segments of a clip rather than import the entire file. I can't do that when importing (or moving) files from an SD card to my hard drive, as far as I know. Please your comments!
Leave files in place works fine if your disciplined and maintain organized folder systems with raw footage, this is the pro way, and was done with tapes, books for the last 1500 years. Not labelling your tapes was a the mark of an amateur, today it's dumping lots of footage in and losing it because of laziness in not maintaining-renaming folders on the drive.
On large scale work with various parties involved I agree, but for solo creators working on quick turnaround projects, import to lib does a great job of eliminating the need for strict file management and maintenance
I have been watching your FCPX tutorials, all nicely done and appreciated. I did have a question I haven't seen answered so far. During Import If I select the Create Optimized Media, doesn't that create a new file copy in a new library? Ergo one could select this option and not the "copy to library" and still have a backup?
Yes absolutely, as long as you set the storage location of optimised to “in library” which I believe is the default anyway. Also make sure you original media is on a different drive but yeah in theory that would work 👍 thanks for watching 🙏😎
Thank you for a beautiful and helpful video! 😍 For now I take all my videos on my iPhone and store them in Google Photos. Soo maybe what I should do is the following: 1. Import the video of the current project to my computer from Google Photos 2. Copy the files on FCP library 3. Delete the files from my computer, since I already have a backup on Google Photos Do you think that this would be the best way to proceed? 🌞
Thanks for the info. My videos are quick turn-arounds so I hated the media library because I don't need most of the files once I'm finished. I work on a Macbook Air and I have no hard-drive or anything, I only got 13GB left in the 120GB disk drive I'm DEAD. I'm just a rookie meme maker so I'll keep my files as is HAHA. Sometimes the library is cool I leave some sound effects and such that I use often and I realised after I deleted it from the folders it still exists in there. Kind of like how when you import to iTunes it makes a copy haha
I have an issue where files dragged from a specific app (file loupe) always override the "leave files in place" and get copied to the library. Its driving me crazy because I use the app to browse through my huge media library to find the clips I want to put in a library when I'm starting and edit. Every seen anything like this happen?
could be your mac or hardrive struggling to keep up, might just be that you need to wait a bit for files to process. for larger projects with lots of footage even top spec machines need a bit of time to process. Could be worth you looking at editing using proxy media. hope that helps
I have a problem. I have a quite large project to edit, and I'm facing an issue while importing that I've never had before. When I import and check the option to 'Leave files in their original location,' it still duplicates all the clips into a folder for optimized content and another one for proxies. It's Sony a7s3 footage, and I only imported the clip folder. I don't understand why, if I only select the option to leave files in their original location, it creates a copy. Could you tell me what the problem might be?
Hi, yeah, it sounds like you are creating optimised and proxy media on import, it does this even when files are left in place. If you open setting and select the import tab you should be able to un-check both options under the transcode section. If you've already got a messy library because of this you might want to start a new library, make sure those options aren't checked and import again to avoid FCPX from generating all the addition versions of the clips. Hope that helps
Great!!! Yes, it does work by unchecking both options in transcoding. You made my day! Now, I only have a small issue that, when I create proxies, the additional proxy folder is created again on the hard drive. On other occasions, I've been able to leave files in their position and create proxies without the proxy folder being created. I don't know if you can think of a solution for this as well. Thank you very much for your help. Big hug from Spain!
I've never used leave files in place in 10+ years of editing, but right now I'm editing a mega music video and the files are too massive so I'm leaving the files in place and creating proxy lol
Makes sense, however for me in that instance I’d still import to lib but I’d use proxy to speed things up. On large projects particularly I love knowing that all media is consolidated into library so I don’t have to try and keep track of it all
in my experience transcoding tends to fairly closely match file size of provided media, 100gb in equals roughly 100gb transcoded however this is just a guide, different codecs in will vary. I tend to rarely transcode now unless needed, GoPro footage for example has pretty poor playback on my Mac unless transcoded, similarly some iPhone footage benefits from it.
Great video, but listen to yourself!! you were very honest and should have stopped the first time you said getting a bit rambly. You literally repeated yourself on just about everything about 3 times!
