How To Take Charge of Your Final Cut Pro Library & Never Run Out of Hard Drive Space Again

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One of the most common issues I see with beginner and intermediate video editors who use Final Cut Pro is the dreaded Not Enough Disk Space error message. You're filling up your internal or external hard drive because you're not entirely sure how to manage your render files, where they're stored, optimized/proxy media, and how to keep FCP from doubling up your footage on import. In this video, I'm going to take a deeper look at all of these scenarios to help you keep your hard drives operational with plenty of free space.
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
00:16 - Disabling Background Rendering
01:01 - Library Sizes With Background Rendering
02:02 - How To Know If Your Timeline Is Rendered
03:09 - Should I Background Render?
03:47 - How To Render A Selection
04:21 - How To Delete Render Files
05:32 - Optimized Media For Multicams
06:13 - Why Does FCP Optimize Multicams?
07:25 - How To Delete Optimized Media
07:47 - How To Store Your Media
08:50 - How Some Editors Double Up Their Footage
10:42 - Outro
10:58 - End Cards
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#finalcutpro #finalcutprotutorial #fcp

[@matthewTobrien]

Now be honest. Who keeps getting the "Not Enough Disk Space" error in Final Cut Pro? It happens to the best of us! What tips or tricks do YOU have for keeping your Library sizes small? Do you edit off of your internal hard drive or an external?

[@bwilesuk]

I used to edit off of usb drives until the disk speed for longer projects or 4K made me sad. Now I edit off the internal SSD since getting my M1 MBA and have an external SSD on the way for my M1 iMac

[@nazparashchuk1345]

I have an external ssd for 2tb, however, whenever I’m trying to edit my footage on it, it’s kinda shows me choppy images when I’m going through my timeline… idk what’s the issue. Thus, I edit off of my internal hard drive

[@ProCoderIO]

Actually thanks to you, no more!

[@matthewTobrien]

Most likely it's a data rate issue. If the read/write speeds are low on that SSD in comparison to the footage you're editing (is it 10-bit 4K H.264?), that might be an issue. Especially if playback from your internal hard drive is smooth. Does your SSD connect via Thunderbolt? USB-C? If USB-C is it 3.0, 3.1 Gen 1, 3.1 Gen 2?

[@visualeclipseproductions]

I use Omnidisksweeper and delete my render files to make more room. I am also editing on a SSD T5 external hard drive and tell FCPX to render on that hard drive in setting. I also sometimes select all the clips I do not want rendered and hit "V" turning them off those clips in the background until I'm ready to render those files. So if I need to walk away I select the clips I do not want rendered and turn them off until I'm ready to use them.

[@CharlieSeymourJr]

This video should be required viewing for all FCP editors. Clear, concise, important. Thanks, Matthew!

[@matthewTobrien]

You're welcome, Charlie! Very kind of you to say. 🤘🏻🙌🏻

[@mv80401]

I agree it's clear but it's also repetitive. The first part about background rendering has content for one minute but goes on and on.@@matthewTobrien

[@tabucapital994]

Dude! This is definitely a must-watch for all FCPX creatives. I reduced my size from 950GB to well less than 23GB! Wow, Wow wow! Life saver!

[@matthewTobrien]

Wow! That's a ton of space freed up!

[@takaraonea]

I came just to hit the like button because the thumbnail is giving me my childhood nostalgia 😂 great video!

[@matthewTobrien]

Glad you recognized the movie!

[@weeklyfascination]

Seriously, this video alone saved me SOOOO much grief. Thank you! I had to subscribe because I got so much value from your videos.

[@matthewTobrien]

Thanks for subscribing! And sorry for the late reply - your comment got hung up for review!

[@BreatheWithSandy]

Wow, you saved me brother. Thank you so much..I had no idea why my external hard drive was so full. I deleted generated library files and it erased 600GB. You saved me. Much love

[@matthewTobrien]

Awesome to hear! Keep an eye on those library sizes moving forward!

[@wrenillusions]

Dude is a life savior, why haven't I seen this two years ago, this just saved me tons of money to buy a new computer with more storage.

[@matthewTobrien]

Love to hear this!

