How to Edit FAST with Proxy Files || Final Cut Pro X (FCPX)

[@stmike504]

Perfect explanation!

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks!

[@Earljonesfit]

Well made video! Very informative, straight to the point and easy to understand. Good job 👏🏾

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks Earl, I appreciate that!

[@DIgitusSmartas]

very c;ear instructions, I came from windows enviroment so videos like his are really helping

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@DIgitusSmartas Thanks, glad to hear it helped!

[@jamescastleton2191]

So many videos about using proxy media, but like with other topics, again, I've landed on yours and you've helped no end. So many fail to explain the export process. Thank you!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem James, glad to hear it helped!

[@MokoinUSA]

my Macbook pro was struggling, and this helped a ton! Thank you so much!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, glad to hear it helped!

[@DrRavi-MusicallyYours]

This has been a great help.. I watched many other videos on how to deal with this annoying dropped frames messages and jittery playback, and none was helpful.. yours just laid it out and explained the problem well and presented excellent solutions to deal with the problem. THANK YOU..

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem Ravi, glad this video was helpful to you!

[@JacobBurton]

Great video. Very helpful and packed full of info. Also watched your multi-cam video edit for FCXP as well. Both super helpful.

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks Jacob, glad to hear they helped you!

[@anthonyrossicamilleri8476]

Brilliant video Andrew mate, well explained. All the best

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks Anthony, glad you found it helpful!

[@andrejazarkovic5575]

Thanks Andrew, this is the best possible explanation! :) Keep up with good things.

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Andreja!

[@stuartnickolas503]

Thanks, this video helped a lot! I've seen several other videos stating to create proxy files and to "sub them out for the original before exporting" but never explained switching back to original media playback and letting it re render before exporting was how. I thought I was going to have to move clips in the timeline or something but it's much more simple!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, glad it helped! Yeah, there's a number of FCPX features that are technically "easy" to use, but aren't very obvious or intuitive within the UI; that's definitely one of them.

[@stuartnickolas503]

@@andrewsaraceni Agreed!

[@chriscartermedia]

Thanks for taking the time to explain this! Super helpful and concise.

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem Chris, glad to hear it helped!

[@PaulDGreen]

Thanks for the great video! its been very helpful!

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks Paul, glad to hear it helped!

[@arhon888]

Superb video. Really well explained. This has been very helpful, thank you.

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks Arhon, glad to hear it was helpful!

[@LasAventurasdeOscarin]

Thanks my friend! Thanks for the clear explanation 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem!

[@clashshsh4655]

this is so helpful and clears a lot of things up. thank you!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, glad to hear it helped!

[@NikoGoXrazy]

My optimized/original footage is all blacked out and the program only shows the proxy version of my work... im stuck. What can i do here??? Thank you for the video

[@andrewsaraceni]

You need to make sure you have the original footage connected when you generate the optimized files and export the project, or you can try reimporting/relinking the footage again from the original files.

[@NikoGoXrazy]

@@andrewsaraceni I got it! Thank you so much!!

[@starttofinishmediaco.2520]

damn dude. this was a thorough and great explanation! thanks!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, I appreciate that!

[@Scratchboardproductions]

Very helpful!! Thanks so much for a clear explanation!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, glad to hear it was helpful!

[@ShapingSarah]

Super thorough explanation thank you :)

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Sarah!

[@ALOMANITV]

Best tutorial on this subject! Thanks!!

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks, I appreciate that!

[@mattycreative]

This was really helpful, Andrew. Thanks! (subscribed!)

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks Matthew, I appreciate that!

[@mattycreative]

@@andrewsaraceni Of course! I'm going to check out your other vids on 'saving space'. I just got a Sony A74 and upgraded to a MacBook Pro with the M1. Still, I've already used a ton of space just with the few vids I've done. I'd love to see a video about how you work in FCP, mainly from an 'organization' standpoint. Do you work from external drives? The main HD? How you label folders, etc to stay organized, save on space, etc. How you start a library/project, etc. That would be awesome. Again....thanks!

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@mattycreative No problem! Yeah, a video on project/file organization will definitely happen at some point. If I'm doing proxies, I'm usually editing/writing them to the main HD (same with the overall library), but will clear them all out and relocate the library to an external drive once I'm done with the video. My video on space/render files should definitely provide some more insight there.

[@snappictureshd]

Awesome..This was a great help! Thank you

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem!

[@ProjectResident]

thanks for explaining, trying to figure out how to create a self contained fcpx project file that has all the media already optimized for proxy without referencing to files location on the drive, so I can send it via the cloud for someone else to do the editing. once fished and updated with all new edits I could link it back to original media and export in high quality

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, glad to hear it helped you!

