Michelle LaRock
Level 3 (818 points)
Video

Q: FCP 7 crashing on long log & transfer

I have an hour 45 minute log and transfer file shot on AVCHD 1920 x1080 30 on a scandisc card.  I've transferred to media to my desktop assuming that the crash problem was coming from a card read problem, but no go.  FCP is still crashing about 3/4 of the way though import.  I've never attempted a file transfer this long.  Any thoughts. Of course, all the short files transfer fine and I have done hour long files without difficulty.  Work arounds?  Help please?

 

Thanks so much.

Dual 2 GHz Power Mac G5, Mac OS X (10.5.4)

Posted on May 23, 2016 7:45 AM

by Michelle LaRock,Solvedanswer
Michelle LaRock Michelle LaRock
Level 3 (818 points)
Video
A:

Thank you Shane.  All makes perfect sense.  Yes, unfortunately my machine specs are correct and any long file more than forty-five minutes is usually a bust.  I will take to heart your advice not to import from the card.  This is absolutely wise advice.  I did finally find a solution in Clip Wrap which did take over two hours to import a two hour clip.  This is insanely time intensive.  I have not yet moved up in operating systems as I am afraid this will hink up operations in for Final Cut Studio so I am currently running 10.8.5.  This I know leaves me on borrowed time overall, but have not heard good things about Final Cut Studio operations on operating system above 10.8.  Thank you for the feedback.

Posted on Jun 1, 2016 6:59 AM

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Michelle LaRock

Q: FCP 7 crashing on long log & transfer

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  • by Shane Ross,

    Shane Ross Shane Ross Jun 1, 2016 6:59 AM in response to Michelle LaRock
    Level 8 (42,989 points)
    Jun 1, 2016 6:59 AM in response to Michelle LaRock

    Are those your current machine specs? PowerMac G5?  G5's have always had issues transcoding AVCHD to ProRes...if they succeeded, it took a looooong time. More often than not, they didn't succeed. Because it's a very processor intensive process.  There are third party converters out there, but they require at least OS 10.9.5.  Again, not sure how current your specs listed are.

     

    This post also points out a flaw in your workflow.Sorry to be a smarty pants here, but if you want to ensure that everything goes smoothly, and you don't lose footage and you can re-import if you lose a drive, there are steps you need to take.

     

    1) After the shoot, back up the FULL card to an ARCHIVE drive.  Make a new folder with a unique name...I typically name them by PROJECT, DATE, CAMERA (if multiple cameras are in use) and CARD number.  So AA_05232016_A01.  Ancient Aliens_May 23, 2016_Camera A_Card 1.  So the next card back up will be AA_05232016_A02.  If two cameras, then AA_05232016_B01, AA_05232016_B02...etc.  This way when they are imported, the cards have a REEL NAME, and that's important.  NOW...my boss always says "If it doesn't exist in two locations, it doesn't exist." That means you can't just archive to one drive, if you want to be safe. YOu need to archive to a RAID 1 drive, that copies the information to TWO drives, in one enclosure. Or, offload manually onto two drives. As hard drives fail.

     

    2) THEN Import/Log and Transfer/Transcode the footage to your separate MEDIA drive. ARCHIVE and MEDIA need to be physically separate drives.

     

    Never import from the card, and then back it up. If you lose the media drive, and all your footage, you can't BATCH IMPORT because the file path and reel name are different. This is why you need to do things in a specific order.

  • by Michelle LaRock,Solvedanswer

    Michelle LaRock Michelle LaRock Jun 1, 2016 6:59 AM in response to Shane Ross
    Level 3 (818 points)
    Video
    Jun 1, 2016 6:59 AM in response to Shane Ross

    Thank you Shane.  All makes perfect sense.  Yes, unfortunately my machine specs are correct and any long file more than forty-five minutes is usually a bust.  I will take to heart your advice not to import from the card.  This is absolutely wise advice.  I did finally find a solution in Clip Wrap which did take over two hours to import a two hour clip.  This is insanely time intensive.  I have not yet moved up in operating systems as I am afraid this will hink up operations in for Final Cut Studio so I am currently running 10.8.5.  This I know leaves me on borrowed time overall, but have not heard good things about Final Cut Studio operations on operating system above 10.8.  Thank you for the feedback.