Final Cut Pro 11 issues on M1 Max Macbook Pro (transform effects, audio effects, freezing)

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Level 1

4 points

Final Cut Pro 11 issues on M1 Max Macbook Pro (transform effects, audio effects, freezing)

I have been having these issue through many different versions of Final Cut Pro X, and they have persisted into the Final Cut Pro 11 Update (I am always using the newest OS and FCPX version, and I am using an M1 Max Macbook Pro with 64GB unified memory)

When attempting to copy/paste transform effects of a clip to multiple other clips, it either doesn't work, or only applies the effects to 1 clip, and nothing is applied to the other clips. So I am forced to paste the effects to each clip individually which is extremely time consuming.
audio effects sometimes do not work within the timeline. If they do work within the timeline, when I export the video, they are often not there at all.
- my workaround for this issue has been to export the video as SOURCE Apple Prores 422 with Linear PCM audio (which successfully applies audio effects in the exported video), and then bring that video into the timeline to use it's pre-exported audio track in the final export (which is most often h.264, multi-pass, ACC, rec.709, .mp4)
the program often freezes up, and I need to force quit and restart Final Cut Pro

I have only been able to find 1 or 2 other people with any of these individual issue online, and so far I have seen no solutions. The bugs constantly persist through every update, including this update to Final Cut Pro 11

I have tried resetting FCP to original settings, I have tried fully uninstalling and reinstalling FCP, and all of the issues still persist.

I have no clue what to do, and it seems that most people don't have these issues and are unable to recreate the problems.

PLEASE CAN SOMEBODY HELP!!

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.0

Posted on Nov 16, 2024 12:52 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

terryb

Level 4

3,430 points

Dec 31, 2024 6:01 PM in response to shazzyzang

Since you've been having these issues across OS updates and FCP versions, it really sounds like old, conflicting or corrupt software is present. I know you said you said you reinstalled the OS and did an Erase Content and Settings.

A way to test if it's a software thing, as I suggested earlier in this thread, is to install a fresh macOS on an external SSD, boot from it, create a new admin user, then only install a fresh copy of FCP from the AppStore. Create a new library and see how things behave.

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Answer 2

Nov 17, 2024 2:09 AM in response to shazzyzang

Since you are experiencing a lot of problems that are not common, and continue across different versions, this suggests that there may be something specific to your system that is playing a part. Often there are third party poorly programmed or downright malicious software that can cause trouble.

Please run Etrecheck and post its full report here.

Use the “additional text” button and paste the report into the text box.

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Answer 3

terryb

Level 4

3,430 points

Nov 17, 2024 2:52 PM in response to shazzyzang

I see 3 things in the report. Others may find additional items.

1 - The system drive is full. It needs a bare minimum of 10% free space. For a 2TB drive that's 200GB. Ideally you want 15-20%, or 300-400TB free.

2 - NordVPN antivirus/antimalware. If this runs continuously, it could be a problem. The recommendation around here is to use Malwarebytes and only run it on demand.

3 - You have the Google updater and keystone software. The keystone agents are known to cause issues with the ProApps. Follow the instructions at https://chromeisbad.com to remove all the cruft Google installs. Simply removing Chrome.app is not enough. You may need to reinstall FCP from a backup or the AppStore.

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Answer 4

terryb

Level 4

3,430 points

Jan 3, 2025 5:07 PM in response to shazzyzang

When you say "the issues are still there." please describe in detail what you're doing and what happens. If possible capture of video of what you're doing, and post a youtube link.

No external hubs? No second monitor? No 3rd party keyboard or mouse/trackpad? Only the MBP and an external SSD?

If you installed a fresh macOS on an external SSD and then booted from that SSD, then installed FCP and created a brand new library, but still experience the exact same strange behavior maybe something is failing in your machine.

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Answer 5

joema

Level 4

1,287 points

Jan 6, 2025 12:11 PM in response to shazzyzang

In Finder select menu Go>Go to Folder, and enter ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports

Save any Final Cut crash reports to another place. Then examine the subfolder "Retired." Likewise save any Final of those Cut crash reports to another place. Then, upload all of those to a file-sharing site I can access.