What do you think? Do you prefer to leave files in place or import to library?
im working that way: i have 400gb of material (one ssd drive 500gb) and create library on another (second ssd 1tb) of course i leave files in place. My projects are overdosed with transitions, mask etc. Another case that need to keep in mind how speed of your devices where material location is can afford you to do comfortable work without render lags . USING in Library method means faster relationship files and project (logically).
by the way:
ПРИВЕТ ИЗ РОССИИ С ЛЮБОВЬЮ! ;)
Great explanation. I think some folks get confused that massive library-bloat is down to this, when it's really the cache files in library that make it huge. I do practically everything on dropbox and this can cause problems, constantly writing big temp files over a modest internet connection, and of course filling up dropbox with massed of temp files. So I always have my cache located outside the library (in my case in a folder on the desktop) then, at the end of the project I just dump the cache files.
And as you say, if I'm collaborating and we're all pulling from the same pool of footage (again on dropbox), then we agree to get organised and keep footage in well-structured folders outside (with a massive "dont touch" warning!). At the end of those jobs, we can always tidy up and consolidate everything into the respective libraries before archiving, to save tears if we have to revisit a job months/years later.
You got a like from me for the intro 😂
And this is a super helpful video too! Thanks.
Glad you found it useful! Happy editing!! 👍🙏😎
Thank you for the video! As a Final Cut novice, I've encountered tutorials suggesting to leave files in place to save space, but they failed to mention that moving the file at all would result in an error message. It has to remain in its exact spot for the "leave file in place" function to work effectively.
Absolutely, most people gloss over the extra file management required when leaving in place
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I have been going CRAZY trying to figure out why my storage is off the charts and how to organize my hard drive so I don’t get crashes !
I guess I'm confused. If I want to back up my footage I would use a different hard drive. A back up on the same device doesn't make sense to me. I still can't decide which makes the most sense for me.
You're quite right, I don't back up on the same drive! I keep oriinal media on one drive and lib with imported media on another. hope that helps
I have tried both methods. First I always copied to library for several years. This last 6 - 8 months, I've been leaving files in place. I'm going back to copy to library as I find it easier to keep control of my files this way. I do backup my work on separate hard drive. Thanks for this great video Will........Take care, Bluefin.
Absolutely! I find it easier the way it keeps track of everything too, but leaving in place definitely has its place! 👍🙏😎
What you’re saying actually happened to me after losing the files on my external drive. All I had was a lot of “Missing Files”. My advice is; if you’re working for a client, PLEASE import files to library! No matter what I do now, I import all my files. If I need more space, I simply get another external drive.
You don’t HAVE to import to library, the important thing is to have a back up of your footage whichever approach you take, but yes, I prefer importing to library too personally 🙏👍😎
just making two copies of them (different locations) and using ssd drive will avoid you from that. Why would you said "working for a client blah blah blah PLEASE" there is many ways to work properly ! Otherwise in most cases u can just return money))) Experience costs even more money that most of regular users can gain from editing.
Thanks so much for a no BS explanation!
Cheers Gregg.
This is very good and reveals the storage scenarios in FCPX. One prob with libraries is that they can become huge while editing a file that is no that large. I ended up with about a 350gb file which caused me not to be able to save my project. Knowing that I have the option not to save media to the Library allows me more options for storage management.
Thanks Charles! Glad it was helpful 👍🙏😎
One scenario I don't see, or haven't seen folks speak of is that when you import to Library, although that's the description of the FCP option, it doesn't necessarily have to import to the Library, as FCP allows you to set your storage location to import Media into any folder/drive you wish that doesn't have to be your library. Therefore the option to import media to Library could be misinterpreted.
This is a great point! Thanks for mentioning 👍🙏😎
I've just started learning to edit videos (using FCP) I am a long time Logic Pro X user.. ( since the 19997) that application also gives you an option to save all files inside of the project folder as a default. I can not tell you how many times making this the default option has saved my ass after accidentally deleting, files, setting up a new computer, or hard disk crapping out. I learned the hard way (only once) what can happen when you leave files in place with Logic Pro....... So I will not be making that mistake with FCP. ....Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Glad it was helpful!
definitely comes down to what your own personal workflow looks like. The major issue is when working on multiple projects and using proxy media, space is the main issue. I work off a NAS with 16TB of storage. Its just not possible to edit off an internal hard drive with that many projects and not run out of space.
