Question about using optimised media.

Hi All
I’ve been using FCPX since 2013, but there’s something about using optimised files which I’ve never properly understood (because I never do it!)

We usually edit exclusively ProRes files recorded on Atomos recorders, but at the moment I'm working on a film shot entirely on an iPhone using the Filmic Pro app (so H.264).

I don’t want to edit with the H.264 phone files, so I made optimised ProRes files when I imported the footage into FCPX.

I can see the optimised ProRes files inside the library contents, but in FCPX the inspector still shows all my clips as H.264. Also, doing a ‘Reveal in Finder’ on the clips reveals the original H.264 files - not the optimised clips.

My question is - do I need to switch in some way so that I’m editing with the optimised ProRes clips? If so I can't see a way to do that.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

John

(FCPX 10.4.5. Mojave 10.14.3 i-mac 27inch 2015)

FCP shows original media and takes you to the original media files. If optimized files are available FCP uses them.

Thanks Tom

I suspected that might be the case, but wasn't sure. That's great. I didn't want to get too far into editing this film until I knew what I was doing with the files!

John

I edit H.264 files from a variety of cameras, lots of it iPhones, and never had need to optimize. Why optimize? I'm just curious what the rational or need it. Always interested in other folks workflows.

If your computer is struggling to edit the H.264 media (because it's underpowered), then optimize. But I agree, if you can edit smoothly then don't bother optimizing. You won't gain anything by doing it.

There's one reason to convert iPhone stuff:
iPhones create 'video' files with a variable frame-rate (esp. in low light situations). Which can create hiccups in any NLE.-

But…
John wrote in his OP, they used FilmicPro… when correctly set, FilmicPro forces a constant FPS…

so I joIn the choir: no need to convert to ProRes, imho.

Hi All

Just to follow up… I agree, if your computer is running smoothly you don’t really need to optimise. I was just doing it as an experiment really as I’d never tried it before. The film I’m working on will need a lot of colour correction and some noise reduction, so I thought I’d see if converting to ProRes might help things along when I get to that stage.

The iPhones were shooting with Filmic Pro at 1080p 25fps. So no problem there (as Karsten mentioned). Filmic Pro is such a solid app now. Decent, high bit-rates, good colour controls etc… Used carefully it’s amazing what can be done with it!

John