[@allanw.gackstetter7969]

Matt….OUTSTANDING ALL THE WAY…. This is exactly what I was looking for and let me tell your brother you did one heck of a job explaining. Thank you, Matthew.

[@matthewTobrien]

So glad to hear this! Now get back to choppin'!

[@konradkamera7207]

SUPER HELPFUL!! I just freed my computer with 300 GB space!! Thank you!

[@matthewTobrien]

That's what I'm talking about!

[@JoshRazauskas]

I just wanted to say thank you, Matthew! I’m a wheelchair-bound editor with cerebral palsy. I’ve edited on nothing but windows, my whole life until recently my windows computer completely stopped working, and I was gifted an iMac form my friend, who no longer needed his older one and a license for Final Cut Pro. I thought it would be so intimidating to learn a brand new editor on top of a brand new operating system after using the same one Vegas Pro for the last 12 years but you made it so e so easy to understand! I’ve been able to knock out 5 edits already. And the iMac I have is the last Intel one and I’m editing off an external hard drive to compensate for lack of internal power so this video in particular will just put everything over the top. My goal now is to find a way to get enough money to get an editing keyboard, because I think that will make things even better. Thanks again!

[@matthewTobrien]

This is wonderful to hear. Excited for you and your experience with Apple/Final Cut Pro. Thanks for sharing this and fueling me to keep helping editors master FCP! ❤️🔪🥦

[@JoshRazauskas]

@@matthewTobrien You’re very welcome! Thank you for saying, so I’m excited as well! Sorry for that typo there in the comment. I didn’t catch it. Hope it wasn’t too confusing lol.

[@matthewTobrien]

I got it🤘

[@edvideo74]

You have the best explanation of work organization in Final Cut, thank you so much! And another thing: you set up a great light for the shoot, congratulations! It's very unusual to see a high quality video in all aspects: theme, meaning, conversation and image!

[@gw5815]

I’m new to FCP - your video helped me immediately recover 1.1TB. Thanks!

[@matthewTobrien]

Wow! That might be the new record!

[@gw5815]

I don't doubt it. I moved a bunch of footage over from Premiere - most of which is 4k 60fps and I did it on a brand new Macbook Pro M2, so it started rendering away. Thanks again!@@matthewTobrien

[@BBEVlogs]

dude you're amazing. i would duplicate my content, never delete renders, and had everything in one big library all messy. it drove me insane, this definitely helped me understand how to avoid it all and have an organized library. God bless you brother

[@matthewTobrien]

So glad this video is helping so many frustrated editors. Congrats on leveling up!

[@therobertlast]

I almost quit Final Cut Pro because of this issue. This was amazing! Cleared almost 400GB with this!

[@matthewTobrien]

Saved another editor from ditching my favorite app!

[@room403band]

A video gift that keeps on giving! Whoa😮

[@matthewTobrien]

That was the plan!

[@ColePerrine]

Tip 6 - Final Cut also lets you reallocate where those specific library files are stored. If I’m working with a lot of footage but I want to have my timeline rendered, I could essentially quarantine my render file to a large hard drive and let it take up as much space as it wants. As long as the hard drive is fast enough, which all the ones I’ve used seem to be

[@matthewTobrien]

Excellent point! I do have that tip in another video of mine that has done really well on the channel - a Top 10 Mistakes in FCP vid I made a while back. Definitely could have included that in this video to help editors understand that they can store their render files in a custom location outside of their FCP Library. Great input!

[@davetriesthis]

Let's assume that storage is no issue. You're working with massive drives, infinite space, whatever. Is it better to maintain all the footage in the library (even with a duplicate copy in finder) for library maintenance and consistency? I feel most people get in trouble when they move their finder footage between drives or replace a drive and it disconnects in Final Cut

[@ColePerrine]

@@davetriesthis I keep all my stuff inside of the library because when I’m done with the project, if it’s something I want to keep, I can drag the whole library to a hard drive. I don’t have to worry about files going missing later on if I want to access it

[@kuchela]

Thank you. The most straightforward explanation of this

[@matthewTobrien]

That's what I'm going for!

[@quitasolovely7]

I've watched so many videos about this topic! Turning off background render was not new to me. I never liked doing it because of the choppy playback for certain parts of my project! This is the 1st time I've heard that I can select portions to render which is mind blowing! New subscriber!

