Final Cut Pro X won’t open my .mov files.

[gnuPilot]

Is it not possible to open/edit Mavic Air .mov video files in Final Cut Pro X?

 

[Letac]

FCPX should be able to open pretty much every kind of file, especially one wrapped in .mov. MA records 8-bit files, so that odd. Will QuickTime open it? Typically QuickTime won't open 10-bit files, .mov or not, but that's not the case here. If QT won't open it, try VLC, which opens most 10-bit files (depending on the codec of course).

 

[gnuPilot]

FCPX should be able to open pretty much every kind of file, especially one wrapped in .mov. MA records 8-bit files, so that odd. Will QuickTime open it? Typically QuickTime won't open 10-bit files, .mov or not, but that's not the case here. If QT won't open it, try VLC, which opens most 10-bit files (depending on the codec of course).

I shot some 4K footage this morning and tried to open the file in FCPX and it said it couldn’t open it. I could open the file just fine in QuickTime as well as VLC.

 

[Letac]

Don’t know what to make of this. Something is broken in this chain. FCPX can notmally open these files, but what’s preventing it is beyond my knowledge. These are .H264 8-bit .mov or .mp4 files, files that most software plays fine.

 

[gnuPilot]

I think it may have been operator error. I had tried to “open with” FCPX when I got the error. When I just imported the video file the program would open the file just fine. I’m still trying to learn how to use FCPX.

 

[Prospero]

I think it may have been operator error. I had tried to “open with” FCPX when I got the error. When I just imported the video file the program would open the file just fine. I’m still trying to learn how to use FCPX.

Just about to ask you that very thing! You have to import media in FCPX, which automatically transcodes it into the editable format. I suggest you make sure you do your editing in 'proxy' form, which requires additional transcoding, but makes subsequent editing much faster and easier. Once you've done all your editing, shift back to 'optimized' for final render.

 

[Letac]

I think it may have been operator error. I had tried to “open with” FCPX when I got the error. When I just imported the video file the program would open the file just fine. I’m still trying to learn how to use FCPX.

Yep. FCPX doesn’t open files (it opens projects.) It imports/ingests files.


I will suggest something: video editing is not easy. It’s complex and time-consuming and it will take you an insane amount of time and lots of trial and error to learn on your own. Get a few months of subscription to Lynda, Plural Sight etc. and learn from the pros who understand this and know where you need to start. Because you don’t. Good luck.

 

[Letac]

......which automatically transcodes it into the editable format.

It doesn’t actually transcode it unless you want it to. FCPX and other professional editing tools don’t need to transcode because they can work with pretty much anything you throw at them. When you need to do that (or create proxies) is when you have big fat files that a computer can’t handle. And if his machine can handle these files (MavicAir files are only 8-bit and don’t require a serious machine), then introducing another step by creating proxies into what’s already a long and complex process might be unnecessary.

 

[Prospero]

It doesn’t actually transcode it unless you want it to. FCPX and other professional editing tools don’t need to transcode because they can work with pretty much anything you throw at them. When you need to do that (or create proxies) is when you have big fat files that a computer can’t handle. And if his machine can handle these files (MavicAir files are only 8-bit and don’t require a serious machine), then introducing another step by creating proxies into what’s already a long and complex process might be unnecessary.

True. FCPX does not 'automatically' transcode media, and can in fact directly handle originals. I read somewhere that certain codecs, such as H.264, are more challenging for directly editing, and 4K video likely requires some serious computing power!

I have only 32GB in my iMac, (maxed out!), so have FCPX import preferences set thusly:

 

[Letac]

True. FCPX does not 'automatically' transcode media, and can in fact directly handle originals. I read somewhere that certain codecs, such as H.264, are more challenging for directly editing, and 4K video likely requires some serious computing power!

I'm actually a PremierePro user but these things are true for all of them. True, .H264 is heavily compressed so most computers choke on them. As for 4K needing computing power, yes and no, it depends on a combination of things.....the codec, bit rate, resolution, hard drive speed, your software settings, the location of your files etc., but you can have 1080 10-bit files and your computer will stop breathing, while it could potentially easily handle 4K 8-bit footage.