How to Organize Footage with Libraries, Events, & Projects in Final Cut Pro X for EFFICIENT Editing

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Here's my favorite External HD for storing my original footage: 💽 14TB G-DRIVE: amzn.to/2X4kexr

[@auroramothergoddess]

Is is sponsored ? Or is this something you do personally use and love ?

[@auroramothergoddess]

Also I use to use a laptop and would always be able to select the option “leave files In place” because I hear that’s better but I recently got a new Mac and it does not let me leave files in place it is forcing me to copy to library ..how can I fix this ? 😭

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I don’t have any sponsors. Just talking about the gear I use after testing many different kinds.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

There should still be an option when you open the finder for importing where you can select leave files in place.

[@travelfoodielove]

You have a gift for teaching ❤

[@CamberFilmSchool]

That’s so much! That means a lot. 😉

[@DarlaBaltazar]

Exactly what I was looking for! Really been curious about the difference between those, and wondered if I was missing out on a chance for better organization. Concisely explained!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Glad to help! 👍

[@bobuk5722]

Hi Camber. I personally find this Apple nomenclature VERY confusing. I should in fairness say I'm 70 but whilst I can relate to Projects being in Libraries I cannot easily cope with the concept of Events being a higher hierarchical level than a Project. I have a mathematical background and to me an event is a point in time. I suppose the concept was that an 'event' could be like a festival and the recordings made could be used in multiple projects but in practice an 'event' is filmed with a particular project in mind. To me 'Event' means 'Asset'. I guess Apple has used it in the context of a group of Assets. Why not stick to the 'Bin' terminology? It's difficult enough getting my head around the different names used to what to my mind are simply nested folders and sub-folders. Or am I missing something? Or just getting old? I gave the video a like as Apples shenagisms are not down to you and the need to get some sort of asset organisation in place is essential. BobUK.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I totally agree with you. I would like if they just called them folders or bins instead of events. Would definitely make a lot more sense!

[@fallonnicole7736]

1000% this for me too! I’m 33!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I’m 33 too! 😉

[@wolfhard2420]

It is not age related, my friend. I worked with nearly every one of the known video editors and finalcut is by faaaaar the most unintuitive software of them all. I think I hardly ever used the manual in Adobe Premiere Pro. In Sony Vegas it was a little less intuitive, but still ok. In Finalcut Pro I hardly understand anything without studying the manual. Sometimes I do not even the manual. I was expecting something that Apple has become famous for. Like GarageBand and Logic, software that explains itself. But FCP is like going to school again and learning from a lousy math teacher that knows everything but cannot explain anything. Great potential in FCP, but the UI is simply terrible.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

😂

[@dyproduction8265]

life saver, in special for wedding stuffs, not to many tips videos out there on yt, keep it going and thanks for ur time

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Glad to hear it helped! 😉

[@ChrisJoyeMusic]

Nice and succinct. Thanks for not making this 15:00 min long for an easy tutorial on how to organize.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

No problem. 👍 I don’t like wasting peoples’ time!

[@mikeisfine]

Thank you! I've watched and read a total of like 15 articles/videos on this. I get the definitions, but it's hard for my head to conceptualize how they should be organized. I'm just working on simple youtube videos and shorts. They usually just have one video, the audio, and if I feel like adding some images or extra footage, then I add those as I think about them later, so all the organization required for these large scale movies and projects was getting lost on me in the ways other people were explaining it. This is the one that finally makes sense to me based on my needs

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Glad to help! 👍

[@ProjectsForAllReviews]

Learned exactly what I needed in 5 mins! Excellent video, Thank You!!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Awesome! 👍 Glad to help.

[@blueblueyt7542]

I was going insane yesterday with the complexity of it all, but this morning I chanced upon your video and now am much clearer. I too cannot understand why they made it so very confusing. Thank you anyway!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Glad to help! 👍

[@YourLocalSandwichEater]

So Library > Event > Project. Got it, thanks!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Yep. 👍

[@nirvau69]

Thanks, I'm just getting started with my channel and this was helpful.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You’re welcome. 👍

[@AsherPostmanMusic]

thank you for this!!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You’re welcome. 👍

[@BoboMedia007]

I had one library for all my projects which got to be crazy. I wish I new this before!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I can imagine that’d get confusing!

[@dgsublimeshine]

Good review. I go intense, label and group each piece to my music videos. It takes time, but editing is seamless

[@CamberFilmSchool]

👍

[@Alcanmedia]

Thank you, this was an excellent video.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You’re welcome! 👍

[@romainissa]

what is your advice about importing media into the library or keep them at their location on your external hard drive ?

