Import and organise footage, folders and libraries - Final Cut Pro X

[@CristiSiRalu]

That’s what I love about Final Cut. That it takes you longer to import everything than actual editing

[@magicofspeed]

I watched 4 videos on this topic and yours was the most clear and logical. Thanks.

[@Deancambray]

Agreed.

[@harmonjp2714]

same. I totally agree

[@marklowrie74]

Ive been watching confusing clips all day, until I’ve seen yours. Made things so much clearer. Thank you!

[@TotallyExposed]

Glad it helped!

[@marklowrie74]

@@TotallyExposed since then, I’ve also jumped on your channel and watched a load more, which have also been a massive help. Keep up the good work lads.

[@DanFleury14]

The single best workflow video I’ve found for FCPx media organization! I’ve been using Premier Pro and always setup folders in finder and bins to match. I decided to give Final Cut a go with a 3 month trial and simply could not wrap my head around the terminology that Apple uses, so this video was like finally finding someone who thinks the same way! Thanks sooo much.

[@ChefBill]

I am a long time digital artist (30+ years) and I could not find any video that actually explained FCP Libraries/events/projects clearly for me, until this one. Very good! Thank you!

[@curtdewolff5152]

Your video was fantastic. I used to do a lot of video work and started with Premiere. I changed to Final Cut Studio and all was good. Once I upgraded to FCP and then FCPX I was always confused with their file structure terminology. I was able to edit with FCPX well and made great projects but always felt I really did not understand their workflow... until now. Your video has explained it extremely well. Thank you!

[@AngeloJGiannone]

Only a quarter way through and I can already tell that this is the exact kind of video I need. Clear, concise, organized... You sir have a new fan for sure. Thanks so much dude!

[@chaplinesque111]

Finally, I found someone I can follow all the way through every step. Much appreciated!

[@lldeaf]

Your presentation and flow of organization was far better and easier to grasp. I think I watched 5 to 6 different videos of organization and yours made the most sense. Thanks

[@Prejippie]

My current problem is not understanding how to keep my assets--like backing music, front and rear-end video logos, and logo/bug--easily accessible from one episode of our talk show to the next..... What I have been doing is copying the folder from each previous episode to the next, renaming it and replacing those files (like footage) in order to prep for the new episode. I KNOW there's probably an easier and a more efficient way to do this, so I am in search of that solution..... Thanks for confirming that I need to start a new library for each TYPE of video project (i.e. vlogs, music videos, and talk show episodes), as that is what I had figured out after just winging it for about a year....

[@tatortotty]

I'm in the category of photographer who makes a video for a client about once a year, so I end up re-teaching myself FCPX every year. This was so clear that I might actually remember next year when it's time (Also, I'm taking lots of notes this time) Thank you.

[@NirvanNagar]

This is the best video I’ve seen on this subject. The other Final Cut Pro videos I’ve seen either gloss over this aspect, ignore it all together, or talk about it without walking through a concrete example. Your video explained it perfectly! Thank you!

[@volpe_sol]

I'm a noob in FCX and this video helped me immensely. Thank you!!

[@TotallyExposed]

Awesome, glad it helped! James

[@mackenziebrooks5272]

Dude... Thank you. This is exactly what I've been looking for. Trying to start editing using FCPX and haven't found a good tutorial for understanding the organization and Librarys until I came across yours. Well done. Thank you.

[@DonnyNSN]

Thanks James. I've just swapped over from many frustrating crashes in PP to Final Cut. I needed to get my head around the vocabulary and this video did the trick. Now I'll (again) tackle the 'Full Complete' video. Cheers.

[@claudionouvelle]

Me too... Just learning FCP for the first time because Adobe Premiere is not working well...

[@ThisisDigitalden]

"EVENTS ARE LIKE BINS " this is a great way to think of events , great tutorial BTW

[@fionngorilla]

thanks a million. the first days using fcpx after years of premiere pro the whole library/mediathek looked like a mess to me. you cleared it up the best way possible, all understood now. thanks million.

[@wptoys]

Excellent video man! SO helpful and packed with great advice!! 👍 Notes - Organize media in Finder first into folders with keyword names Structure: Deliverable Job Name/ Assets/ Audio/ Voiceover Music Fx Video/ Aroll Brill Images/ Projects/ One Library for each Deliverable Library gets stored inside the Deliverable Folder Events are like Bins Essentially folders within the Library Video Images Audio Projects Leave files in place (Manage yourself) Keywords both checked Keywords are pulled from folder names Transcoding unchecked Everything else unchecked Projects are the sequence or timeline Pick the first file, right click and create new project Give it a name In "Projects" Event

[@TotallyExposed]

Cheers dude - 10/10 for commenting effort!!