[@matthewTobrien]

That's what I'm here for! Glad you learned a new and helpful feature in FCP!

[@TheASMRAngel]

Thank you so much for these tips, I was tearing my hair out!!

[@matthewTobrien]

You’re welcome! Thanks for watching 🤘🏻🙌🏻

[@lotus_relaxing_music]

Thank you thank you. I just downloaded Final Cut Pro and started my project and hard drive told me that was 34gb, I was like what the hack goin on my Mac. I was looking up around and finally found your video. I was about to cry, thank you so muchhhhh.

[@matthewTobrien]

You're welcome! So glad this video was helpful!

[@yourtravelfriendanna]

You saved me 200gb of space. Thanks for breaking it down for beginners!

[@matthewTobrien]

That's AWESOME, Anna! Repeat this process every time you're done with a video for every Final Cut Pro Library, and you'll keep your machine lean 'n mean. Thanks for watching!

[@Melie]

Thank you so so much! You literally saved me with this tips. Im so thankful that you made this video. I deleted my original size media from Final cut and now I have enough space to work. Amazing!

[@matthewTobrien]

So great to hear this, Melie! Thanks for watching and dropping a comment!

[@Rohitkrvlogs]

Really helpful video by you, Appreciated from India 🇮🇳😀🙏

[@matthewTobrien]

Thanks, Rohit!

[@RolexDouble007]

You saved me between 600-700 GB of space on my mac!! Thanks @matthewTobrien!

[@matthewTobrien]

Wow!!! That’s awesome. Glad you got that space back and now know how to manage your Library files! 🙌

[@huntgoodstuff]

I deleted my entire iPhoto library in a blind rage when was bogged down by this FCPX mess... thanks to you I won't be doing that again. Great video!

[@matthewTobrien]

Oh no! So sorry to hear about your frustration, Bryan. And I'm glad my video helped you to acquire the knowledge necessary to avoid any future frustration with large FCP libraries!

[@yourmomentmylens9453]

This was extremely helpful. You answered every question I would have had (multi angle was causing a 75gb file). Thanks again

[@matthewTobrien]

So glad to hear that! And so glad you reclaimed all that space!

[@markrund6292]

And yet again, you nailed it! Just love the practical tips.

[@matthewTobrien]

Appreciate that, Mark! Hoping this helps a lot of beginner editors save hard drive space! 💾

[@cotedazure]

Thanks! This vid saved me terabytes of space on one of my macs. Never realized how much storage fcp was using....

[@matthewTobrien]

So great to hear that!

[@ProfSimonHolland]

excellent tips and sharp film Matthew

[@matthewTobrien]

Thanks, Simon!

[@KnightmareOX]

The rendering tip helped me sooo much. One library i had went from 123 gigs to 41 gigs

[@matthewTobrien]

Yessss!!!

[@hiiitriiibe108]

You just might have saved my career with these tips!! Thank you💯

[@matthewTobrien]

Whoa! That might be the best result I’ve heard for this video 😲

[@hiiitriiibe108]

@@matthewTobrien Telling the truth! Thank you again! Editing a video as we type lol!

[@jaay_haay]

I'm a new editor and this just saved my project. Thanks Matt!

[@matthewTobrien]

That's the goal, Josh! So glad my vid helped! Happy editing!

[@notjustishi]

I've been editing via vllo in phone and recently used final cut pro and amazed at how waaaay better editing in fcp but is sufferring from storage space bec I am using only a macbook air base model. With your help I was able to efficiently edit and manage my limited capacity computer for editing. Many thanks!

[@matthewTobrien]

So glad to hear that! Smaller drives are useable but they require a lot more management. Glad my vid helped you!

[@KevinTheSoftwareTester]

Fantastic tips. I started using Final Cut Pro this year and I have seen the not enough disk space message for far too long! You got a new subscriber

[@matthewTobrien]

Welcome to the channel! So great to have you!

[@heymikeriley]

My god, this video has saved me from leaving FCP. I’ve been wracking my brain why my FCP libraries are nuts and I don’t have that issue with Resolve. Everyone kept telling me to make sure I leave my media in place, but I still had the issue. I just did some tests and this was definitely the problem!!