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I prefer to import and then keep a copy of everything on an external HD until after I’m finished editing. If you keep it in place rather than import it to FCPX, you’ll run into issues when editing if you accidentally move or delete the footage from your computer.

[@jillyann9162]

Good advice! I like being organized.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Thanks! I feel the same way 👍🏽

[@BlackPrimeMinister]

The first video that makes sense! Thank you.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You're welcome!

[@TyTakesOverTheWorld]

Thanks for the detailed video man! This will GREATLY help me long this journey! Learning how to us FCPX has totally changed all of my processes!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Glad to help! 👍

[@LiamBoland]

Really helpful video, thanks so much

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You’re welcome! 👍

[@taejun9017]

I have to watch a video on what is going on with libraries/events/projects in final cut every time I open the program. It drives me insane how not intuitive it is.

[@taejun9017]

Sorry, all that to say, thank you for making up for it with a sensible explanation!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

😂 I can feel your pain! Glad to be able to help a bit. 👍

[@katarinawittich]

thanks for the great video! I learned my editing on a flatbed so long ago that you would literally cut out sections of film and hang them in a bin. So adapting to video editing takes quite a bit of doing and I am brand new to final cut as of this morning and trying to get up to speed rapidly. I have one two hour video that I need to cut down to two minutes and have to be able to sort out the various sections and decide what will go in and what wont. After I take out all the stuff that isnt useful using the timeline, I would want to pull out sections and label them and store them somewhere so that they are on standby to use later if I decide I need them. Can I grab a section on the timeline and copy it and put it in its own event? or is there a better way to do it? what I would like is to have a folder that has everything I pulled out of the timeline in it and labeled so I can quickly access it, and I guess that would mean lots of separate events? how would I do that? I guess I could put them in the b roll but I would rather save that for sections that I am pretty sure I am gonna use Also what is the best way to label sections of footage on your timeline, so that when you move them around you can easily identify what their content is?This is all a zoom interview that is not visually differentiated. maybe there are easy ways to do all this that I am not seeing yet, so give me details cause I am such a newbie, if you dont mind. Thanks so much!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

As far as the multiple sections, you could make separate event but I don't think you can put pieces of a single long clip into them (as far as I know). You would just be copying the entire two hour video over. What I would do I make a separate timeline and cut/paste all the stuff you take out there and you can access it that way. For labeling stuff in your timeline after cutting other stuff out, you can simply right click (or two finger touch for my laptop) and choose "rename clip" and name that section whatever you want.

[@KatarinaKatoWittich]

@@CamberFilmSchool thank you so much for the excellent suggestions!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

No problem! 👍

[@mhpreach]

Here’s the way I’ve been organizing mine on an external drive. I do two sermons a week up load to KZbin PE, rumble and Facebook. If knew of others would go their as well. Anyway. I put each in its own library, then event and the project. Series lesson I put in the same library with a different event / project for each individual lesson. Any suggestions?

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Makes sense to me. 👍

[@alanpetersen4615]

I found this video helpful, even though I am looking for the same solutions for iMovie, rather then Final Cut. I think that they have the same download procedures. Thank you for sharing, it was delightful to finally see the light!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Glad to hear it helped, Alan! 👍

[@alanpetersen4615]

I wanted to ask, also, if I have already made events, and projects that are not correct, can I go back and reorganize them as needed? I am a little confused and worried that I might delete some of the projects, or events accidently.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Yea, you can change things around. Just don’t delete something unless you’re sure it’s already relocated somewhere else.

[@wascollegeworthit]

Really appreciate this. Thank you!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Glad to help!

[@101hamilton]

This is a very helpful video. Thank you for posting!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You’re welcome 👍🏽 Glad to hear it helped!

[@felixsoong9792]

This video was very helpful! Definitely going to be doing the same thing to my projects in FCPX, keep up the great work and content!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Thanks, Felix!

[@ConnorsBrickyard]

That's cool!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Thanks!👍

[@tanvette98]

Thank you so much for this! 🙏 all the other videos are about how to start, and not on how to use.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You’re welcome!

[@erbartlett]

Thanks for the vid. I am starting to edits using 5 or 6 different old libraries (which contain events and projects)... how do you stay organized in a situation like this? I'm pretty good staying organized for an edit for a single project, using organization similar to what you're describing here.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I usually make a new library and just bring in what ever clips I need from the other libraries because it will copy those files to the new library.