[@dw202]

Hello Andrew, I'm just a complete beginner that just started using FCP and I have a question. Hope you can help me with this. I'm using my Sony A1 for video (just started) and for some reason FCP (Ver 10.5.4) does not open or does not recognize those files (XAVC). Somehow they seem to be incompatible. My computer is running OS Catalina 10.15.7. I have a previous FCP version 10.3.4 (in a different computer OS High Sierra 10.13.6) that open those files without a problem but that version of FCP ( apparently very old or I don't know how) does not let me import luts or any other "boosters" for my flat footage. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[@andrewsaraceni]

I would really recommend upgrading your version of macOS and/or FCPX to the latest if you can (curious what HW specs, generation your Mac is). You're on borrowed time running now-unsupported versions of that software, and truthfully it should work, so these might just be anomalies, bugs, etc. that were later cleared up, or limitations of older versions. I can confirm all codecs play back, render fine on the latest macOS/FCPX versions.

[@LivingInMyrtleBeach2024]

Great video! Helped me a ton!

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks, glad to hear it helped!

[@garudasomanna]

Wow! What fast paced information filled video!! Subscribed. One doubt, why hadn't you mentioned that proxy media are useful for Multicam edits?

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks! I have a separate video that talks about multicam edits in more detail.

[@garudasomanna]

Thanks. I'm doing a multicam edit with two camera angles and audio from two sources. When should I edit the audio ? Before or after finishing the editing work? Is that topic covered in your detailed video on multicam editing. Apple support does not seem to have provided an answer to this my doubt.@@andrewsaraceni

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@garudasomanna I cover audio to an extent in the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJjcqoiAg953nLc I usually make broad changes at the main clip level first, then do tweaks, adjustments, etc. as I edit the sequence. And switch the sources if needed when you do the video switches.

[@garudasomanna]

Good morning [it is morning here in India] Andrews. Thanks for these helps and tips. I would like to share this tip [in case you do not know about it]: option-shift 1 allows the video/audio to be selected; option-shift 2 selects the video only; while option-shift 3 selects the audio only. This feature is comparable to shift-1, 2 and 3 that is used for selecting which clip from the browser has to be added to the timeline: audio cum video, video alone or audio alone. I think I was able to find out this tip by trial and error! Hope this tip is shared by you in your superb videos in case you haven't yet informed this tip to your viewers/subscribers. Have a blessed day. Regards. Dr. Somanna@@andrewsaraceni

[@garudasomanna]

Thanks. Your first video that I have seen is yours on Multicam editing, the next being that on proxy files! You are churning out very good stuff. Keep it up.@@andrewsaraceni

[@thelearningmachine5740]

For 9:20 You didn't select Create Optimized Media. You only selected The Create Proxy Media. Does Final Cut also import or create both original and Optimized media automatically? Because if you only create Proxy, wouldn't it export the final work using Proxy Because you only selected Proxy from the import window at the beginning? Sorry if my question is confusing. I hope you can help! Thank you so much for this video!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem! When you go to export, if you're still using Proxy Only/Preferred media, you'll get a warning to instead switch over to Optimized/Original to have FCPX generate the final renders using the original files.

[@thelearningmachine5740]

@@andrewsaraceni I get it, thank you! I compared the file size of the Proxy Media to the original videos and it looks like it's bigger. Original File folder is 1.5GBs and Proxy 2.26BGs. Am I doing something wrong? I'm trying to share an XML project with someone in a different city. Have you done any videos on this? Thank you so much for your help!

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@thelearningmachine5740 No problem. Easiest way to share is to probably let them have the entire FCPX Library bundle and work off of that. I would double check to make sure you're doing a smaller size (i.e. 50% like I mentioned) for the proxies. They may be bigger though in size depending on the camera, codec, bitrate they came from.

[@thelearningmachine5740]

@@andrewsaraceni I followed every step and I did leave it at 50%. And the other person uses DaVinci, so that's why I have to use the XML option.

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@thelearningmachine5740 Ahh okay, you might be fine then with what you're doing. That's always a challenge working with other editors using different NLEs. Worst case, you could do high-quality exports of everything (e.g. ProRes 422 /HQ) and the separate audio, etc. assets, and let them work from that.

[@bobkrist1]

Clear, concise, and very helpful, thanks!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem!

[@landenlamoly]

I could kiss you bro lol spent over 10 hours trying to figure out whats up! life saver!! been losing my mind!! lol

[@andrewsaraceni]

haha Glad to hear it helped!

