Final Cut Pro- ''Video Properties of this clip are not recognized'

[Boscobrown]

When I go to load a magic clip in to FCP X I get error in the image below. I am very new to FCP X and have absolutely no idea what this means or how it will affect my video.

Can anyone shed some light here for me?

 

[halley]

Every FCPX project needs to have a target output size/framerate set ahead of time. This is the maximum you will "Share" later.

When you create a new FCPX project, you can specify the size and framerate yourself. If you don't do that, then the first piece of media you drop into the project will be inspected and the whole project will be set to match that size and framerate... if FCPX is familiar with it. Your message just means that it's not familiar with this size, so it wants some confirmation. Is this what you want?

 

[Boscobrown]

I think so. But when I add a video into the timeline it seems to reduce the quality and decrease the resolution. Even if I choose the size and res shown in my screenshot.

What should I choose to make sure I do not lose quality and resolution?

I am shooting in 2.7k 30fps

 

[halley]

I simply looked at the Mavic specs to understand what they really mean by "2.7k". Mavic – Specs, FAQ, Tutorials and Downloads This equates to 2704x1520 pixels, 30 frames a second.

In FCPX, I took those values and plugged it into the "New Project" information panel.

Now, is this the best mode you could use? Dunno. It won't stretch the original content you film at that resolution, so that's a plus. Almost nobody is going to view it at this resolution, since YouTube doesn't seem to list it, so that means they'll view a stretched or a downsampled version themselves. YouTube's downsample algorithm is pretty basic, meant to optimize for storage and bandwidth.

If I were shooting in 2.7k, I would probably be targeting a final project resolution of HD 1080p, the next step down. This would let FCPX downsample from the original higher-resolution video, retaining as much clarity as possible, and only treating the storage and bandwidth concerns secondarily.

Now, you mentioned that things looked worse on the screen for you -- within FCPX. Video editors often work with live temporary reduced copies (called proxy media) so that you don't suffer lag while you're working. You have to export/share a "master file" to see the best possible output FCPX can produce, rather than the working screen in your project. (Generally, I can't see much difference unless there is a LOT of finesse/finicky effects going on, besides the plain footage.)

 

[lazling]

If your video source is not recognized by Final Cut Pro, you may have a third-party tool like Brorsoft video converter for Mac to transcode to ProRes before importing to the timeline.