[@erbartlett]

@@CamberFilmSchool do you use keyword collections from previous libraries, or do you just do selects again from the old footage?

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I usually just select from the old footage because I typically know which parts I want and they are already in the timeline of that project. So I just copy and paste.

[@lolanekr]

Thank you!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

No problem! 👍

[@WokWithMe]

Awesome! Many thanks for sharing!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

No problem!

[@tGoldenPhoenix]

Thank you.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You’re welcome! 👍

[@omerortatepe238]

Hi Man, I have a questinon for you. I searched everwhere but I couldnt find an answer. Here is the question. Is it possible to see first frame of the clips in library ? IT shows me middle of the clip at library. Do you now anything about that ?

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I’m not sure.

[@omerortatepe238]

@@CamberFilmSchool I have 60 clips at my library, I want to see clapboard part actually, so then I can understand which clip is that I want to use.. Thx

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Yea, I always just go through and name them whatever my board says so that I can read it quickly.

[@omerortatepe238]

@@CamberFilmSchool great Idea 👍🏻 thnx man

[@CamberFilmSchool]

No problem. 👍

[@OsirisBell]

great explanation!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Thanks!

[@digitalsuites]

A bit confusing when you start your computer With files already opened

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Yea, I could see that.

[@RonRicho]

I hope FCPX appreciates this video. Much as I like FCPX some of the documentation is confusing. Thanks for this helpful tutorial.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

That’s for sure! 😂

[@federwilf22]

Thanks for the great helpful video! Now, I couldnt quite follow your Backup system. What i think you're doing: 1.) Sort your footage and all media into folders on your hard drive. 2.) Create library, with events accordding to the folders. 3.) Save folders to Backup. Did i get that right? Could you please give some details/steps? Very appreciated, thank you!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

When you import videos into FCPX, it makes copies of all those files and stores them in your library for that project. I save the original files onto a separate hard drive until I’m finished with the project so that I have the footage somewhere else too.

[@erbartlett]

Great video! I do a library for each KZbin video, but I find myself going back to previous videos more and more to use past footage. Do you have any tips or tricks for putting everything in a master library to make it easier to find things? You seem to use events more than keywords? Any reason?

[@CamberFilmSchool]

No particular reason I just usually don’t have that much stuff to need keywords. I keep all my exported files in a separate folder on my computer, and when I want to use something from an old video I typically just import the finished video into the new project and cut out the part I need. I like doing that because it usually saves on a lot of space because otherwise it would import the entire clip from the old library into the new one (and my files tend to be pretty big from lots of takes and such).

[@erbartlett]

@@CamberFilmSchool Thanks! It definitely would be better to just pull in the best clips rather than all the raw footage. Will take that into account

[@CamberFilmSchool]

👍

[@johnadams6440]

Thank you for the very helpful video. But I still have a question. Supposing I have a saved opening and closing with edited video, music and title and want to reuse it every week without having to recreate it each time. Would that be a project or an event? Where would I store it to make it easily accessible and how would I get it into the week's new project? Thank you in advance.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I would export the file to your desktop (or whatever folder would make sense) and just pull it into each video. That’ll save space in your projects because the file will be smaller. Whenever you pull from another project, it’s going to copy all the files it took to make it to the new project and cause unnecessary space to be taken up.

[@CamberFilms]

I do the same thing! 😉

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I learned from you! 😂

[@JosephineSchwartz]

This was helpful thank you

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You’re welcome!

[@PlutoFunk]

@cambermotion which is the best sd card for canon 200d mark 2?

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I'd go with this 128GB SD Card ( amzn.to/2MXBOiO ) for the 200D mark 2 (also known as the SL3).

[@PlutoFunk]

@@CamberFilmSchool thanks a lot!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You’re welcome!

[@samanthasays6239]

I’ll have to try this when I start editing videos for my channel.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Definitely 👍 A little extra time organizing on the front end will save A LOT of time in the long run!

[@patmalone1669]

Thank you for being straight to the point. ( most You-tubers are unwatchable- if you know what I mean haha)

[@CamberFilmSchool]

No problem! 👍 I don’t like wasting peoples’ time. 😉

[@mikefavager4682]

One of the easiest tutorials to follow regarding Libraries and Events... thank you ( very scary ring light effect in your eyes)

[@CamberFilmSchool]

😂 Sorry to scare ya!

