FCP Missing Files and original media

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Level 1

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FCP Missing Files and original media

Helping out a friend and we're stuck after trying a few options so would appreciate some help please!

Imported original media from an SD card into FCP with media stored on an external drive. Media was definitely there and showing on the external and via FCP. Now media is missing in both the original location and/or where we would assume the media to be in the FCP original media folder through Finder.

What I know happened:

It was a new external hard drive that was ExFat formatted

At one stage, the hard drive showed as corrupt and the person ran a "first aid program" (eeeeekkk) to try to recover the files / access the corrupt drive

It seems like FCP may have placed the media in a separate folder outside of the library and it used alias files to reference the original media

What we have tried:

Relinking files, that "finds" the media, asks me to match the media and then we are back to missing files error

Tried creating proxy media (I don't have info on that as I didn't do that step)

We can see an "Optimized Media" folder and that "plays" a blank clip from within FCP but still no original media in that folder that is accessible at all. The actual files are showing as QuickTime files but even if I open them in QuickTime, they are still blank/black clips.

I came across a solution here that said to delete optimized media and restart FCP to "force" it to look for the original media but I'm not sure what of the optimized media to delete in terms files or the whole folder. I'm also so afraid that I delete the only hope we have! There was also a solution around using the SD card that the media was originally stored on to reimport the files but that SD card was wiped so I don't see that as an option.

End result at the moment, we have proxy files, optimized media, alias files and (somewhere I HOPE) original media. I can't seem to get rid of what we need and get the original media visible either via FCP or any other app.

I really hope that this isn't a case of the original media files are missing but trying everything possible.

Anyone advice welcome! Thank you!

Posted on Jan 13, 2025 9:00 PM

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Answer 1

terryb

Level 4

2,784 points

Jan 14, 2025 11:09 AM in response to Malikes

When importing the media into FCP, were the files copied into the library or left in place? There is a preference in the Import tab to Copy into library or Leave files in place. If Leave in place was selected, FCP's Original Media folder will contain aliases that point to the media on the external drive.

I too would hesitate to delete Optimized media if the original media has been lost. When you open either an original media file or an optimized media file, what does the QuickTime Player info window say about the clips? Post a screenshot with the details twirled open.

BenB is correct, ExFat is not supported. It might work for a while, but we've seen many cases where things inexplicably break. Was the library also on the external drive?

For the two other libraries that are working, how was the media managed (copied to library or left in place?) and what is the Storage Location set to?

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Answer 2

BenB

Level 6

12,715 points

Jan 14, 2025 5:07 AM in response to Malikes

First, FCP can not write to ExFat drives. So if that's where you told FCP to store the media, you're screwed, it was never copied properly. Can't use ExFat with FCP or you end up with nightmares. THAT is your issue right there. FCP will never work things out on an ExFat drive.

Copy it all over to a properly formatted drive (Mac OS Extended Journaled if it's HDD, or APFS if it's SSD) and then rebuild things.

Format storage devices for Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Compressor - Apple Support

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Answer 3

Malikes Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 14, 2025 9:58 AM in response to BenB

Thanks Ben!

I think he updated the format before he copied the files over through FCP as he could definitely see the files via FCP after he disconnected the SD card.

My only other thing to try is the deleting the optimized media but I'm not sure if I need to delete the files, the whole files structure or how. From what I saw on another thread, that can MAYBE be a solution since the other thread also mentioned FCP playing a blank clip and it was an optimized media file. It's crazy cause I know the files were there and now are just gone now. The super weird part is that jobs he did beforehand and jobs directly after have all the media. It's just this one.

I'm a bit lost at this point kind of fumbling here now.

Any other ideas?

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Answer 4

BenB

Level 6

12,715 points

Jan 15, 2025 5:28 AM in response to terryb

If you're importing from an SD card, I thought it would not allow "Leave In Place" but I could be wrong about that. I never LIP myself. But that did get me thinking. Importing from SD cards can take a long time, depending on file size. I've noticed importing into FCP directly from SD is slow and have seen folks assume it's done and pull out the SD card too soon. There's an icon in the lower right (?) of the clip's thumbnail in FCP that should indicate if it is in-process or finished importing from an SD card, if memory serves.

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Answer 5

terryb

Level 4

2,784 points

Jan 15, 2025 10:13 AM in response to BenB

I think you're right Ben. I may have misinterpreted that the cards had been copied to the external drive and imported from there, but rereading it, maybe that's not what happened.

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