[@wptoys]

Totally Exposed Thanks! I made notes for myself anyway so I thought I would share them. Maybe someone else would find it helpful too! 👍🏼

[@Organik2012]

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I’m about to start doing music videos and as I began I was so confused on projects events and libraries and organizing like the way you do it just changed my life. Also the word deliverable had me confused as the video started but that word actually helped me understand it all by the time you got to 5:28. Like everything I was missing. Thank you

[@ashishnagpal8041]

Hey James, Today was my first-day post downloading FCPX and migrating from free editing software. I was somehow looking for a starting point and feel extremely lucky that I came across this tutorial. This is the best thing that could have happened as I begin my journey to the editing world. THANKS, A TON!

[@TotallyExposed]

Hey, thanks for the kind words dude! Glad it helped 💪. James

[@JaimetheNomad]

Just came across your video while searching for various methods of FCPX organization, I think I like yours the best so far. On top of that, excellent description and easy to follow along with what you were doing, I like it, thanks!

[@ryangallegos2092]

Thank you so much! Final cut terminology is so hard to understand for a beginner like me. This cleared it up!

[@runycalmera-business]

This helped me a lot. I got a lot of footage and thanks to you I now have it organized in one library

[@AJCoReTV]

The only video that actually helps new people. Thx

[@TanwaRider]

Really appreciate this video!! Makes soo much sense and the comparison between FCPX and APP helped me understand the concept between Libraries, Events and Projects soo much better. To me it actually makes better sense to list in the menu from top to bottom, Library, Event and then Project as this is the workflow. Good job in this explanation bud!! Well done!!

[@iamstefanie]

Thank you for explaining this so clearly. I felt overwhelmed in FCPX even though I had watched many other videos on the topic - after your video I feel prepared and grounded. You're a natural teacher 🙏

[@TotallyExposed]

You're very welcome! Thanks very much

[@otibbcfc]

Thank you for explaining that so clearly. The FCPX file system confuses me but i think i will approach it as you have in the future

[@Not_Vladimir_Putin]

I was hesitant to buy FCP X since I'm used to traditional editor layouts like FCP 7 and Premier. I HATE the way Apple products usually import files into their own backwards file structure within their project, so your video, showing this is an option I can override, really help sell me on giving FCP X a trial. Thanks for the video!

[@TotallyExposed]

Awesome! Definitely give it a go, it’s a great editor once you get used to some of its nuances 👍

[@chrishall1435]

Very comprehensive. For every one of those pains with the FCPX layout you mentioned, this definitely helps. I wish they just change this part to how Premiere is... gosh - it would be a dream! Particularly all the back-to-front terms!

[@stevereid5944]

Perfect amazing , thats how to make sudo Bins ... Love FCPX but been struggling with the event terminology organisation vs my traditional bins mentality since FCP9

[@cobrasnake299]

This video is from 4 years ago, but I just started so I had a lot of help with this video great job. Greetings from holland

[@anywherenearzero]

I’ve spent all night trying to work out the structure and you’ve made it so simple to understand without jargon. I left Premier to Resolve and now trying Final Cut... all I need to figure out is why everything is so much slower and file sizes double every few hours !

[@charlesbrent4243]

Seriously, your channel is "under subbed". Love the way you lay out information. Very straight-forward and informative. I am modeling my libraries like yours. Thank you again!

[@TotallyExposed]

Thanks very much 👍

[@bobrosberg55]

Fantastic tutorial, very clear, extremely helpful. My "room" now should become organized compared to my "rooms" before which were a hopeless mess. Thanks!

[@terrycaster4976]

Thanks for the video. My files were in a mess, so I copied this workflow and now everything is much better.

[@paulavirta6001]

The best, most comprehensive video I've seen on the matter so far. Thanks a million!

[@crazyfruitbatjpn]

Finally a clear guide to this - I really think Apple stuffed this part of the program up. It's a mess. Thanks very much for this, it was driving me mad coming from Adobe.

[@MrAdidar]

way of explaining with details love it . best video on this topic . Thanks James

[@growfluencemedia]

Very similar to our workflow with the exception of making separate event folders , Thanks for sharing! keep bringing that fire content !

[@beebopeducation8676]

THANKS ! After looking through too many videos this was the first clear, simple, professional explanation of how to navigate FCP's idiotic choice of labels; I am definitely adopting your way of managing folders and Events, it makes a lot more sense that having all these self-generated Events with dates. Also, the comparisons and references to Premiere really help, it adds context. Thanks again.

[@TotallyExposed]

That's awesome, really glad it helped! James

[@girltechhb7674]

Thank you for creating this video, I learned Premiere Pro CC in college, with a student subscription. But Adobe wants over $400 for the next annual subscription. So I purchased FCP X. Thank you for your detailed explanation and folder structure examples. I've got this now.