[@DLundgren22]

Thanks for the helpful video. How do you prefer to go about organizing subsequent cuts of a video? ie If you send a rough cut to a client, they reply with notes, when it's time to work on v2 of the video, if you want to keep a copy of your v1 timeline intact in case you need to come back to it at some point, do you a) open a new Project for v2; b) just cut & paste the v1 timeline within the same Project and edit the duplicate so you have v1 and v2 next to each other on the same timeline; or c) v1 is saved somewhere within Final Cut backups so my a) and b) ideas are unnecessary? That's probably worded in a confusing way but hopefully you understand what I mean. Thanks.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

If you right click on your project, you can choose “duplicate project” and change the name to whatever you want (i.e. V1/V2/etc.).

[@DLundgren22]

@@CamberFilmSchool Great, thank you. I'll stick with that!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

👍

[@sebastientale]

Thanks a lot ! great job ...

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You’re welcome! 👍

[@TheFuzzypuddle]

I'm very new to FCP, so I am trying to learn the basics. @4:50 Does anyone know why you would use events instead of folders to separate out media? For example, in the bedtime library he uses events for each day's footage, sound effects, voiceovers, etc. Why would you not place a bedtime event under the bedtime library which may contain the project, for example? Then, put multiple folders under the bedtime event which would be labeled as day1, day2, etc.? It seems like he never uses folders, but prefers to keep media in events. Does this make a difference? Does it matter at all? Is it just personal preference?

[@CamberFilmSchool]

It’s just personal preference.

[@TheFuzzypuddle]

@@CamberFilmSchool thanks man!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

👍

[@maciekomis]

Hi! Question - let's take your wedding video. So you have all the events with all the footage, right? Do you then use that footage to edit ONE timeline in ONE project? Or do you have a different project for every event and then you somehow connect them in one FULL timeline, scene by scene? I can see you have the b-roll, highlights and full projects. I'm working on a longer movie for the first time and I'm curious how to do it. I don't know if i should do it all in one timeline and how my laptop will handle that.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I usually have one project/timeline for the whole video. Although when I shot my last short film I organized all the events by scene and made separate timelines/projects for each. Then I just copied and pasted all of them into one main project when I was done. I don’t normally work it like that, but we were recording most of the scenes with a 2 & 3 year old so I edited a rough cut after filming each night to make sure that it would work to make sure I didn’t need to reshoot anything.

[@maciekomis]

@@CamberFilmSchool thanks! I'll try it out.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You’re welcome! 👍

[@kenbrisby4825]

i hate fcpx. im using it rn ;D why couldn’t library appear first in the list if its first in the hierarchy? or maybe act/scene/shots? mayybe??? errrrrrgh!!!!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You can name your folders those and organize accordingly.

[@gnpb89]

what if you have sound effects you wanna share across your libraries? would that create duplicate files or can you import sounds without creating new copies?

[@CamberFilmSchool]

It’ll copy it to each library.

[@travelfoodielove]

Ya a godsend

[@CamberFilmSchool]

👍

[@Jreybeauty]

Thank you that was really helpful!!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You’re welcome! 👍

[@essenceblakemore6734]

Super helpful this is the first time it’s ever been clear to me what’s what! Thank you subscribe from me!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Glad to help make sense of it!

[@ArtyMars]

I only just realised that each "Library" is meant to be a single video omg... I thought a "Library" was where you had all your videos you are working on and an "event" was a particular video haha.. I've just transitioned from Premiere Pro (glitchy ass program) it's been a learning curve figuring out the FCP layout haha thanks

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Glad to help! 👍

[@hansenhenry5438]

I'm a bit confused. Every time I create a new library, all the photos/videos from the last library show up in the project area? Thank you for the video.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

They only show up in the new library if you use them in a new project because it copied the files to the new library if they are used at all.

[@hansenhenry5438]

@@CamberFilmSchool Alrighty, so every time I make a new library I need to create a new project. And you usually create a new library for every video, right? Thank you so much for the fast reply!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Depends on what I’m using it for. I have new libraries for each of my KZbin videos. But if I shoot a wedding I’ll have one library with multiple projects for ceremony, highlight real, etc since they all use the same footage.

[@hansenhenry5438]

@@CamberFilmSchool Awesome, thank so you much, and thank you for the speedy reply! Have a good day

[@CamberFilmSchool]

No problem! 👍

[@b-rollfilmstudios6358]

So would you recommend starting a new library for EACH wedding that you shoot? Or have for example a "Wedding" library, and then each Event is named a specific wedding? I know this goes against what you explained in your video. But do you think the second way can be problematic? For instance, I am finding that after making multiple Events that are different weddings that I shot, (in a Library I call "Weddings") I am starting to get the dreaded "spinning ball"...like it is trying to catch up. Do you think the way I am organizing could be the problem?