[@theonlyricemama]

Hello. I have an issue. I transcoded my video to proxy, it plays back well BUT the audio is delayed. If I play it on Optimized it is all good ofcourse except for the frame rates dropping. What am I doing wrong?

[@andrewsaraceni]

Was the audio filmed with the video (i.e. same clips) at the same sample rate? I would double check that the audio for the video and the FCPX project timeline are both in 48kHz, or change/convert them if one or both isn't to make sure they sync up.

[@danieldion8825]

Very informative !, thanks

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Daniel!

[@3ligijus]

Thank you

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Eligijus!

[@AffordExplorer]

Hi hope this isn't a redundant question, but if Ive already started working on a fcpx project and been separating audio from video on multiple clips, can I still go back and create proxy files to work off? .. fcpx is lagging once I started adding in effects, titles, and transitions.

[@andrewsaraceni]

Yes that should still be possible, see the section of the video I talk about it at 3:43. At that point, you'd be doing it off of the source imported clip though.

[@AffordExplorer]

@@andrewsaraceni it works. thank you!!

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@AffordExplorer No problem, glad to hear that!

[@Deech72]

Thank you for this. Why when I import and then choose proxy preferred would only a few clips be proxy and some not? I'm working with a 22 angle multicam video and trying to get everything to proxy. I think I can do it individually though. Maybe because I dragged everything in instead of importing individually and choosing proxy?

[@andrewsaraceni]

Yeah if the files were dragged in, that would often mean you'd need to convert/generate proxies after the fact. Which you can still do (e.g. just select them, and File > Transcode Media), but I usually think it's easier to handle them all on import.

[@Deech72]

@@andrewsaraceni thank you! For some reason, it seems like some clips couldn’t be transcoded, but I ended up figuring it out. Thank you!

[@Deech72]

@@andrewsaraceni Hate to ask a more longer winded question, but...I normally manually edit/cut a multi cam angle video when I only have a few angles. But for the one I’m doing now (21 angles!) I started as a multicam clip, made all the cuts, and curious as to how I edit everything like when I do it manually. Like split screens, layering, animation, etc. if that makes any sense. I'd love to be able to delete all the footage I'm not using but you can't really see that all in one screen :(

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@Deech72 Not sure I completely understand, but I wouldn't worry about deleting the footage, so long as the cuts, effects, etc. all look good from the main project where the multicam lives and is being edited. But you should be able to work with the cut multicam sequence just like you would any standard video clip(s) or a smaller multicam.

[@Deech72]

@@andrewsaraceni It seems I have to make compound clips from the multicam clip in order to use split screen effects, etc. I'm not really sure I'm doing this in the most efficient way, but it seems I have to go back and forth from inside the multicam clip to the timeline over and over?

[@SamuelMcIntosh]

Very helpful! Thanks!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Samuel!

[@IreneYoungFoto]

Very well done. Thank you.

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, I appreciate that!

[@christy2816]

hi great video really helped me out, i have one question if i may.. i used proxies in my timeline and upon exporting my project the watermark was still there, i tried relinking media files and i have optimised and original media selected but still the watermark is there after export , yould be grateful if you had some suggestion for me .. thank you very much

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks! I would double check that you're on Optimized Media once you do your exports, and everything's linked properly as you said. It can sometimes help to clear Render files too and rebuild, I have a separate video around that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmTXoIWFf7-Zg8k

[@NicholasPaulFranks]

Hi Andrew, Thank you for this and please forgive me if this has already been asked: I’m struggling with major lag on my 2013 MacBook “Pro” (8GB RAM 512 SSD) with 4K editing. Would you say that editing via proxy would solve the problem or is it just needing a hardware upgrade?

[@andrewsaraceni]

Proxies would help for sure, but I'd say you're definitely in need of an upgrade. There's a huge performance difference between older Intel MacBook Pros vs. the new M1, M2, M3 models. 4K was barely in use when that model was released, so not surprised it's having trouble.

[@NicholasPaulFranks]

@@andrewsaraceni thank you, squire. I appreciate your willingness to engage. All best, N

[@NicoleFerre]

Thank for the video Andrew. Very helpful :) I have a question - I made be missing something because my proxy's are so dim that I can barely view or work with them... Ive tried several settings :( Please suggest. Thanks

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem! Might be that you're working with log or HLG footage? If so, you'd need to apply a conversion LUT (e.g. for Rec. 709) to work with them and bring them back to standard color.