[@matthewTobrien]

So glad to hear that, Mike! This is one of my favorite things about FCP...WHEN you understand how it works. And without help, it can be hard to figure it out. So glad you found my video to save you from ditching FCP. Hit me up if anything else is causing you serious frustration. 🧲🎞️

[@heymikeriley]

@@matthewTobrien much appreciated! Watching a bunch of your videos today and I do have a few questions if you have time. I run a small KZbin channel and mainly shoot wildlife video. I was drawn to resolve because it’s free, and I like the media manager option. I own Final Cut though, my camera shoots internal ProRes and 6k (Fuji xh2s) and I recently learned that I can make and name compound clips In FCP and then export them anyways. I don’t do any serious colour work and don’t expect to. I’ll never want to learn fusion. I mostly am trying to tell stories through cuts and edits. I was going to hit the Resolve speed editor to upgrade to Studio and get noise reduction, but I don’t know if there’s any reason. The huge FCP libraries had really turned me off, but now that you’ve fixed that issue there’s no reason. So as I choose between these programs, does one or the other make more sense? The magnetic timeline seems perplexing but you had a comment about how it lets you immerse more in the edit process than resolve once you get used to it. I like quick, easy and painless. Resolve seems great and has been my go-to but I don’t want to pay to upgrade it. I don’t know if I’ll buy an atmos and get into ProRes raw, or maybe keep shooting h.265. Lastly, any thoughts on prores raw Vs braw? Or FCP native noise reduction Vs resolve’s? Or neat video noise reduction?

[@matthewTobrien]

I'd give a serious go at Final Cut Pro, making sure you really discipline yourself to learn all the tricks for working with the Magnetic Timeline instead of against it. There are quite a few keyboard shortcuts and keyboard modifiers that really open up the magic of the Magnetic Timeline, but you have to make sure that you're seeking out the solution every time the Magnetic Timeline is frustrating you. That's the only way I was able to have that moment where I said to myself, "Ohhhhhh, I get it. This feature is AMAZING." And it's made it so that working in track-based NLEs is so incredibly painful - FOR ME - that I can't fathom going back. And yes, I can disappear into the Creative Flow for very long stretches because of the Magnetic Timeline (I can edit at the speed of thought) and the stability of Final Cut. I've never been too happy with ProRes RAW in my workflow because on the client videos where I've wanted to hire a colorist, ProRes RAW does me no good. BRAW, on the other hand, does a lot of good because my colorist can grade that footage no problem in Resolve. FCP, of course, can't play back BRAW footage, so we always used a workflow where we made ProRes 422 LT dailies with a show LUT applied and I edited using that footage and then we went back to the original camera files in the color grading session. Chris Hocking is in beta right now on a BRAW Toolbox app for FCP that will allow you to play BRAW in FCP no problem. That might help your decision.

[@heymikeriley]

@@matthewTobrien man thanks so much for the detailed reply! What’s your favourite way to scrub through video in FCP? The Magic Trackpad?

[@matthewTobrien]

The Magic Trackpad definitely, but I've recently been using Monogram's Video Console and I can program the orbiter modules to scrub, jog a single frame at a time, and jog 10 frames at a time. It's awesome. Vid I made about it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmjMqnSsfNBjos0

[@JonAdamsMinistries]

At first this frustrated me to no end, but now that I know how to manage data in final cut I actually like the way it deals with data. I tried all the big editing softwares and landed on final cut about 2 months ago.

[@matthewTobrien]

Congrats! It does take a minute to wrap your head around it, and although I have a video from last year that goes over this (and other things), I felt a dedicated video might be helpful. Good on you for trying all the others. I’ve used them all but not extensively. I’m ride or die Final Cut Pro… 🙌🏻🤘🏻

[@allclinical4062]

An amazing and essential video for anyone who uses FCPX. I mean, why do they not make these things by default so we don't have to first suffer for multiple months before finding a solution. Thanks!

[@matthewTobrien]

So glad this was helpful!

[@oneskinnydude]

Thank you, my project was literally taking up 440GB of space, it is now down to less than 40GB after deleting the render files.

[@matthewTobrien]

Love it! So glad to see you reclaim that space 🙌

[@TellYourStory.]

