Philzi
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: iPhone videos with sound don't have sound in FCE

I have several iPhone videos that I would like to edit and mix with other videos and pictures in FCE, but when I bring the video clips in from iPhoto, the audio track only plays beeps.  These were shot with a 4,5, and 5s.  They play and sound fine in iPhoto and iMovie, but I need more robust tools than iMovie.  Is three maybe a setting that I've missed?  Clips imported from a video cam and another camera look and sound fine...

iMac (24-inch Early 2009), Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Jul 20, 2014 2:00 PM

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Philzi

Q: iPhone videos with sound don't have sound in FCE

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  • by David Harbsmeier,

    David Harbsmeier David Harbsmeier Jul 20, 2014 4:38 PM in response to Philzi
    Level 7 (30,024 points)
    Jul 20, 2014 4:38 PM in response to Philzi

    FCE only works with QuickTime DV and AIC video files natively.  Any other video file type must be converted to one of those PRIOR to importing into an FCE project.   Convert to QuickTime DV if your content is standard definition or use AIC if your content is high definition.

     

    -DH

  • by Philzi,

    Philzi Philzi Jul 24, 2014 12:51 PM in response to Philzi
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 24, 2014 12:51 PM in response to Philzi

    Thank you David.  I'm not real familiar with the capabilities I have in FCE as I only work with my vids once a year when I have enough to create a disc (in this case a Blu-Ray for 2012).  Is there a conversion feature in the software, or would I need to find something in the App Store that would handle it?  Any recommendations?

     

    This whole issue is perplexing to me as my iPhone footage looks fine in just about any software.  I usually use a PC and Vegas because the DVD or Blu-Ray menu software (DVD Architect) allows much more professional-looking front ends to my movies than what I can do with Toast.  When I render the movie, my iPhone clips that had sound come out muted.  I've tried converting from MOV to MPEG and AVI prior to rendering, as well as rendering using the straight MOV…all with the same result.  I would not argue that I'm a little nuts, but I know there's sound in these clips…That's what drove me back to FCE.  At this point if I can get something that will allow me to burn the iPhone movies to a BluRay, I'll live with the menu limitations.

     

    Thanks again if you have any further thoughts or suggestions.

  • by Philzi,

    Philzi Philzi Jul 24, 2014 12:52 PM in response to David Harbsmeier
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 24, 2014 12:52 PM in response to David Harbsmeier

    hank you David.  I'm not real familiar with the capabilities I have in FCE as I only work with my vids once a year when I have enough to create a disc (in this case a Blu-Ray for 2012).  Is there a conversion feature in the software, or would I need to find something in the App Store that would handle it?  Any recommendations?

     

    This whole issue is perplexing to me as my iPhone footage looks fine in just about any software.  I usually use a PC and Vegas because the DVD or Blu-Ray menu software (DVD Architect) allows much more professional-looking front ends to my movies than what I can do with Toast.  When I render the movie, my iPhone clips that had sound come out muted.  I've tried converting from MOV to MPEG and AVI prior to rendering, as well as rendering using the straight MOV…all with the same result.  I would not argue that I'm a little nuts, but I know there's sound in these clips…That's what drove me back to FCE.  At this point if I can get something that will allow me to burn the iPhone movies to a BluRay, I'll live with the menu limitations.

     

    Thanks again if you have any further thoughts or suggestions.

  • by MartinR,

    MartinR MartinR Jul 31, 2014 4:57 AM in response to Philzi
    Level 6 (14,891 points)
    Jul 31, 2014 4:57 AM in response to Philzi

    iPhones record H.264 video into a QuickTime .mov file type.  You need to convert this to QuickTime/Apple Intermediate Codec in order to edit the video in Final Cut Express (FCE).  Generally you can use either MPEG Streamclip or ClipWrap to do this.   Note that your video also needs to match the FCE Easy Setup (sequence settings).    The 4s records 720p video; the 5s/c record 1080p.  FCE has a 720p Easy Setup but not 1080p.   You can try putting 1080p video in a 1080i sequence but results vary.

     

    The beeping generally indicates that the audio needs to be rendered (in FCE) but in your case I think the more basic issue is that you have H.264 clips.

  • by Philzi,

    Philzi Philzi Aug 2, 2014 7:08 PM in response to MartinR
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 2, 2014 7:08 PM in response to MartinR

    Thank you Martin. MPEG Streamclip seems to do the job and lets me make the conversion I need.  I'm still working the project, but I can bring in my iPhone clips now...