Problem Importing .mp4 into Final Cut Pro
by Shane McGee
on
Aug 25, 2008 at 3:29:07 am
im having trouble importing a .mp4 i ripped off a dvd my friend gave me of him playing lacrosse. i plan to make a highlight reel of him to send to colleges.
basically i guess im looking to figure out how to convert this .mp4 file to something that will play nice with final cut pro.
Re: Problem Importing .mp4 into Final Cut Pro by Andy Mees on Aug 25, 2008 at 3:42:50 am
Ripping the already compressed dvd copy of the video to an MP4 then transcoding yet again to DV or other format on top of that is just degrading the image more and more. If you can't get access to the original footage then instead of using MacTheRipper / Handbrake or whatever to rip the VOB to an MP4 first, just download and use the free MPEG Streamclip application to transcode the file directly from your friend's DVD to a DV-NTSC file that you can edit with easily.
If transcoding is really what you want to do though, then you can use Compressor or Quicktime Player (or MPEG Streamclip) to transcode the file.
Re: Problem Importing .mp4 into Final Cut Pro by Shane McGee on Aug 25, 2008 at 4:03:17 am
okay well i actually downloaded that program you mentioned yesterday and have been attempting to use it. ive come to find that the actual mp4 file will go into it no prob but the files on the vob files on the dvd wont work with it...says its unsupported file format o something when i select them all and drag them in...
Re: Problem Importing .mp4 into Final Cut Pro by Dave LaRonde on Aug 25, 2008 at 3:57:58 pm
[Shane McGee]"im having trouble importing a .mp4 i ripped off a dvd my friend gave me of him playing lacrosse. i plan to make a highlight reel of him to send to colleges. "
You don't want to use mp4 files in FCP. Mp4 is a final delivery codec, not one you really want to use in editing, because it's lossy. Combined with the damage already done to the video by MPEG2, which is what MUST be used by authored DVD's suitable for playing in DVD players, your proposed highlight reel may not be do your friend any favors.
But if you like editing in mp4, it can still be okay.
Try this: get MPEG Streamclip. It's free. Use it to make video files in the Animation codec set to Best Quality. You'll use 'em later. Use the mp4 files to do your cutting, and get things right. Then once the editing is done, duplicate the timeline, import the Animation files, and substitute them for the corresponding mp4 files in the duplicate timeline.
You'll then have a completed highlight reel that's ready to go to Compressor and on to DVD Studio Pro, with minimal quality loss.
Dave LaRonde
Sr. Promotion Producer
KCRG-TV (ABC) Cedar Rapids, IA
Re: Problem Importing .mp4 into Final Cut Pro by cinnamon kennedy on Jan 8, 2009 at 4:25:47 pm
just wanted to note that I've had more success translating mp4 to mov in quicktime and then working from there. fcp seems to like that better than the mpeg streamclip options.
Re: Problem Importing .mp4 into Final Cut Pro by Chris Montgomery on Mar 5, 2009 at 6:21:33 am
David,
I understand the explanation in your up until the final part. Im working with HD footage, i'm looking for away to use very small (quickly compressed files) to do all my edits in FCP then before exporting, replace these files with the full Res versions. Mostly to avoid render times etc.
So, i build my timeline with the smaller files. Then i duplicate the sequence, correct? Then what? Im getting confused when it comes to replacing the files on the timeline with the full res ones. Can this be done automatically? Or must i learn the In/Out points of each clip and replace them manually.
Re: Problem Importing .mp4 into Final Cut Pro by Wade Francom on Sep 8, 2009 at 8:54:29 pm
I believe the process would be to create a duplicate timeline...this time with the video settings to match your original HD video. Then you select everything on your editing timeline and paste it to the new HD timeline. Of course, by doing this, Final Cut is going to want to render those files to the HD settings you have on the new timeline. Rather than do that, import your HD files, select everything on your new timeline, then go to "Reconnect Media" (under the File tab), select online files, and then browse for and select the HD files. This should replace the old files with the HD files on your HD timeline, and therefore skipping any need for searching or re-rendering.
