Exporting a section of the timeline with FCPx

I get anything on any layer within the time range of the selection. What generators are you talking about? Please post a screen shot of your timeline.

I'm very glad to have found the recent updates to this post, which explain how to export a portion of a project using in and out points. I've just tried it, using FCP 10.0.7 under Snow Leopard 10.6.8, with all updates installed. I've gotten two unwelcome results. I don't know if these are related to the range export or not, but I would welcome guidance.

The first time I tried a range export, I clicked the Show Share Destination button, clicked Master File (is this the correct choice for exporting a section of the project?), and clicked Next. The screen blinked, and I was at the OS user login screen. Not only had FCP crashed, but the Finder was gone, too. It was as though I had logged out of my user account in the wink of an eye.

I logged back in, relaunched FCP, again set the in and out points for my export, and this time was able to export a clip without a crash. However, on viewing the clip in QuickTime Player, the sound has a dropout slightly more frequently than once a second. The sound is fine within FCP.

A third export try produced the same sound dropout problem. I am exporting roughly 30 seconds of an eighty minute project, standard definition, consumer level PAL camcorder footage, and exporting to H.264. A fourth export try to ProRes has the same sound problem. This is the twentieth project from footage shot with the same equipment, and the video was imported at the same time as the video for earlier projects, which have not shown any problems.

Pink, I'm with Mr. Wolsky here. I do my in and out, share, and I end up with everything within the range.

I have several Pixie Dust title generators over the Starfield background, as well as a scrolling text "credits" title with a video background. I've exported four seperate sections to iPad 720 for demo, as well as the full video to iPad 720 (4g) and 442 HQ (60g) formats with no missing items.

It worried me a bit the first time when the range only showed up on Primary Storyline, but after exporting and finding everything was still attached, I realized the range tool doesn't know what you are going to do with the result, so why would setting a range for output look any different than setting a range for any other purpose?

Koninda, I'm a small user, so just know a few things that get me by. Someone else will need to speak more expertly to address your questions. However, if I ran into the problem, my first question would be about what's happening with the audio conversion settings.

As a test (which solves nothing) I'd choose and export just audio. I have no idea where one goes about checking or changing what goes on with the audio.

Were the other 19 projects completed in FCPx? No matter how they were completed, there obvioiusly were no audio problems, but if you export your full project, is there still an audio problem? I know long long ago (like in 2002-3) with FCE there were possible audio popping difficulties when shooting lesser quality DV (16 bit ?) audio and up-stepping (to 32 bit?) once it was in FCE. Don't remember the details (or the proper terms), but perhaps something like that is happening. Tried to find the old discussion where Mr. Wolsky answered my question, but it is too ancient.

Can't possibly be an answer, but have you tried exporting a longer clip, like 1 min or 5 min just to see if the result is the same?

Thank you, Clyde. As you suggested, I have now exported the entire project, and the sound problem still remains. So I guess this isn't a problem resulting from just exporting a section of the project. Also as you suggested, I tried exporting a few minutes of just audio, and the audio-only file has the same dropout problem. I've duplicated the project, and found the same problems in the duplicate. Next, I created a new project, and brought in the video from the event. Still the same problem with the audio. It sounds great in the project within FCP, but bad on export. I suppose reimporting the video is the next thing to try.

The other projects were all done on the same computer, using FCP 10.0.5 - 10.0.7. The last two or three were edited with 10.0.7, so there are no obvious changes between the ones that worked and this one that doesn't. I think I am using 16-bit audio all the way through. I've exported short sections of the audio as AAC and as AIFF. Thanks again for your thoughts.

What are the exact specifications of the audio, the audio in the video and separate audio?

Thanks for your reply, Tom. How can I access the specifications that you are asking for? FCP's inspectors only tell me that the audio in the video file I'm using in FCP is 48 kHz stereo. For output, I have chosen AAC and AIFF, both at 48 kHz. I fear I may be misunderstanding your questions, or at least how to discover the information that you request.

The best way is to open the clip in the QuickTime player and see what it says in the movie inspector. AAC can be problematic, especially when it's part of a video file.