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Yes I would start a new library for each so they are each their own contained units. Your library size would get huge (a single wedding library for me is usually around 300 GBs or more), which will result in things running much slower with each subsequent wedding.

[@b-rollfilmstudios6358]

@@CamberFilmSchool Thank you. I think that is going to help me tremendously because I have recently been having trouble with FCP lagging while editing...now I know why. Appreciate your help!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

No problem! 👍

[@tnp651]

It looks like you organize your videos by Events and ignore Projects altogether. Is that right? If not, what do you use Projects for?

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Projects are where you create your video files in a timeline.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

So if I have multiple projects then I’ll typically make an event titled “projects” and put them all in there together.

[@maciekomis]

@@CamberFilmSchool how do you add those projects together for a full render?

[@chrisjamesies]

Why not use "New Folder" options in event?

[@CamberFilmSchool]

🤷‍♂️

[@chrisjamesies]

@@CamberFilmSchool ok well fair enough lol. Also, shortly after I left this comment I noticed it only houses smart collections!! Doesn’t work for me. Thanks for the great vid.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

It can be a confusing system and there are many ways to organize. But glad the video helped some. 😉

[@Genshi]

So you call your Event, "Library" within the Library? This is terrible!

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Yea. Kinda weird.

[@Genshi]

@@CamberFilmSchool I have mine set so each Library is named for the Month I’m working in, so January 2021, February 2021, March 2021, and then within those libraries, all of the “Events” I worked on for each month, so say in February I worked on a short film called “Seven Singers”, then that would be the name of the Event and the Projects would be named “Main Film” and “Trailer” and “Instagram version” etc.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Nice! There are tons of ways to organize. As long as you find something that works for you, keep it up! 👍🏾

[@Genshi]

@@CamberFilmSchool I didn’t mean to be so harsh in my initial reply; my previous Late 2013 iMac has been dying on me, so I just got a new M1 MacBook Pro and am starting everything fresh, and was searching for a possible better way to organize than what I’ve been doing the last 7 years... my knee-jerk reaction was triggered by the “Library within Library thing”. Sorry about that.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I didn’t take any offense. 😉

[@363rs]

By Calling the event "Library" , you confused people even more. Now you have event folder called Library which is not Library folder at all.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Sorry.

[@jessecampbelliam]

This was confusing because you named an Event (star) the same name as the Library (four boxes). You showed us, in your words what you called "This did not work for me quite as well"? And you never really explained Projects. But, you just showed us where you have projects stored within an event... I guess I'm too new at this. Thanks for sharing your way of things. I appreciate it.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I was showing multiple ways of doing it based on what type of project I’m working on and how much organization is required.

[@MaDnBaD]

you don't use folders and keywords? those are super useful and don't slow Mac as numerous events.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I do use folders sometimes depending on the project. Haven’t done keywords though.

[@MaDnBaD]

@@CamberFilmSchool wow 😮 I just can’t imagine how to edit without keywords 😅 As for now, I’m working on documentary film with plenty of different files including huge archives. Folders, keywords and roles are the only options to keep everything smooth and organized. Guess it depends on a type of content you’re creating. For music videos or video ads you don’t have that big files massive so it’s possible to keep structure flat.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Yea, aside from weddings, most of my projects are nowhere near as huge as something like a documentary would be.

[@bosekaspathy]

This is a helpful video but why should FCP make this confusing and complicated. Any professional knows how to store files

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Yea, don’t know the thinking behind the system, but oh well. 😂

[@tdz69]

Still a complete mystery. I don’t know why people do tutorials on this and create a library NAMED a library. It doesn’t help people grasp what it is. Is a library the name of the project you’re working on? Like “Johns Birthday” or something else.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I don’t normally name a library “Library.” I just did that in this video so you could easily see which of the file icons was the library, but you can see all my actual Libraries have different names. The Library is the Overall folder for EVERYTHING in the project. Events are sub folders for organizing your video/audio/etc files, and the Projects are the timelines where you create your videos.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

The only times I name the Library, Event, and Projects the same thing is when I’m working on your tube videos because the organization isn’t as important and everything is dumped in the same place like in the first example. When I have bigger more complex projects, I typically have a lot more events that I use for organizing.

