After I transfer my P2 footage to a folder on my external hard drive I open FCP and use the log and transfer feature to load the footage into FCP. At this point FCP makes. .mov files and stores it on the hard drive in the capture scratch folder with the project name. My question is...since FCP makes a .mov files from the original P2 footage can I then delete the P2 footage from the hard drive to save space? Or does the .mov files link to the original P2 footage?
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- Thread starter nklaeser
- Start date
mb72378
Well-known member
You can technically delete the original card files BUT I wouldn't suggest it. Backing up your footage is really important...trust me. What I do is offload all the footage to a cheap but decent external HD. Then transfer via final cut the clips I want. Then store the HD and edit with the quicktimes that FCP makes. That way I save space on my edit machine and I have the backup just in case my edit system crashes. Not to mention, if you save all your footage on backup media it's always accessible. I recently had a project where I needed some B-roll and I actually remember that I had some shots that would work from a shoot about a year ago. Worked like a charm!
So again, to answer your immediate question. You don't have to keep the original card files once you log and transfer to FCP, but I would suggest it if at all possible. If these are paying jobs just build $100 in the quote for a new hard drive for each project. That's what I do. Good luck.
So again, to answer your immediate question. You don't have to keep the original card files once you log and transfer to FCP, but I would suggest it if at all possible. If these are paying jobs just build $100 in the quote for a new hard drive for each project. That's what I do. Good luck.