How To Edit Clip Length Before Importing Into FCPX

Yes you can do no-encode editing of many (but not all) video formats using Quicktime Player: Trim a movie or clip in QuickTime Player on Mac - Apple Support

If it does no-encode editing, the file will not be re-encoded, there will be no generation loss, and the file metadata will not be changed.

That said, it is often best to just import all your camera files from hard disk to FCP using "leave files in place". That takes up no additional room since the camera file is not duplicated or moved. It is very fast to skim through the files and use keywords or ratings to mark the pieces you want. Then you can use filters show as "hide rejected" or "show favorites" to only display those, then import them to a project timeline.

In Quicktime Player if you press CMD+I it will show you additional properties under "Video Details." If you want to see more metadata you can use third-party utilities such as Invisor or MediaInfo.

I am afraid of QT re-encoding the data, and since I'm shooting S-LOG and H264, it might just try to mess with that, too.

I'm also a Sony user. Videonoob doesn't want to increase unnecessary file size, right? Sony users can use the free Catalyst Browse.

⚫︎Catalyst Browse (free)

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Have you ever used Catalyst Browse? Please refer to the link as it explains the export process. In the case of videonoob, I think it's best to just decide on the start and end points and immediately proceed to the export settings. You can skip the color correction and image stabilization steps.

⚫︎How to use Catalyst Browse

https://youtu.be/doPoAGGYwr8?t=90

You can export only the necessary scenes while retaining the same parameter information as the shooting source.

Probably nothing you're worried about will happen. *Please test the media by copying it beforehand.

I just tested Quicktime Player trimming several S-Log2 and S-Log3 H.264 XAVC-S .MP4 clips from various Sony mirrorless cameras, both 8-bit 4:2:0 and 10-bit 4:2:2, using different frame rates. It seemed to work without re-encoding the file.

If you have any concerns, just pick a couple of files and test it.

There is no risk because it does not overwrite the original file. After you trim it, you just select File>Save and give it a name. The original file is untouched. If it cannot be trimmed without re-encoding, you won't have the Save option, only the option to "Export As."

In my tests macOS 14 QuickTime Player losslessly trims H.264/265 movies. It does not do frame accurate trimming -- it trims to the GOP but it hides those frames that are outside the trim area so it seems like it is frame accurate (Avidemux shows those hidden frames).

There are apps that can do frame accurate cuts but then they might have to re-encode the PB frames in the beginning or at the end.

Avidemux handily shows IPB frames and can be used to edit to the GOP by allowing the user to see and put the cuts at I frames.

Previously I used MPEG Streamclip to losslessly trim drone movies before archiving them but now I use QuickTime Player or Avidemux for that.

I mean here pixel-wise lossless because none of those apps preserve movie metadata at all or very poorly. If necessary, I use exiftool to copy metadata from the originals to the edited movies.

Those are some good points. I tested trimming various Quicktime H.264 and Quicktime ProRes files with QT Player, and it seemed to preserve all the metadata.

However, as reported above, when I trimmed a Sony XAVC-S MP4 file, there were a few items not preserved such as "Timecode of first frame." FCP cannot read that anyway due to an issue with AVFoundation, but if you want to be absolutely certain, I would only trim Quicktime files.

This may be why in FCPX Apple has never implemented no-encode clip trimming as part of media management. Resolve does that but in my experience the results can be unpredictable. There are possible complications with metadata preservation, GOP trimming, etc. Plus the bulk nature of no-encode trimming an entire project or library would expose lots of clips to risk.

FCP is so fast that IMO it's better to just import everything you might need using "leave files in place." Assuming the files are already on your disk that doesn't take up any more space. Using FCP's tools you can blitz through that at lightning speed marking rejects and favorites, then filter on those and all that media you don't want to see just vanishes.

I tested trimming various Quicktime H.264 and Quicktime ProRes files with QT Player, and it seemed to preserve all the metadata.

I might clarify that when I mentioned "metadata" I meant date, location, title, author, description, keywords etc. Trimming with QuickTime Player preserves some of that but very poorly (it copies 'Keys' tags to 'UserData', and drops many tags, for example). exiftool is about the only app that can properly handle the current mess with such poorly standardized movie metadata. GraphicConverter uses exiftool and does a good job in a more limited manner via its GUI.

Some other directly to the video and audio codecs related metadata (that can be viewed with MediaInfo and Invisor and also with exiftool) might be somewhat altered but in my tests it is basically lossless as far as my quite basic H.264/265 video (including 10-bit HDR/HLG variants) and AAC/PCM audio movies are concerned.

You can of course trim the files in Quicktime Player, but this creates new files. I am not sure if this reencodes the files, but I believe it does.

But if you want both to keep the original long files and also edit using only a small part, there is perhaps a better way. Import using Leave in Place (thus avoiding any duplication), and Reject the parts you have no use for in the present work. You can set the browser to Hide Rejected, and you will only ever see the parts that interest you.

Catalyst Browse is a Universal Application - which means that it works NATIVELY in both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

Here is a download link: Catalyst Browse 2024.1 macOS

Yes, Catalyst Browse is available as a native Apple Silicon app. If you Google these words, it should be the first link: catalyst browse download sony creative

I personally rarely use Catalyst Browse. IMO it is unwieldy to use. If I want to examine detailed MXF metadata from my FX6 camera, I use it for that.

the best and easiest way without any changes is CATALYST BROWSE by Sony.

Ah, that was really good. Exporting with Catalyst Browse takes some time, but you can export only the necessary scenes with the settings at the time of shooting, so you can keep the size to a minimum. Although it's not an app you use often, I think it's useful for Sony users to have.

FCP's image stabilization is still not satisfactory, so I often rely on Catalyst Browse's excellent image stabilization.

We are conducting a comparison test of image stabilization, so please refer to it.

⚫︎Catalyst Browse night test (subtitles)