[@NicoleFerre]

Thanks Andrew. So i shot with a SonyA7s3 and the raw footage that I am working with is from the Atmos - would that be an issue? Would that be HLG footage?@@andrewsaraceni

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@NicoleFerre No problem, it would depend on what codec you selected on your Ninja, and what PP you set it to on the a7S III. I would start by seeing if one of the built-in LUTs for Sony (e.g. S-Log3 and SGamut3.Cine) in FCPX helps bring it back to a normal state.

[@NicoleFerre]

That makes sense. But how can I resolve this! @@andrewsaraceni

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@NicoleFerre Tough to say without looking at it directly. I do offer 1-on-1 consultations to work through specific problems like this though, feel free to DM me on IG.

[@Thereisonlyone464]

I’m trying to transcode, but it’s not showing up, like it’s not activated so clicking on it does nothing. Any idea what that’s about?

[@andrewsaraceni]

You should be able to kick it off via File > Transcode Media, but if it's not working, I'd restart FCPX or your Mac. Beyond that, you could clear out your render files and try it again.

[@Thereisonlyone464]

Thanks, yeah I cleared out the render but I’ll try restarting my computer again. Thanks :)

[@mymonfort]

Many Thanks Andrew. Can we check both Proxy and Optimized Media in advance for 4K 60fps clips in advance?

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Eren! Yes, you can generate both if you'd like.

[@Mary-Therese]

Thanks Andrew!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Mary!

[@TallBikeTour]

thanks! greatly helped - one other question - once you'd made the proxy for that 4k 60fps video, it then shows as 24fps in the timeline, which is in-line with the project settings i assume - but, if you then edit "speed" to 50%, will it process that through the new 24fps proxy or through the original 60fps file to make the slo-mo smooth? I just tried it with one of my 60fps videos and it seems a bit jerky, i can't work out if that's what is happening - and if it is only using the 24fps clip and dropping frames when slowing, will that still be the case when it's exported? thanks :)

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem! The proxy file would still be 60fps, but it keeps the timeline frame rate in mind when editing. There's actually a method/formula for properly slowing down footage - i.e. based on your in camera and timeline frame rates. You'd usually want to use 40% for 60fps footage in a 24fps timeline. I talk more about this here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpLRqJx7hMxpbqs

[@CaliforniaKalaignan]

very helpful.. thank you

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, glad to hear it helped!

[@Lukebuchanan-zn5rz]

What if the transcode pop up is grayed out and won't let you make a proxy?

[@andrewsaraceni]

Does it still not let you if you right click the clip and click Transcode Media? Could be that either optimized media has already been created, or it's in ProRes already. You could clear the optimized media/render files and try it again.

[@Lukebuchanan-zn5rz]

@@andrewsaraceni it is still grayed out, yes. It is a natively optimized 4k clip, it needs to be a proxy so playback is smooth and can be edited effectively.

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@Lukebuchanan-zn5rz You'll need to clear the optimized media you've generated to make proxies, in that case.

[@Lukebuchanan-zn5rz]

@@andrewsaraceni okay, how do you do that? Isn't the orignial clip the optimized media?

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@Lukebuchanan-zn5rz No, optimization happens later in FCPX. My video on render files talks about how to clear/remove these: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmTXoIWFf7-Zg8k

[@NeerajBakshi]

whats a usefull video , thanks for sharing brother

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Neeraj!

[@Time.Space.Heal.]

Such a great video presentation! Bravo!! New sub here. I just got serious w/ photo and video on my new Sony A7iv I just posted 2 recent test videos on my channel but it’s not getting me the desired look yet. I have miles to go but getting my feet wet and enjoying the ride. Looks like your channel has a lot of useful vids ✌🏻

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks, congrats on picking up the a7 IV - enjoy the journey and keep going!

[@Time.Space.Heal.]

@@andrewsaracenicurrently doing the trial version of FCP but it’s not as simple as IM. But I guess I need to break it all down and learn the features.

[@andrewsaraceni]

@@Time.Space.Heal. It's worth the effort to learn, you'll appreciate the additional FCPX features the more you shoot/edit.

[@viceversa5517]

thank u very much !!!! great teacher!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, I appreciate that!

[@zachlucas]

Thank you!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Zach!

[@GreenCardShow]

thanks a lot!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem!

[@vikasvohra9856]

Thanks bro

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Vikas!

[@ankushsethiphotography6019]

thank u so much

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Ankush!

[@tseriavillage3625]

thanks !!!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem!

[@MrLucrativethought]

Major help.

[@andrewsaraceni]

Glad to hear it helped!

[@farai6]

Cheers

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks!

[@DevotedMediaGroup]

🙏🏿🙏🏿

[@andrewsaraceni]

Thanks!

[@JeremyKroeker]

Thanks!

[@andrewsaraceni]

No problem, Jeremy!