Just what I was looking for. Bought a 10 TB ext hard drive and already I was thinking about buying the next one ....

[@matthewTobrien]

Perfect timing!

[@TellYourStory.]

@@matthewTobrien thank you man!

[@nyleaker]

Nice one man! Great tips. Just got rid of 120 gbs worth of final cut library and confident no more error messages. Thanks

[@matthewTobrien]

Awesome! Gotta save that space!

[@MartinBellamyMBDrums]

My GOSH! By deleting the unused render files... My projects went from 227GB to 25GB... INSANITY! Thank you so so much!

[@matthewTobrien]

Way to reclaim that space! 🤘🙌

[@chipcurry]

Thanks, very clear. I didn't know about a lot of it especially the dotted gray line.

[@matthewTobrien]

Yup, lots of little details to pick up on!

[@vleiratfilms2020]

Really useful .. thank you. Have made every one of those mistakes and had a hellova runaround.. our local South African Mac people had no idea how to help. Eventually the edit would freeze, and the only way to get it back was to quit FCP and reopen again. It still does that on a busy complex edit.

[@matthewTobrien]

Yeah, I've had a few really long vids (a feature documentary) start to struggle as things in the Browser and Timeline get really crazy.

[@maguetteka2292]

Finding this video saved my work.. Thanks man !

[@matthewTobrien]

Love it! Glad it helped.

[@LeahReuben]

Thank you so much- only just found this video, I have been struggling for the past nearly 3 years with this 😭

[@matthewTobrien]

3 years! Wow. Glad you’re getting some relief! 🔪🥦🧲🎞️

[@idonov8]

Damn I was about to buy a new external SSD with double the storage and you just saved me almost 200$ Thanks!!

[@AChefCalledRhonda]

Another Great Learn: Today's Takeaway "the gray dotted line"... choosing render selections in modify!! Awesome & Perfectly Instructed Thanks Again Rhonda

[@matthewTobrien]

Thanks, Rhonda! Appreciate you giving it a watch!

[@ToxicPpl101]

4:22 Thanks, Matthew!!! I had over 600 GB of rendered files stored on my HD.

[@matthewTobrien]

Now you've got your hard drive back! Glad this vid helped.

[@ToxicPpl101]

​ New Subscriber!!!!

[@matthewTobrien]

@@ToxicPpl101 Welcome to the channel! Excited for you to be here!

[@bwilesuk]

Pro res is hungrier than a starved T. rex looking through the window at a thanksgiving feast for disk space

[@matthewTobrien]

You got that right! 🦖

[@3JumpingBubbles]

Thank you so much for this! It helped me with my last video. We spent 37 days on a cruise, and we have LOTS of clips. We only needed a few seconds, but the files were huge. This video helped me clean up my library.

[@matthewTobrien]

Awesome! That's the hope - let's keep those library sizes small!

[@kevindmcgill1383]

You are the MAN!!! Thank you for these videos!

[@matthewTobrien]

You are very welcome, Kevin!

[@terrellclark]

I use to do a bunch of these things before I learned how to store my library cache file outside of the FCP library I was working with. Now I just delete the cache file when I'm done with a project to store it long term or if I run out of space. I like doing it that way so everything gets copied to the library, and I don't have to worry about moving, deleting or losing the external files. Also I like just letting it BG render so I can see exactly how each element will look rendered, and to keep my export time down. Especially if a client needs something cut out or changed quickly, I can get them a revision a lot faster. Great video though, I use to struggle bad with running out of space constantly, and had no clue why. It can become the most stressful part about working on a project, if you don't know how to manage your storage correctly with final cut pro.

[@matthewTobrien]

Solid workflow, Terrell. And something I might put in an "advanced" tutorial for managing data with Final Cut Pro.

[@terrellclark]

@@matthewTobrien Thanks, yeah that would be awesome!

[@gert-janvanbuseck]

Thanks, watching this clip saved me some time and a lot of harddisk space. Happy you made this one and shared it, Matthew 🙏

[@matthewTobrien]

So great to hear that, Gert-Jan! Always a good feeling to reclaim some hard drive space! 🤘🏻💾

[@SilverFoxx1972]

I have been working on a project for two weeks and had a library size of 989gb (my Mac is only 1TB), so it was chugging and I wasn't finished. I followed the rendering tip and the delete optimized media tip....with fingers crossed, and I'm back to having 900gb available again.....and my project is still there. Thanks!!