[@DominicKoletes]

Wow! Thanks so much for this video. I was really struggling with understanding FCPX’s terminology vs every other NLE platform on the planet! But you helped make this a bit easier to understand and manage. Cheers!

[@Hannah-xj2vr]

Finally a FCP folder class that I understand! The analogies that you use makes it more understandable. Thanks!

[@mojbahadori9643]

Thank you for being so clear, and knowing what are you talking about!

[@TotallyExposed]

It doesn't happen often, but thanks!

[@Maros_Mari]

Thank you, it was helpful, especially the part where you showed that FCPX will import the files with keywords already assigned to it - based on the folder name.

[@brettmaguire6973]

Wow - I just had my most efficient and enjoyable FCP edit session after taking notes on this video. Thank you so much!

[@Someone-001-u2p]

really good explanation, best one so far for all the same topics I've watched! Thank you very much!

[@JaxonPham]

I feel so dumb having used the mac finder as a library for my videos for YEARS. It was miserably inefficient and made me hate editing. This could change everything for me. Thank you so much!

[@kelvinmoore2521]

Thank you so much! New to FCPX and love it. However the whole organising thing was confusing after two years with Premier Pro. Your system works so well for me - it's how my head works. Keep up the good work!

[@RubenSoler]

Very well explained, mate. Thank you so much. I've been using FCPX since the first version but I never take the time to understand how to work with Libraries.

[@JoeCavazos]

Thank you so much. Just getting into FCPX and this helped tremendously.

[@frankleemorris2431]

Thanks James. Very concise. Very helpful. Crunchy and chewy too. HIghly recommended for all cats. Whoops. But... ta: nicely done!

[@TotallyExposed]

Glad it was helpful!

[@susie_withe_sass]

Thank you SO MUCH for "demystifying" all the Final Cut Pro jargon.

[@FortunatasDirgincius]

Thank you! Finally found the way to organize. Thumbs up!

[@jasrajkochar8087]

Very concise and to the point tutorial. This is going to make my life way easier during editing. Thanks!

[@ladanagl3462]

Amazingly simple and to the point. Thank you.

[@TotallyExposed]

Are you referring to James, or the tutorial 🤣

[@aaron4165]

Great video and explanation. I'm just starting out with FCPX so this is super helpful 👍

[@Rothwellsmith]

Awesome Video - like everyone else - yours stood out and was super clear on how the 3 different things are used... Love 'Deliverables' THANKS

[@TotallyExposed]

Awesome, thank you!

[@DrRussell]

Really appreciate you giving me a reliable structure to follow-it was so helpful! Thank you Sir

[@leonardobissoli7854]

Hi, great video, your approach is really good. Another one you can also treat each Library is a new KZbin video for example and you can create one event as Template for a start point as the main or create a project main as you did as well. Tks again.

[@SimonHosford]

Great video! Thank you very much sir.. fantastically explained. Happy New Year from Melbourne Australia 🤘

[@VTchalk]

Brilliant! Thanks for finally explaining the terminology so clearly. Having the FCP concept of "library" differ significantly from every other Apple concept of "library" really threw me off.

[@prakaesque]

This is what is needed, a clear way to tell what and hows and wheres. Gratitude to you James! Would be glad to see more of your videos.

[@prakaesque]

I am here back again. I feel like a ghost noob and then I'm back to the machine as well!

[@RayGoodwinCanoe]

Thank you very much for this. Came back here to ref this several times as I start new projects.

[@hznproductions6010]

Thank you so much !!!! Life changing. Your video was the best and man I feel like a pro now I was going everything sooooo wrong lol. Thanks !

[@iamTovan]

your workflow is stunning 🔥

[@Medialook]

Pretty much my way - i would suggest you to add the date at the beginning of your deliverable folder in a format 201912-DeliverableName - this will allow you to sort projects quickly. I also create own library for each deliverable - the reason being is that FCPX converts my FS5 files to its own format and embed it into own library - if i would allow to add everything to one library this will be a killer for a space. My events are different however, usually they are duplicating library name but when i have project (i.e. a 3 day conference) where i have to deliver highlights from each day thats what i use for events [Deliverable XXX - Day 1] [Deliverable XXX - Day 2] [Deliverable XXX - Day 3] and i use projects within this event for [Rough Cut] [Edit1] etc. Hope it makes sense. I have also switched from premiere to FCP 7 and then to FCPX - but now in my organisation i need to work in Premiere and must say - i prefer Premiere's Pro file organisation - ordinary folders work better for me - especially when you want to archive the project, but i found it much slower on mac comparing to the PC. Also i am missing easy ease feature within FCPX. I wanted to ask how you finding this SSD T5 for video work - usually i was using raid drives but i have ordered new Macbook Pro 16 and now i want external SSD to replace my HDD's. Do you create mirror backups as you go? Thats my only concern with single drive SSD.

