Why Final Cut Pro X is filling up my internal hard drive?

Yes, this is really annoying. I am storing my media on an external drive as well. Why does FCPX create another version on my internal hard drive. Even if I move it elsewhere, aren't I effectively duplicating the files?

Hard to tell without knowing what you did. First, where's your library? How did you import your media, from what, and where's the library storage location?

Even if I move it elsewhere, aren't I effectively duplicating the files?

Not necessarily, but again it depends on exactly what you did and why.

I am new to video, so bear with me. I have been a photographer for quite some time, so I followed the same work flow. Import onto an external hard drive and then add (not copy) the files to the library. My assumption was that the library, like in lightroom, would simply reference the original media and index it. When I looked at my library, it was bloated to 80 gigs. I have now moved the library to the same external disc, but I wonder if I am doing something wrong. I would prefer to import directly via the fcpx interface, but it doesn't allow me the option to store the media the way that I like to catalogue it.

Media handling depends on a number of factors, first where the media is assigned to be stored, managed media inside the library, or external media, in an external folder. The other factor is if you're importing from a camera card or archive, and third if you're creating optimized and/or proxy media.

Hi Tom, So I have two different hard drives connected and on both are libraries. I was uploading some videos from an SD card to one of the two HDD. But than if I go in FCX and click right mouse on one of the clips and than reveal in finder, it actually tells me that this clip is on the OTHER HDD in a folder call Final Cut Original Media. So why is this? Thx

You need to take control of where the library puts material. Select the library in the sidebar and go to the inspector to see the library properties. It tells you where the material is being saved, either inside the library, or outside it and where that location is. Every time you create a new library make sure the library properties are assigned the way you want before you do anything else. This is basic to using the application.

What version are you using?

What is the 800G stuff? In folders? In a library? Camera archives?

The default behavior of FCP X is to transcode all your media into huge ProRes files, in the background.

Go to the preferences : Playback and turn off Background render.

Click on your Events and select Delete Event Render Files... and select All when it says Unused or All.

That will get rid of all the huge ProRes files and you should be only using around the amount of storage your original files take up.

Oh yeah, you may have some generators or transitions that slow down your system and can't play in real time, so you can just render those clips individually. Select the clip and then go to Modify and select Render Selection.

Scot,

The OP will also need to trash the Transcoded Media folder (or at least the contents) to delete the Pro Res files. Or purchase and use Final Cut Library Manager.

Russ

Select the library in FCP and use the Consolidate function. This will allow you to copy the contents to an external location leaving symlinks in their place. Or with FCP closed you could just move the library to your other drive.

I'm having the same problem here. I tried moving the FCP library from my internal hard drive to my external, but when I open the library from my external the timeline did not save with all my edits. Don't know why it is doing that? Right now I just really want to isolate all FCPX stuff (libraries, events, projects) to my external, since my internal is maxed out. Please help!

RRod7 wrote:

I'm having the same problem here. I tried moving the FCP library from my internal hard drive to my external, but when I open the library from my external the timeline did not save with all my edits. Don't know why it is doing that? Right now I just really want to isolate all FCPX stuff (libraries, events, projects) to my external, since my internal is maxed out. Please help!

Just make sure that FCP X is NOT running, when you go about copying your library to the external.

Thanks Tom. For me was new coz I never had hooked 2 hdd to fcx. But because of you i understand now!