Yep totally agree, external drives all the way! 👍🙏😎
I agree with the suggestions here. I always copied files into the library, however, it seems that FCPX has more issues and crashes more often with larger projects (+- 1 hour or more) when having the files imported into the library vs keeping them in place. Don’t ask me why, but FCPX runs out of application memory when I have the files imported.
Interesting, I can’t say I have experienced that but it’s rare I’m working on a 1 hr timeline. I have noticed more crashes in general with the latest update though. Thanks for watching 👍🙏😎
When you copy files onto the library you will have these files in 2 places taking double of the storage. That's the typical recipe that will fill up your storage space and crash the app.
Excellent video! I’ve always been a fan of copying to library. I much prefer to delete the footage from folders and drives once the project is finished and just keep it all in the library.
Glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching! Sounds like you work in a very similar way to me 👍🙏😎
I think this way to manage the media files seems like what "Avid MediaFiles" folder does for Avid, everything is stored in one place.
Just wanna say … I was watching ur videos ages ago and now I just saw you again … and damn I’m loving the look 🔥 ur videos are dope !! Definitely learnt how to organize better 😭
Ah thanks Andrew! That means a lot! Glad you found it helpful and so pleased you can see my progression! 👍🙏😎
I'm not a particularly heavy video guy but from my perspective having things in the library and the redundancy it builds in makes sense, even for non-critical projects... Storage is cheap, losing assets and projects is expensive!
you've hit the nail on the head! great point
I do both. It depends on the size of the project. For smaller projects I import to library and edit on my 1T MacBook. For bigger projects I usually edit on an external SSD drive and leave files in place. I used to always leave files in place nor am more flexible about that now.
Sounds sensible, good work! 👍🙏😎
You very clearly explained the pros & cons as well as the various scenarios. You did get a bit repetitive towards the end (meant as feedback, since you asked) but I still think you did an excellent job here, you have a new subscriber! :)
Glad it was helpful! and thanks for the feedback
This is awesome!! I’ll be definitely using this for my film, I was wanting a creative way to show the passing of time/days!
Thanks for taking the time to explain & share this! 🙏🏾🙏🏾
Thanks Zeek! 👍🙏😎
Thank you so much !! This clears so much for me !! I will be changing my workflow after watching this.
Excellent glad it helps 👍🙏😎
Thanks for the tips. I prefer to leave in place. Makes it easier for me to identify what I need.
Glad it was helpful! its all about understanding how FCPX works so you can choose the best approach for yourself. thanks for watching
Great video, thanks! I think importing from a SD card to a library actually can save more space since in the import window you can select segments of a clip rather than import the entire file. I can't do that when importing (or moving) files from an SD card to my hard drive, as far as I know. Please your comments!
This is a great point, I didn’t even know you could do that when importing!
Love the video! Great job on this!!!
Leave files in place works fine if your disciplined and maintain organized folder systems with raw footage, this is the pro way, and was done with tapes, books for the last 1500 years. Not labelling your tapes was a the mark of an amateur, today it's dumping lots of footage in and losing it because of laziness in not maintaining-renaming folders on the drive.
On large scale work with various parties involved I agree, but for solo creators working on quick turnaround projects, import to lib does a great job of eliminating the need for strict file management and maintenance
Good advice Will! I'll Copy to Library Storage Location
Thanks for watching! glad you enjoyed
I have been watching your FCPX tutorials, all nicely done and appreciated. I did have a question I haven't seen answered so far. During Import If I select the Create Optimized Media, doesn't that create a new file copy in a new library? Ergo one could select this option and not the "copy to library" and still have a backup?
Yes absolutely, as long as you set the storage location of optimised to “in library” which I believe is the default anyway. Also make sure you original media is on a different drive but yeah in theory that would work 👍 thanks for watching 🙏😎
Holly crap thanks for this explanation ! I finally get it , your like the 10th video I’ve seen and you’ve shown me the light !
