XDCAM to ProRes workflow

Until lately, I've been transferring my XDCAM EX 1080p30 footage into FCP7, editing natively all the way through. That has worked fine for simple edits. But lately I've had to deal with multi-layered sequences, and I've encountered intolerable render delays. The only way I was able to finish the job on time was to transcode all the footage to ProRes in mid-stream. (as an aside: Even then, it wasn't enough to TELL FCP that the sequence was a ProRes sequence; I had to "fake it out" by dragging a transcoded ProRes clip into a sequence, allowing FCP to set the sequence to the clip's codec, then copying the rest of the edited clips into the re-set sequence.)

I am now considering a different workflow: transcoding all my footage to ProRes immediately, then deleting the XDCAM version if necessary (while of course keeping the BPAV folder intact).

What is the most efficient way to transcode from XDCAM to ProRes as a batch operation? I don't mind making my computer work overnight, especially if it makes my edit go faster once I start editing in the morning.

Thanks.

Bob C