[@matthewTobrien]

That's great! Hopefully you're seeing better performance on your Mac in FCP while you're working too!

[@tyrannosaurusriffs]

Thank you for making this. I just got final cut and noticed massive disk space being used and this was it. Doubling my footage by mistake and bogging down my computer.

[@matthewTobrien]

Such a relief to have it figured it out! Thanks for watching!

[@Anthony_Anthony_Anthony]

As someone who is new to FCP, this was incredibly helpful! Thank you Matthew!

[@matthewTobrien]

You’re welcome, Anthony! Thanks for watching!

[@rareforareasontv]

Thank you for this. I’m getting use to using 4K videos and SEE how big the files can get!! So I’m def grateful for this ✊🏾✊🏽

[@matthewTobrien]

You're welcome! Glad my video helped!

[@WesleyxPegasus]

I learned a little trick from another KZbinr Tyler Stallworth. Move the cache file from the being stored in the library to a folder in your external drive. Render all the way to the bank if you want to.

[@dhcinephoto]

This was by far the best help I’ve seen! Definitely learned a good amount. One thing that I sometimes see is that FCPX, when importing files, it won’t let me choose, “leave files in place”. Not sure why. Thanks again for this. 8:17

[@matthewTobrien]

You're welcome, Danilo! Thanks so much for watching and leaving a thoughtful comment. The reason you may not have the "leave files in place" option is because you're importing from an SD card or camera card that isn't compatible with FCP leaving those files in place. If that isn't the case with your import workflow, let me know!

[@dhcinephoto]

@@matthewTobrien Thanks for the help. I actually don't import from my memory card. I always import from my hard drive. But what I have done in the past is save all my video files in a folder on my desktop. And I do have include backup set up for my desktop. So not sure if that has anything todo with it. So when I go to import the files, I'm trying to import files that are saved to my desktop that have been uploaded to the cloud. If this doesn't make sense I totally understand haha

[@Dan_Ways]

You're a lifesaver man! Literally cleared 1TB of memory in minutes

[@matthewTobrien]

Beautiful. Love to hear this!

[@DownloadMalfunction]

This dude did the best explanation on this I’ve seen. Deeply appreciated.

[@matthewTobrien]

So glad this helped! Kind comments are always appreciated!

[@Kou.knows1]

What's really wild, is I do drag and drop into my events, with the selection "leave files in place" and fcpx still stored it in the original file folder. My project file was 1.8tb! Although, it is a large project of 4k media, it still was confusingly large, and that has been happening for all of my projects. I really just like dragging and dropping, but it seems that I need to do the import function now. Thanks for the information. I have watched a few vids on this, but you are the first to help me drill down and find the issue! Thanks champ!

[@matthewTobrien]

Yes, if you drag and drop media between Final Cut Pro libraries, it may copy that footage/media INTO the destination Final Cut Pro Library... Glad this video helped you figure everything out!

[@ipsinghification]

Great Video again , but today i have paused the video in the middle , just to give a small feedback : The Content is superb, it's just that during your screen recording zooms and pans there are lots of , 'whoosh' kind of transition sound fx , they are just not adding anything instead i found them very distracting . (maybe it's just me and my hearing and my studio monitors) Love your channel just wanted to make it even more tactile. :) And one thing i have been wanting to request . A video on 'How to put transitions on a Top video layer, specially in Picture in picture mode' most of the transitions get applied to the lower layers as well. i tried making compound clips of top layer , but even then sometimes the transition takes over the whole scene, the bottom most layers as well. hope you'll find this topic interesting , cause i literally couldn't find an in-depth tutorial on this . Regards , Thank you .

[@matthewTobrien]

Great appreciate the constructive criticism. I keep playing around with my tutorial vids - sound effects, score vs. no score - trying to find the sweet spot that keeps them engaging. Definitely don’t want elements of the video to be annoying, though. I will think on your video suggestion. I have encountered the same thing myself and can definitely get frustrated by it. Thanks for watching!