AAC seems to be the default output sound format for FCP, when I choose H.264. The original video files are .MOD files, a type of MPEG2, as I understand it. I checked the box for FCP to create optimized media, but I'm not sure that it really did. The only files that I find are the original media files, render files, and proxy files. The proxy files seem to be low resolution. I find those files in the folder: Final Cut Events>Alfronti Militon 7a>Transcoded Media>Proxy Media. QuickTime Player's Inspector says that these files are: Format: Apple ProRes 422 (Proxy), 352 x 288 (384 x 288), Millions 16-bit Integer (Little Endian), Stereo, 48.000 kHz

When I open the exported file in QuickTime Player, the Inspector says: Format: H.264, 720 x 576, Millions AAC, 2 channels, 48000 Hz

The fact that I've been successful editing in FCP and exporting to H.264 with twenty other projects shot by the same camera and videographer adds to my confusion over the problems with the two current files.

The output isn't causing the problem; it's the result of the problem. The problem is what's in the timeline. Your media is MPEG-2. No idea what the audio is. The proxy files aren't used when you switch back to original media to export. You should not be using this media in FCP. I have no idea why the problem hasn't arisen before. It should have. It's probably come up because of some combination of video audio at some point in the timeline, which then ripple down through the export process.

Sadly, it is the media that the client handed me. Do you have a recommendation on how I should proceed?

First you need to tell us exactly what the specs of the clips in the Original Media folder, assuming there is no full quality ProRes media in the transcoded folder.

I would love to understand more completely what you mean by the phrase, "exact specs", and how to locate the data that you are asking for. You've mentioned looking at the movie inspector in QuickTime, for the clips in the Original Media folder. QuickTime Player reports that it can't open the files in the FCP's Original Media folder for these projects. VLC doesn't have the same kind of inspector, but digging around, I found a listing titled: Media Information>Codec Details>Stream 1>Type: Audio, Codec: MPEG Audio layer 1/2/3 (mpga), Channels: Stereo, Sample rate 48000 Hz, Bitrate: 256kb/s

You've said that I should not be using this media in FCP, and I don't dispute that. I'm confused by the results that I am getting. Given that this media is not appropriate for FCP, it seems like a warning message from FCP, when I try to import it, would be helpful. It would be useful if FCP would either convert the video to a useable format, or report that I must convert it first, hopefully with some guidance on how to accomplish that conversion, for example, a message like "Before importing this video, we recommend converting it to ProRes 422 using Compressor".

I find it curious that FCP didn't give any warning, but rather imported the video without complaint, and allowed me to edit 20 projects of between one and two hours duration, before showing this problem. I asked FCP to create optimized media when I imported, which it didn't do. The FCP documentation that I've found says it won't create optimized media, if the original media can be used as is.

I'm trying to do the right thing, and be sucessful with the video that I was handed, using the tools and information that I have. I appreciate your advice and guidance, and I regret that I haven't been able to understand and provide the requested information, so far.

QuickTime Player reports that it can't open the files in the FCP's Original Media folder for these projects.

That's really bad. FCP works an an AV framework that's directly based on QuickTIme. The video and audio is both MPEG compressed. The bit rate is really low too. What frame size is this video?

If the application didn't optimize the media it was probably because it couldn't, not because it didn't need to. It's unfortunate that FCP allows you to bring all this media into the application, which it cannot handle properly. I can't help with that, only offer a suggestion for what might work to get your project going.

Have you tried to optimize the media once it's in the application. Select the clips, right-click and use Transcode Media. What happens?

What OS are you using? Different versions handle MPEG media differently.

Thanks, Tom. The frame size for this video is 720x576, if I understand what you mean by frame size. It's standard definition, wide-screen PAL, from a Panasonic consumer camcorder. When I right-click on a clip in the event library, and choose Transcode Media, the two options, Create Optimized Media and Create Proxy Media, are greyed out. The only available choice is the Cancel button.

I'm using OS 10.6.8 with all the updates, and FCP 10.0.7. Some time back, I purchased and installed the $20 Apple QuickTime MPEG2 playback plugin, although I don't know if that is still used by QuickTime or anything else.

I've also tried Send to Compressor from the FCP file menu, and the same sound dropouts occur in the exported file.

More promising, VLC was able to export the audio stream while transcoding it to WAV. I am going to try bringing those WAV files into FCP, synching up the sound, and then turning off the current sound tracks. I will let you know if this works.

What camera was this?