FCPX & GH4 Footage Import Issue

Question

FCPX & GH4 Footage Import Issue

Final Cut Pro is having importing issues with footage shot on a GH4.

it seems to be specifically with one of the formats the camera shoots: MOV, FHD, 50mbps, 60p.

has anyone else experienced importing issues with this or other GH4 formats & found a working resolution?

to describe the issue, ill import from either directly off the SD card or from a copy of the SD card that ive saved to a drive. from the import window ill select all or import all without a specific selection & once back in the browser, upon each clips completion the thumbnail is replaced by a connected clip icon as if there is no video to view. sometimes the thumbnail is black. if i select clips individually they'll seem to import okay one by one but not in groups.

other clips in the same importing batch that were shot in a different format come through & appear okay.

the only solution i have come to so far is to go into the DCIM folder, remove all the clips from the structure of the SD card, & import the files from a new folder.

i have sent details to apple.com/feedback. it has happened with 2 different GH4 models ive worked with. cards were reformatted & tested to be good. this was tested on a 2013 6 core mac pro & a 2012 15" macbook pro & was an issue for both machines. running latest version of FCPX.

these are the details of one of the files.

this is how the clip appears after importing next to clips from the same card of a different format.

sometimes the clips appear to be blank from the import window as well.

Posted on Nov 8, 2015 9:29 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Sep 19, 2017 5:15 PM in response to snofamthrlsgoat

Do you mean you threw away your GH4 or you set it to shoot in a different format?

I have never used that rig but I'd suggest you visit the GH4 user groups on Panasonic's site. You're likely to find some FCPX users there. Does Panny supply some conversion software with the camera? Use that to process the files before trying to import them. If the frame rate in your screen shot is correct, you must do something to this MP4 to convert this to a video file with a conventional frame rate.

We do this normally with GoPro footage: process the MP4 native files to ProRes422LT (with GoPro Studio) before importing to FCPX. It's tedious and it may not even be necessary but it has never failed us whereas attempting to bring MP4 directly into FCPX from the GoPro is risky.

Reply