[@heyspringchicken9517]

really really wished I had found your helpful video last night. The dreaded message appeared (for the 100th time) whilst we were working (4 days) on vid footage, we thought we had saved tried to an external hard drive. We eventually were forced to delete a completed video file from the FCP library and re-upload it from HDD, (except we couldn't, it wasn't there, ) Restarted this morning and after a horrid nights sleep, but now I am feeling more confident about disk space

[@NicholasHaines]

Massive Thank You Matthew! You're a life saver.

[@matthewTobrien]

My pleasure!

[@mymidlifemoto]

Oh man, I have been STRUGGLING with this! Haven’t tried these tips yet, but I feel like this info is a game changer. I have a great computer, decent cameras, but have struggled with knowing what to delete, running out of space, and just generally screwing up my libraries. Thanks for this!

[@MarkMontanoMakeYourMark]

Seriously amazing info and THANK YOU!

[@matthewTobrien]

So glad to hear that, Mark! Thanks for watching. 🤘🏻🙌🏻

[@MaximeTanti]

Thank you so much for this video. Thanks to you, I just cleared up 330 GB in an instant. Phew!

[@matthewTobrien]

Incredible! So glad this video helped you recover some space.

[@timelapsesinhdr5534]

Thanks man. I am not a pro user of Final cut at all. I jus creat Some Timelapse's from my DSLR und here and there some b roll Clips or interviews. Now you really saved my workflow. My library was always so BIG with almost nothing in it. This confused me very much but now I know the solution :) Thank You

[@matthewTobrien]

So glad to hear that! It can be one of the biggest pain points for Final Cut Pro editors, but I'm hoping my video can spread to the far corners of the Internet and help content creators and editors master the program and their post-production workflows! Thanks for watching!

[@ZackSeifMusic]

MUCH APPRECIATED Matt! I got tired of deleting projects and still having files lurking around well after the project was finished.

[@matthewTobrien]

Yuuuuup. Me too. Glad this helped!

[@freshsqueezedfaces2753]

I really needed this video. Well done and thank you, Matthew!

[@matthewTobrien]

So great to hear that! Glad it helped!

[@vanessapadi5759]

This is an amazing video. So informative and well shot! Good job

[@matthewTobrien]

Thank you!

[@RobWords]

I really needed this. Thanks.

[@matthewTobrien]

You're welcome, Rob! Hope it helps keep your hard drives open!

[@crunchyb0nes]

this video is a LIFESAVER!!!! thank you so much for explaining, I was getting so much anxiety bc every time I edit my macbook keeps running out of storage. THANK YOU SO SO MUCH :)

[@matthewTobrien]

Yuuuuup. A common issue for FCP editors who aren’t sure how best to manage their data. So glad my vid has helped! 🤘🏻🙌🏻

[@crunchyb0nes]

@@matthewTobrien :)

[@MusicwaleLessons]

Saving lives right there!

[@matthewTobrien]

You know it!

[@chantalrochon3566]

Ho! Boy! I did all the wrong things, lol and crying. This video helps my newby fcpx brain . Thank you for this explanation .Merci! From Quebec Canada😊

[@matthewTobrien]

You're welcome! So glad this will help with your workflow and that you've learned the new way to handle all of this!

[@dreaminanut]

Your video is a life saver! Informative and to the point!

[@matthewTobrien]

That's what I try to do here!

[@kartse]

Thank you sir “Deleted render” part is super useful 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@matthewTobrien]

Super helpful!

[@debbiedeerproductions8204]

Great video! You're an awesome presenter and educator:)

[@matthewTobrien]

Thank you for saying so! And for watching my video.

[@MeandThee]

Bravo! So informative. You answered every question I was silently asking in my head.

[@matthewTobrien]

Haha - that's great! Thanks for watching!

[@elliotignasiak5152]

very cool tip about rendering only parts of the timeline!

[@markdonnery]

Just came Accross your channel. Great videos.

[@matthewTobrien]

Thanks, Mark! Welcome!

[@braedonavants]

Subscribed! I wish I would’ve found your channel when I started. Great info, easy to understand the way you explain it ❤

[@harrisongould9460]

Thank you...once I get going - I'm going to need this. It seems to me, it's all about wrapping your head around what Apple's defaults point you to do vs what's practical for your situation. I learned how to run Lightroom as a PRO...I can do this with FCP.