Glad it helped! 👍🙏😎
Thank you for a beautiful and helpful video! 😍
For now I take all my videos on my iPhone and store them in Google Photos. Soo maybe what I should do is the following:
1. Import the video of the current project to my computer from Google Photos
2. Copy the files on FCP library
3. Delete the files from my computer, since I already have a backup on Google Photos
Do you think that this would be the best way to proceed? 🌞
Yep that all makes sense, just be careful that google photos isn’t processing your footage and reducing quality
Thanks for the info. My videos are quick turn-arounds so I hated the media library because I don't need most of the files once I'm finished. I work on a Macbook Air and I have no hard-drive or anything, I only got 13GB left in the 120GB disk drive I'm DEAD. I'm just a rookie meme maker so I'll keep my files as is HAHA. Sometimes the library is cool I leave some sound effects and such that I use often and I realised after I deleted it from the folders it still exists in there. Kind of like how when you import to iTunes it makes a copy haha
Glad you found it useful 👍🙏😎
Great video man, you explained this really well! Just subbed
Awesome, thank you! 👍🙏😎
This is magnificent and specific for all 12:28
Glad it’s useful! 👍🙏😎
I have an issue where files dragged from a specific app (file loupe) always override the "leave files in place" and get copied to the library. Its driving me crazy because I use the app to browse through my huge media library to find the clips I want to put in a library when I'm starting and edit. Every seen anything like this happen?
Hmm sorry I’ve not heard of that but I hope you get it sorted! 👍🙏😎
Wise words Sensei - thank you 🙏
Thanks Jack! Glad it helps 👍🙏😎
Thanks for this @WillChidlow great video, subbed ☺️
Awesome, thank you!
I’m doing both now and no more missing files!!
My problem is when I import my videos doesn’t work and most of times from time line be stop,thanks for your any idea.
could be your mac or hardrive struggling to keep up, might just be that you need to wait a bit for files to process. for larger projects with lots of footage even top spec machines need a bit of time to process. Could be worth you looking at editing using proxy media. hope that helps
Personally I Leave the files in place as I have a storage hard drive and a “Work” M.2 drive where I move any files im actively working with
I have a problem. I have a quite large project to edit, and I'm facing an issue while importing that I've never had before. When I import and check the option to 'Leave files in their original location,' it still duplicates all the clips into a folder for optimized content and another one for proxies. It's Sony a7s3 footage, and I only imported the clip folder.
I don't understand why, if I only select the option to leave files in their original location, it creates a copy. Could you tell me what the problem might be?
Hi, yeah, it sounds like you are creating optimised and proxy media on import, it does this even when files are left in place. If you open setting and select the import tab you should be able to un-check both options under the transcode section. If you've already got a messy library because of this you might want to start a new library, make sure those options aren't checked and import again to avoid FCPX from generating all the addition versions of the clips. Hope that helps
Great!!!
Yes, it does work by unchecking both options in transcoding. You made my day! Now, I only have a small issue that, when I create proxies, the additional proxy folder is created again on the hard drive. On other occasions, I've been able to leave files in their position and create proxies without the proxy folder being created. I don't know if you can think of a solution for this as well. Thank you very much for your help.
Big hug from Spain!
In the library info tab in the inspector you can choose where proxies are stored, choose “in library” and that should sort it. 👍🙏😎
Great friend! problem solved 100% 🤙🏼🤙🏼
thank you so much!!!
I've never used leave files in place in 10+ years of editing, but right now I'm editing a mega music video and the files are too massive so I'm leaving the files in place and creating proxy lol
Makes sense, however for me in that instance I’d still import to lib but I’d use proxy to speed things up. On large projects particularly I love knowing that all media is consolidated into library so I don’t have to try and keep track of it all
Let's not forget that 100GB original files will grow exponentially when you transcode to Prores. Or, perhaps you aren't transcoding?
in my experience transcoding tends to fairly closely match file size of provided media, 100gb in equals roughly 100gb transcoded however this is just a guide, different codecs in will vary. I tend to rarely transcode now unless needed, GoPro footage for example has pretty poor playback on my Mac unless transcoded, similarly some iPhone footage benefits from it.
Actually do a little of both, it depends on the project.
Absolutely Ron, couldn’t agree more! Thanks for watching 👍🙏😎
Great video, but listen to yourself!! you were very honest and should have stopped the first time you said getting a bit rambly. You literally repeated yourself on just about everything about 3 times!
Noted!