How to move an EDL on to higher quality clips

Hey can anyone help please?

I just wondered if anyone knows if it is possible to use FCP X like the old off-line to online editing processes.

I have material that was provided to me with a "Preview" watermark on it until I bought and paid for the clips. I've 1st edited the clips into a sequence and also edited the VO audio text to match it.

However I have now bought the HQ video material without watermark, but of course it is delivered as one clip.

Is there a way I can simply replace the 'preview' clips I have edited in my project / timeline with the new HQ clip and somehow get the software ti copy over the edits exactly?? Thus replacing my edited project with the HQ non watermarked clip with the right edit points ?

I would love it if anyone could help.

Thanks in advance.

Gazza

Since the paid version is one clip, and the trials are multiple clips, don't think you're going to get match-ups. Even the old FCP (which was better at this) would not have done that.

Thanks for the info. Actually they both were originally one clip, it's just that I've edited the first clip sent (Preview) on th timeline. I now have the exact same clip from my animator but now without 'Preview' watermark on it. I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to 'copy' these edit decisions I've already made, onto the new clip (without watermark on)?

Thanks
Gazza

FCPX.guru wrote: Since the paid version is one clip, and the trials are multiple clips, don't think you're going to get match-ups. Even the old FCP (which was better at this) would not have done that.

If both clips (the preview one and the final one) have the same length, it should be very easy to relink the preview clip in your browser to the final clip that has been supplied to you. After relinking, every instance of the preview clip on your timeline will be replaced by the same instance of the final clip.

- Ronny

FCPX media relink constraints:

- Files must have the same audio config (same number of channels), but sample rate can differ.

- Pixel aspect ratio should be the same, but it may relink even if different. This could result in a squeezed or stretched frame.

- Clip duration must be the same or longer. If longer, then later relinking to the previous clip won't work because the new target will then be shorter.

- File suffix must be the same.

- Codec need not be the same, e.g. you can create 720p H264 proxies and relink to those as original media.

- After relinking to a different resolution file, the viewer may show a window-boxed screen. This is typically a cache issue and can be resolved by deleting the FCPX cache for that event, which is either stored in the library or outside as defined by the library inspector. The cache is a file bundle named LibraryName.fcpcache.

Adding to what Joe wrote:

If you just ask your animator to send you exactly the same file but without the water mark, it will be extremely easy for you to relink the watermarked file to the final one.

- Ronny

Thanks very much for the help and info

However, will I need to go through every single edited clip on the timeline and re-link them one by one? Or is there another way to do it?

Thanks
Gazza

Gazzaonline wrote: ...will I need to go through every single edited clip on the timeline and re-link them one by one?...

As indicated above, if the relink criteria are met you can relink multiple files. This means multiple files in a single relink procedure. You can even relink all files in the entire library in a single pass, provided they are all on the same hard drive.

You need not point to the exact folder. If you point the FCPX relink dialog to the root drive, it will search the entire drive for matching files. If the files are spread across different drives, this require a separate relink procedure for each batch of files on each drive.

I neglected to say the files must not only have the same extension but also the same filename. If you are relinking from .mp4 to .mov, the .mov files with the same filenames must be renamed to have a .mp4 extension.

If you get confused about what clips in FCPX are linked to what files, the 3rd party utility Final Cut Library Manager can make a .CSV showing the pathname to each file in a library: www.arcticwhiteness.com/finalcutlibrarymanager/

Going through your original question, I think the major caveat is this:

"However I have now bought the HQ video material without watermark, but of course it is delivered as one clip."

There is no "of course" here. It is absolutely wrong from your animator to send you a bunch of watermarked preview clips, and then send you the non-watermarked HQ footage as one single clip. Anyone knows that this makes things unnecessarily complicated.

So you must contact your animator again and demand that he sends you a non-watermarked HQ version of every watermarked preview clip that he has previously sent you. If he sent you 5 preview clips, he needs to send you 5 HQ clips. Then you just need to relink every watermarked clip in the FCP X browser to the corresponding non-watermarked version you get from your animator, and FCP X will automatically replace every instance of every preview clip on the timeline with its non-watermarked equivalent.

Things can be really easy if people just would follow correct procedures.

- Ronny

ronny courtens wrote: ...It is absolutely wrong from your animator to send you a bunch of watermarked preview clips, and then send you the non-watermarked HQ footage as one single clip. Anyone knows that this makes things unnecessarily complicated...

Excellent point. E.g, although FCPX can relink from a short to a longer clip, the reverse is not possible. If the cut-up clips from the long animator-provided clip is not long enough, it won't relink. If it is longer it will relink but then you cannot relink back to the shorter watermarked clip - say to check QC, composition, color, etc.

The animator-provided clips should be individually encoded as separate files, and should be exactly the same length as the original clips. It is crazy to render them as one big export.

I also forgot to add -- before relinking, loading XMLs or other similar operations, the library should ideally be backed up at a file level. Consider using a "lean" library with media and cache stored externally. This makes it very easy in Finder to right-click and duplicate the library package. Of course FCPX also makes its own backups in /Movies/Final Cut Backups, but a separate file-level backup is a good idea and very easy to do.

Thank you all very much for your kind help and advice.

Just a note: my animator is only providing me with one complete 3 minute clip and I am performing some extra editing work on it, so of course I can't ask them to edit it as I have edited it. Also they are not providing audio, I have the VO recorded separately and then edit that in myself.

I will attempt to put into practice what you have advised.

Thanks

Gazza