[@matthewTobrien]

Yes, exactly, Harrison. And it's really about developing a deeper conceptual understanding of the Final Cut Pro Library file vs a traditional project file & a separate cache file that the other NLEs use. Apple, in essence, combined them into one and took the added step of allowing you to store your media in the Library "package"... It's brilliant once you understand it and know how to let it do its thing or get in control and do it your own way. Thanks for watching!

[@Hebhansen]

Well explained.... The best on the web. Thx.

[@matthewTobrien]

Thanks, Henrik!

[@nigelgardnerguitar]

Can't thank you enough for this information, Sir!

[@matthewTobrien]

You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@TheFrank636]

I much prefer to acquire all the files inside the Library, I have fewer folders lying around, more order in the finder and at the end I archive the whole library knowing that everything is there. If you want to access the files inside the Library it is very easy by clicking cmd + opt + R. I often rework jpg or mov with Pixelmator or Motion rewriting them directly within the Library. Everything works perfectly!

[@matthewTobrien]

Sounds like you've got a great workflow that works for you!

[@wkwtoywhiteknobwindups8587]

THANK YOU so much. You have really helpped me so much. I have reduced my library from 161.5GB to 34.5GB in just a few seconds which means l can now get on with my edit. I have subscribed to your channel as you are very, very easy to understand and l totally appreciate the time you take to repeat steps (which as a beginner, l really need). Plus you are so calm and charming. Thank you so much once again. Su.

[@matthewTobrien]

You're welcome! So glad you were able to open up some free space. And thanks for the kind words about my teaching style and demeanor! Check out the rest of my channel to learn more about Final Cut Pro!

[@cogmovies]

Excellent coverage Matthew! Clear, concise and informative - well done! 👍⭐

[@matthewTobrien]

Thanks, John!

[@opendoorchat]

Great video!! I just bought my first Mac yesterday. This is very helpful. Thank you.

[@matthewTobrien]

Congrats on your first Mac!

[@opendoorchat]

@@matthewTobrien thank you!!

[@rojoratatatata4002]

Literally love your vibe, great video!

[@matthewTobrien]

Thank you!

[@sabineebeanie]

This just saved my life haha thank you!! Went from 48GB to 5!

[@matthewTobrien]

Dang! That's a lot of space saved, Sabine!

[@jakeandmahal5951]

yes i just downloaded the fcp for the trial. and my first video was working on for two days and my computer was full. and my movie was deleted. thanks. i was wishing that i could keep using this editor. we shall see.

[@imadclicks]

Going to watch all the video ...So much to learn ..

[@matthewTobrien]

Oh yes, absolutely. Watch it a few times! 😉😜

[@THEOWNLIGHT]

I can’t believe I didn’t know this!!! I just freed like 100GB by deleting what u said in only 8 videos! I’m sick! I could have saved money by not buying that new 5T hardrive LOL

[@matthewTobrien]

Pretty awesome, huh? I don't even have background rendering enabled when I edit in order to avoid render files piling up. If I need to see something rendered I'll select that area of the timeline and use Control + R to render just that selection. Definitely helps to keep the storage demands low. Thanks for watching my video!

[@awalogan]

4.1TB to 670 GB... thank you Matthew

[@matthewTobrien]

Unreal! That’s some serious storage savings. Glad my vid helped!

[@royaltykidstv]

Wow this is an amazing video light setup you got going on

[@matthewTobrien]

Thanks!

[@davidlogan5267]

Absolutely superb, Thank You for these tips and succinct explanation.

[@matthewTobrien]

You're so welcome, David! Glad this vid was helpful!

[@Erick_Valerin]

This is the best and most important video on Final Cut. You saved me a ton🙏Thanks man !

[@matthewTobrien]

I’m not gonna argue with that! So glad you got so much value from this video - this has to be the single biggest issue for anyone who’s new to video editing, especially in Final Cut Pro. 👌

[@JoannaChill]

Very detailed explanation! I know a lot more now. Thank you!

[@matthewTobrien]

Awesome, Joanna! Thanks for watching!