If FCP freezes, requiring you to force quit, first take a spindump:

In Activity Monitor, select Final Cut Pro
Do CTRL+OPT+CMD+S and enter your system password when asked
It will take about 10-15 sec to create the spindump
In the upper-right corner of the spindump screen, press the "Save" button and give it a filename
Upload that to a file-sharing site I can access

In general, I would not run Monterey or an old version of FCP, but 10.8.1 would be OK. Even if the problems seem to happen on newer versions, those are better overall. Plus any fix in FCP would be based on the new version's code.

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Answer 6

Nov 17, 2024 11:14 PM in response to shazzyzang

The report says that a system extension from nordvpn will be "removed after restart". I'd try restarting.

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Answer 7

terryb

Level 4

3,430 points

Nov 20, 2024 3:27 PM in response to shazzyzang

Please post a new Etrecheck report.

If you have an external SSD you could try installing macOS 15 on it, then only install FCP and see if the issues are fixed. If they are, then you'll know if you do a wipe and a reinstall of *ONLY* your User data, no Applications or other files, you should be good.

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Answer 8

jdargie

Level 1

29 points

Jan 1, 2025 1:24 PM in response to shazzyzang

Did you try creating a new Library and see if the problems continue with the new one? I'm just guessing but it might be something specific in the Library you're working in.

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Answer 9

joema

Level 4

1,287 points

Jan 12, 2025 6:10 AM in response to shazzyzang

When FCP freezes, please take a spindump of the FCP process, then post that on a file-sharing site I can access. Procedure:

Run Activity Monitor and select FCP
Do CTRL+OPT+CMD+S
Enter password if prompted
When it finishes the spindump, click the upper-right button to save as a text file
Put it on a file- sharing site I can access and post that link here

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Answer 10

shazzyzang Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 31, 2024 5:00 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

I haven't migrated anything from my backup yet. I've left it totally clean while i'm testing it out.

I contacted apple support today and they were stumped too, but they suggested i could try installing the original operating system that the computer shipped with (monterey), and if it works then i would at least known that it's an issue with the OS and/or FCP.

I downloaded a version of Monterey from the app store, but i need to go out to pick up a flash drive or something to create a bootable drive, because for some reason there isn't an option on apple silicon to download a previous OS using a recovery startup

So i will see how that goes tomorrow

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Answer 11

terryb

Level 4

3,430 points

Nov 17, 2024 4:33 PM in response to shazzyzang

Please post a new Etrecheck report.

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Answer 12

shazzyzang Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 3, 2025 4:41 PM in response to terryb

So I tested installing a fresh macOS (Sequoia) on an external drive, and doing everything else you mentioned, and the issues are still there even when booting from the external drive.

I also attempted to install Monterey (the internet and apple support said it is the OS my laptop shipped with) on a different external drive and see if that made a difference, but was unable to get a successful install for some reason.

What I then did was attempt to use Disk Utility's "First Aid" feature on the computer, just to see what would happen... nothing. Then I fully erased my computer again, but this time using Disk Utility, instead of the "Erase All Content and Settings" feature. After doing that, the computer had me install Sonoma (maybe that was what the computer shipped with?? can't remember when exactly I bought this, but that's possible. The most recent OS I had was Sequoia), and I tested everything again... the issues are still there.

Not sure what else I can do at this point. to me it seems like it is likely an issue with apple's OS/FCP, but I don't know why more people don't seem to have these bugs. Idk if it's even possible that my computer could somehow have an internal hardware issue that would cause this, especially considering the bugs weren't there when I first got it

I also tested out my old 2016 MacBook Pro that was running Monterey, and an older version of FCP X, and had no bugs

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Answer 13

terryb

Level 4

3,430 points

Jan 4, 2025 11:33 AM in response to shazzyzang

So how do things behave if you install FCP 10.8.1 from a backup onto the SSD?

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Answer 14

shazzyzang Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 16, 2024 1:16 PM in response to shazzyzang

after examining closer, it appears that the issue with transform effects is only when there are keyframed effects, and it appears that the keyframes are still applied to the clip, but way further down on the timeline (even though the clip does not currently extend that far), and even if i select to maintain keyframe timing, I still have the issue.

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Answer 15

shazzyzang Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 20, 2024 1:47 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

I think that showed up after I had already restarted, but I restarted again to be safe, and still have the issue unfortunately. I may try deleting all of my Final Cut Pro plugins (I don't have many) and see if one of them are causing the issue for some reason

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Final Cut Pro 11 issues on M1 Max Macbook Pro (transform effects, audio effects, freezing)

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