Move FCP files from Mac to external drive? at DVinfo.net

James Collins · December 28th, 2009, 04:16 AM

I have a FCP project stored on my machine that contains 313GB of raw video.

I'd like to move all of this to my external disk, including the raw video so that I can re-edit in the future. I also have some still images in the project, which are stored on my desktop.

How do I move all of this over to the external hard disk, so that FCP can find it all again if I need to re-edit?

I'd then like to wipe the old files from my machine as it's starting to slow things down.

Thanks.

Ryan Mitchell · December 28th, 2009, 08:13 AM

James - you're basically talking about archiving the project, I believe. If you look up the instructions for the media manager in the FCP documentation, it has a workflow to do exactly what you're describing here. That said, I've found fcp to be very useful when needing to relink files and as long as they're in the same relative location after the move that they are now (relative to the project that is) you can relink one and the rest fall in place. My suggestion is to use the media manager to copy/move the project and then try the new project before you get rid of the old one. The good thing about media is that as long as it's somewhere you can always relink it to the project.

Hope this helps.

Jonathan Jones · December 29th, 2009, 04:02 PM

Designate your capture, render, and scratch disk settings into folders on your external drive, and then move your current content into corresponding folders there. Then, it should just be a matter of re-linking the content via the media manager.

It is recommended that you set it up this way on your external drive anyway, with your FCP content being managed on a drive other than your host OS drive. It theoretically helps avoid potential file corruptions or OS 'housekeeping' complications.

Liam Hall · December 29th, 2009, 06:11 PM

Drag and drop...

December 28th, 2009, 04:16 AM	#1
James Collins Regular Crew Join Date: May 2009 Location: UK Posts: 59	Move FCP files from Mac to external drive? I have a FCP project stored on my machine that contains 313GB of raw video. I'd like to move all of this to my external disk, including the raw video so that I can re-edit in the future. I also have some still images in the project, which are stored on my desktop. How do I move all of this over to the external hard disk, so that FCP can find it all again if I need to re-edit? I'd then like to wipe the old files from my machine as it's starting to slow things down. Thanks.

December 29th, 2009, 04:02 PM	#3
Jonathan Jones Trustee Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Healdsburg, California Posts: 1,138	Designate your capture, render, and scratch disk settings into folders on your external drive, and then move your current content into corresponding folders there. Then, it should just be a matter of re-linking the content via the media manager. It is recommended that you set it up this way on your external drive anyway, with your FCP content being managed on a drive other than your host OS drive. It theoretically helps avoid potential file corruptions or OS 'housekeeping' complications. __________________ "Are we to go on record, sir, with our assertion that the 'pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, and green clovers' are, in point of fact', magically delicious?" - Walter Hollarhan before the House Subcommittee on Integrity in Advertising - May, 1974

December 29th, 2009, 06:11 PM	#4
Liam Hall Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: London, England Posts: 969	Drag and drop... __________________ Writer-Director-DOP www.liamhall.net

December 28th, 2009, 08:13 AM	#2
Ryan Mitchell Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 120	James - you're basically talking about archiving the project, I believe. If you look up the instructions for the media manager in the FCP documentation, it has a workflow to do exactly what you're describing here. That said, I've found fcp to be very useful when needing to relink files and as long as they're in the same relative location after the move that they are now (relative to the project that is) you can relink one and the rest fall in place. My suggestion is to use the media manager to copy/move the project and then try the new project before you get rid of the old one. The good thing about media is that as long as it's somewhere you can always relink it to the project. Hope this helps.