Final Cut Pro X File Bigger Than Normal

Question

Level 1

10 points

Final Cut Pro X File Bigger Than Normal

I am currently using a Macbook Pro in 2012 with 120 GB, which is split in half using Bootcamp, making my space very limited. I was making a video using Final Cut Pro X today and found that a 1:32 minute video took up an entire 4 GB. The screen recording I took using Quicktime Player was 2:02 minutes, and only took up about 144 MB. Both files are .mov files, and were created on the same device. I am looking for a reason to why the .mov file generated by Final Cut Pro X takes up more than 10x the size of another .mov file that is longer. I am also looking to see if there is any way to decrease that number to a reasonable size for this old Macbook.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS High Sierra (10.13), 121 GB Storage, 8 GB RAM

Posted on Nov 12, 2017 2:16 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Luis Sequeira1

Level 9

64,340 points

Nov 12, 2017 2:46 AM in response to joshuliu

You exported your file as ProRes.

This is a professional codec suitable for editing and it produces very big files.

To export do File->Share->Master File then click on the Settings button and choose H264 as the codec. That will produce a much smaller file that will play in just about any device out there.

Note: jn general, but especially with such a small internal drive, it is strongly recommended that you use an external drive for your video work.

Reply