4444 and Proxy

Hi there!

I'm experiencing something not very handy: I have a 4444 file on top of an edit, that includes some graphical elements with a transparent background.

Of course when I work in proxy, FCPX interprets it as 422 proxy and I lose the transparency!

Is this normal behaviour, and if so is it a smart behaviour ?

Thank you!!

Proxies can't carry transparency. The files would have to be much too large to be able to do that and defeat the purpose.

Because proxies have the same names as original media, you can go into the FCP library and copy the original 4444 files into the Proxy folder, replacing them. Your timeline will of course hit a honking great speed bump when it plays back, and your system might not support playback of files of that size.

Hey Manoucho,

It's "normal" behavior, but it certainly is NOT a smart behavior

But there is a trick:

Close FCP X.

Open the Library package and copy the 4444 file in the Original Media. Then paste the file into the Transcoded Media > Proxy Media folder to replace the existing proxy file with the original one.

Launch FCP X, set the Viewer to proxy mode and you will be able to see the keyed image in Proxy Mode:



This should not be necessary, submit feedback to Apple so they change this abnormal behavior.

EDIT: Tom and I were replying at the same time. But at least we say the same things

- Ronny

"Proxies can't carry transparency. The files would have to be much too large to be able to do that and defeat the purpose."

There is no reason why proxies can't have an alpha channel!
They are bigger than the standard 1/2 size with the ProRes 422 ones but still have a quarter of the size of the originals. So no reason to do not, a half size 4K proxy from RED or similar will be bigger.
This a kind of in between bug and missing feature in FCP X.

For my own I have a proxy app which handles these things fine. Unfortunately it is broken with yosemite.
Doesn't mean the app itself is broken, but Compressor and queues won't work any more with Yosemite. Once Apple fix/update Compressor for Yosemite it will work again.

- Andreas

That's a lot of unwanted overhead for a very small percentage of editing requirements. I suppose there needs to be a way to code the app so that when it reads a file with an active alpha channel, not just any 4444 file, it creates a file that's Proxy+. It would have to be a new codec from Apple.

Agreed.

The new codec would be "ProRes 444". There is no camera which could record an alpha channel, but the alpha channel currently is there once you record uncompressed.

- Andreas

Thanks to all of you. I've sent Feedback to Apple, it's all we can do I'm afraid!