Transferring ProRes Video from iPhone To Mac

Question

Transferring ProRes Video from iPhone To Mac

Greets:

Today, I recored a video using the new Final Cut Camera app, because for some reason the default camera app on my iPhone 15 Pro has acted erratically with its autofocus. I recorded a video using ProRes with the app, and it sits on my phone at 128GB.

And I'm having all sorts of issue transferring it from my phone. AirDrop failed on both my iPad Pro and my M1 MacBook Pro. I get some "configuration" error while the file tries copying from my phone to my Samsung T7 SSD. Even in iTunes, because I'm using iCloud Photo, I'd have to turn it off in order to sync. And even my attempt to save the file to Photos on the phone from Final Cut Camera failed.

I'm unsure of how to move the file elsewhere so that I can export it in a different format. I am hoping for ideas on how to make this possible. Thanks.

iPhone 15 Pro Max, iOS 17

Posted on Aug 3, 2024 2:09 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 3, 2024 2:34 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Hey thanks for getting back to me!

The problem with that, which otherwise makes sense, is that the Final Cut Camera app has a separate container for recorded files, and I need to use the Share Sheet to save the file to Photos first. Unfortunately, I tried several times without success.

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Answer 2

Aug 3, 2024 3:52 PM in response to Velanche Stewart

Good point. This reminds me; what about using the Finder? This is how I transfer video files recorded on the iPhone with Filmic Pro, which also has its own container: connect with cable, select iPhone in a Finder window Sidebar, choose Files and locate the container for the relevant app. Maybe with Final Cut Camera if works the same way.

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Answer 3

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,022 points

Aug 3, 2024 4:17 PM in response to Velanche Stewart

I was able to copy the clips to Photos. (No idea why this isn't the default location. Imbedding them into the application seems pretty daft to me.) When it was in Photos I could then access them using the FCP Import window or Image Capture.

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Answer 4

Aug 4, 2024 8:55 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Tom Wolsky wrote:

I was able to copy the clips to Photos. (No idea why this isn't the default location. Imbedding them into the application seems pretty daft to me.) When it was in Photos I could then access them using the FCP Import window or Image Capture.

Tom, in Filmic Pro there is an option in the settings of the app to "use camera roll"; when that is on, the videos are directly accessible in Photos, and one can use Image Capture. Is there something similar for Final Cut Camera?

(I only have an iPhone 7, so I cannot test Final Cut Camera)

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Answer 5

Aug 4, 2024 11:04 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Thanks for chiming in.

I think I have a few aces up my sleeves to try. I have really good Internet speeds at home, but it could be that I'll need gigabit speeds to get the content to move via AirDrop quick enough to not quit in the middle. I live near a university that has insane speeds, so I plan to visit today and give it. try. Otherwise, there's my local Apple Store asa a last resort. I can re-record the video again if I need to, but I rather not. Plus, the whole experience is useful for planning things going forward. For instance, I just might attach my external SSD to the iPhone so that the recorded video goes there instead of the phone's internal storage.

Again, much appreciated. Oh, and I'll post here the outcome.

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Answer 6

Aug 4, 2024 11:45 AM in response to Velanche Stewart

Okay, I do have another question.

Assuming that I'm successful in moving the ProRes file, what would be the best format to convert it to with the least loss in quality so that I can upload it to Google Drive? It's a 4K file, and the recorded content is about 20 minutes long. I want to maintain the 4K quality so that the person I'm sending the file to can edit it for his needs. Not sure if HEVC or MOV or some other format would be suitable. Thanks!

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Answer 7

Aug 4, 2024 5:56 PM in response to Velanche Stewart

For me the most painless way has been to save the recorded videos to the Photos app, and then AirDrop them to my Mac - or alternatively, wait for them to upload to iCloud Photos and then open the Photos app on my Mac and download them from there. But yes - having to go through the Photos app has been necessary for me since transferring the file directly from the Final Cut Camera app has not been very stable. I should note that I've been using an iPhone 12 Pro Max though.

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Answer 8

Aug 4, 2024 8:55 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

Hey folks.

I promised that I'd get back to you with an update.

I went to the Apple Store to solve the camera and video issues. Diagnostics found internal damage to the lens assembly, and that was a one-hour in-store repair. I had problems for awhile with the shutter button not responding and the autofocus going in and out for awhile. But that has nothing to do with the Final Cut Camera issue; my options were dwindling, especially since the video itself was half the size of the phone's total storage, and what I had left made it impossible to save it to Photos. I was given some options, but I was otherwise going to give up.

I then tried at home to copy to the external SSD, which had a nondescript configuration error the first time a few days ago. This time, the copy was successful...go figure.

I then opened up the MOV file in QuickTime Player; turned out, not the thing to do for ProRes. Audio played fine, video was out of sync and was very slow. I then opened the file in Final Cut Pro....and there, the video played smoothly. By the way, the SSD was formatted in ExFAT, so no changes from the first time.

I think that next time I use Final Cut Camera, I'll attach an external SSD if I'm using ProRes, but otherwise may be fine with HEVC unless I wanna color grade.

So there you go. I appreciate those of you who chimed in.

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