[@SpectrumArtStudio]

Very helpful especially with regards to the organisation. I have used i movie for a while so assumed it would function in the same way but this was not the case. thanks for making it so clear

[@KayDawnProductions]

Love your lighting! Info is very helpful!

[@shireboi]

Thank you for the video trying to sort my folder structure at the moment.

[@CitizenWarwick]

Nice one man! Just upgraded to an imac from a macbook and time for a fresh start on how I structure projects, thanks for the video will be going with this approach! Before I imported all my media into the library and every time a library got bloated I would start a new one 😆cheers!

[@travelntell]

Just starting out getting the first videos out and making sure everything is organised is a must. Your video was clear, easy to follow and to the point. Just what we needed ;) Thanks

[@delaneycovelli6053]

WATCH THIS PREMIERE TO FINAL CUT USERS; LIFE SAVING! Going from Premiere to Final Cut this was so approachable, so useful, so life saving for a job I am starting tomorrow. Do you have other Final Cut focused videos that translate based on Premiere languag-ing? Other questions, if you don't mind... What are "Folders," used for in Final Cut? And do you have a video that goes over what "Smart Collections," are in Final Cut?

[@kelvinmoore2521]

Excellent workflow suggestions. I'll adopt them wholeheartedly.Suits my way of working well. Thanks for taking the time to clarify things. Great Tutorial!

[@TotallyExposed]

Thank you!

[@PhillGraaf]

Awesome Video, I love your approach to sorting footage in Final Cut!

[@MarksmanSpecialist]

2 years later, beginner myself see this as common sense, but it makes sense only having seen it. thanks.

[@ericlobbecke2524]

thanks James this FCP labyrinth is starting to make sense now.

[@rhythm_with_alex]

Good one! Structure is always great. I'll apply your ideas in the next project!

[@TechHints]

Just installed Final Cut Pro and your video was really a life saver 👌

[@TotallyExposed]

Glad we could help! Check out our latest releases which talk you through working with Audio in FCPX and also about Colour Grading.

[@TechHints]

@@TotallyExposedyeah sure🙂 Thank you.

[@spencerrollo297]

I've switched over from premier, the imac fcp file system was weirdly confusing, thank you for simplifying!!

[@marcoscu]

Fantastic video and very useful for a newcomer to FCP like me. Please keep them coming and if possible suitable for a rather dim newbie Many thanks!

[@wearlucinda]

very helpful!! especially for someone who's new to FCP but experienced in Premiere, thank you!

[@ourclassicbikeshed5214]

Thanks for that.... I, like you, came from Premier and was getting in such a mess with FCP. At last I am better organised and my hard drive can relax a little! Thanks!

[@Dr.RigobertKefferputz]

Thank you James, this was really enjoyable to watch and learn from. Much appreciated

[@zrowedaartistviews2278]

My goodness you guys are amazing just from two fcp videos I’ve learned so much especially coming from editing in premier that magnetic timeline was a pain

[@TotallyExposed]

Glad you found it helpful! We have more FCPX videos planned so stay tuned!

[@mikestuckey]

What you want to know probably starts at 6:21 this is a very helpful video bro! cheers!

[@acousticguitarlessons]

Extremely helpful video! Thank you so much! Seriously made my life so much easier when it comes to editing and organising :)

[@yonatanbelik1476]

very helpful tips about organizing the files before import. Cheers!

[@EnglishPappa]

Your logic is superb. Saved me some time for sure.

[@lukemurgatroyd6227]

Really enjoyed it! Very clear and informative!

[@waynedunkley]

Great video. Watched a couple of these and this is by far the most well explained one out there

[@WanderingKamya]

Super useful video mate! It's all still a bit of a whirlwind, but this was a good first step. Thanks

[@StiffyToffeePudding]

Thanks for the tips. I'm a first time FCPX user and this really helped! :)

[@melomane]

Amazingly helpful and well explained. Thanks a million!!

[@TotallyExposed]

You're very welcome!

[@TyKeriaK]

This was such a clear explanation. Thank you!

[@mshakeshaft]

Clear and concise. Thanks!

[@euanrobertson5520]

Helpful for transitioning. Thank you

[@nagarjrathinam]

This was really helpful. Thank you for explaining that so clearly. Cheers!!

[@jasonchetwynd-cox6893]

BANG ON! Exactly what I was looking for. Simple but effective.

[@mejpark]

This helped demystify Apple's bizarre structure. Thank you for sharing!