[@tdz69]

@@CamberFilmSchool got it. So you would name the library “John and Janes Wedding” and the events would be “reception” “ceremony” etc. I don’t know why this is all so confusing but I know I can’t be the only one. Lol. Thanks for the reply.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Yea, that’s right. I agree with you though. The way the layed it out in FCPX is kinda weird until you get used to it.

[@TheFujiwuji]

The terminology and organization for newbies on Final Cut Pro is so non-intuitive. Seriously, I don't know why they went out of their way to make things confusing when it could be much clearer.. For instance, why isn't a timeline or sequence called a "timeline" or a "sequence"? So a project isn't a project, a project is actually a sequence or timeline. And what is an "Event", and how is it different from a "Library" if they both hold media? And why does it add these confusing titles like "Smart Collection" and some thing with a date? Also, when I try to grab a clip, it just grabs a portion of it. Then sometimes when I delete a section of video, the music track suddenly disappears. If you want to start all over again from scratch, there's no way to delete what you were just working on... so libraries and events and projects just keep growing and growing with no way to manage them. There's also no "Save" button on FCP... so yesterday I was working on a "project", then I got the spinning wheel after 6 hours of work, and when I force quit to restart it, all 6 hours of work vanished... as there is no way to "Save" what you're doing. Tried re-doing the project again this morning, then after 20 minutes, it all froze again, spinning wheel, re-start, and everything lost again. The whole thing is an absolute nightmare, so I can't understand why everyone uses this software to edit videos. I used Avid many years ago, and it was so logical and intuitive... the whole setup. Even though I paid for FCP, I might have to abandon it, and try Avid again.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I understand what you mean about the organization being weird with the naming and such. But FCP auto saves your work. I’ve never had it crash like that and lose hours of work. I’ve had it freeze a few times when trying to do some pretty labor intensive tasks, but I didn’t lose more than a few minutes of work at most. Maybe check your settings to see if for some reason it isn’t set to auto save?

[@TheFujiwuji]

@@CamberFilmSchool Yeah, I don't know what happened to the 6 hours of work I did constructing a timeline sequence. I don't even know where to look for it. I see all these redundant Libraries that keep growing... media is all over the place, so have to scroll and scroll to find anything. Like I said, I was working on it for a few hours, had already noticed that there was no "Save" button on FCP for anything, then suddenly I got the spinning beachball forever and ever, so I had no other option but to restart. Then when I got FCP up and running again, the sequence I spent so much time on was completely gone. I don't remember Avid being this illogical and confusing for setup and general use.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Yea, I don’t know how you organize your stuff but I use one library for one project. And use the events like folders on a desktop to help keep various locations or days organized so it’s easy to find stuff. Just gotta find a system that works for you.

[@TheFujiwuji]

@@CamberFilmSchool One of the major problems I am experiencing is that if I work on one timeline, and close it, I can never re-open it again. The timeline just disappears. I go through all the "Events, Libraries, Projects and Smart Collections trying to find it and it's not anywhere. So I have to 100% completely finish editing something in one go or sitting, or it will vanish. Also, it's frustrating that you can never "Save" your work on Final Cut Pro.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Once again, it should be automatically saving. When you first create a project (timeline) where is it in your library? If you know where it is then you should be able to get to it even if you close it. The only thing that would make it disappear is if you’re deleting it rather than closing it.

[@eugenewhitman2866]

When you renamed your events "Library" you created so much confusion because you already have a library. Art would be incredibly helpful if you didn't use the same terminology for different items.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I get what you’re saying, I could have said “event” for event and “project” for project. Not sure how long you watched, but I was using that as an example of how I USED to organize a KZbin video, but that it doesn’t really work that well compared to how I organize now.

[@miidachu3647]

This video seriously ignored the most essential feature of fcpx which is tags.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Well, I was only talking about the libraries, Events, and projects in it. Going to be making separate videos on other features.

[@kanujsharmacandytech]

Adobe Premiere Pro just has a way better way to organize folders and files - I am an FCPX user :(

[@CamberFilmSchool]

I can imagine it would since FCPX doesn’t make a lot of sense in that realm. But I’m used to it so it doesn’t really matter for me.

[@kanujsharmacandytech]

@@CamberFilmSchool Yes man actually have to recreate the events in FCPX to keep things organized.

[@CamberFilmSchool]

Yep

[@foundmelaughing9648]

Thank you! This is very helpful :).

[@CamberFilmSchool]

You’re welcome! 👍