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27Final Cut Pro User Guide
Generated media
Render files, optimized files, proxy files, and analysis files are all considered generated
media because the system creates them in the background after the original media has
been imported. You can store generated media inside your Final Cut Pro library or in
an external location you define. For example, to organize media in a large facility more
efficiently, you can put generated media on a SAN or on a storage device outside the
library. See
Set storage locations in Final Cut Pro.
To reduce a library’s size, and to move, copy, or archive a library more quickly, you can
delete all the generated media (proxy, optimized, or render files) in one step. See Create
optimized and proxy files in Final Cut Pro and Manage render files in Final Cut Pro.
Note: By default, copying a project between libraries does not copy the associated proxy,
optimized, or render files because these files can be quickly regenerated. However, you
can choose to include proxy or optimized media when you copy a project to another library.
Final Cut Pro workflow
The overall process for putting together a movie with Final Cut Pro is described below.
You don’t have to do every step, and you might do others that aren’t listed. The workflow
isn’t necessarily linear. You could, for example, go all the way through editing and adding
effects, and then import more new media for your project.
Step 1: Import your media into Final Cut Pro
To use Final Cut Pro, you need to transfer your media (video, audio, and still images) from
your recording device to your Mac or an external storage device. You can import media
from many kinds of cameras and other devices, or from other apps such as Photos or
iMovie.
Step 2: Organize your media
Final Cut Pro automatically organizes your imported media into events. An event is similar
to a folder that can hold dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of video clips, audio clips,
and still images, as well as projects. In Final Cut Pro, your media appears as clips, which
link to the media files on your Mac or storage device. You can reorganize your clips by
creating or renaming events and moving clips between events. For example, you could
create an event for all the media shot for a specific client.
As you review your footage, you can easily rate clips as favorite or rejected. These
ratings make it easier to focus on your best footage. Final Cut Pro also offers other useful
organizing tools, such as Keyword Collections, Smart Collections, and roles.
Step 3: Create a project and add clips to it
Your project is the movie you create using clips from your events and from the collections
of media (such as titles and sound effects) that come with Final Cut Pro. Start creating
your movie by adding clips to the timeline. You make all your edits in the project; your
original media files remain untouched (this is known as nondestructive editing).