I normally import my footage to the library and create optimized media, and that always works out fine for me. With my recent project, I'm unable to copy to the library and optimize media as I keep running out of disk space (brand new 5TB drive). What do I do? Should I not create optimized media? Do I go with proxy files? What problems will I face with this option? Or what other options do I have?
Thank you!
iMac 27″, macOS 10.12
You do NOT have to make that option at the time of importing.
You can create proxy or optimized media LATER, if and when you need it - and probably you won't.
FCP can handle H264 media just fine without optimizing.
You do NOT have to make that option at the time of importing.
You can create proxy or optimized media LATER, if and when you need it - and probably you won't.
FCP can handle H264 media just fine without optimizing.
What exactly is the media? In most cases it's not necessary. If you have playback problems you can create proxies.
Use File> Deleted Generated Library Files to get rid of optimized, epoxy, and render files. Switch off background rendering.
P.S. Make sure create optimized for multicam is switched off in preferences or it will do it automatically.
The media is MP4 / MOV (MPEG-4 AVC / H.264). How do I know if I have playback problems if I'm at the stage of importing, where I need to select either optimized or proxy (what happens if I select neither of these options?), so I can't tell if I have playback problems since I'm at a stage of importing.
You never need to transcode on import. Import your media and see how it plays. Depending on the media specs and the computer specs, in most cases transcoding isn't necessary. If your computer has playback problems, then select the clips and create proxy files.
So just to be clear, even if I start constructing my video on a timeline and decide halfway that it's too slow, I can still create proxies without ruining my time?
Absolutely.
Should I be using optimized or proxy media?
