Final Cut Pro 5: Subclips may result from batch capture of 720p, 60 fps media

If you're capturing 720p HD media at 60 frames per second (fps) using serial device control, there's a situation in which logged clips appear as unlinked subclips in the Browser after they are captured.

The issue can occur when using serial device control to batch capture 720p media at 60 fps because Final Cut Pro treats some details of the capture scenario as if the media were running at 30 fps instead of 60. The result is that your media is captured to disk normally, but Final Cut Pro presents each clip as if it is part of something that is larger than the clip's media. This is similar to what a subclip is.

What you see is that the captured clips appear as subclips in the Browser, but they behave as if they are offline. In fact, the clips were captured correctly, but Final Cut Pro does treat see them as usable.

This issue is addressed in Final Cut Pro 5.0.4.

Update to Final Cut Pro 5.0.4 via Software Update (Select Apple > System Preferences), or download the update here.

Without the Final Cut Pro 5.0.4 update, you can apply one of the workarounds listed below. The best one to suit you may depend on equipment you have available, your workflow and/or your current production phase.

• Use FireWire
  Your HD video recorder may include support for FireWire, and Final Cut Pro is able to correctly capture 720p 60 fps media over FireWire while using the same connection for device control.
  
• Use Capture Now
  If you are capturing media for the first time in a project (not recapturing), using Capture Now can be a good solution. Because of a difference in the way Final Cut Pro interprets incoming data during the Capture Now process, 720p media you acquire using Capture Now will not appear as subclips when using serial device control.
  
• Import from Finder (before editing)
  If you have already logged clips that need to be captured, and haven't yet started editing, the following steps might be best suited for this stage in your workflow.
  1. Batch capture your logged clips as you normally would. When the capture process is finished, the clips will appear as unlinked subclips in the Browser.
  2. Choose File > New > Bin to create a new bin in the Browser. Name this new bin "Temp" (or something similar — you won't be using it for long).
  3. Select all of the subclips and drag them into the "Temp" bin.
  4. In Finder, go to the Capture Scratch folder for this project, select the newly captured clips, and drag them right into Final Cut Pro's Browser.
     (Finder Tip: If you view the Capture Scratch window in List view and sort the columns by Date Modified, recently captured items will appear at the top of the list.)
  5. After doing this "Finder import", your clips should appear as they were logged, and not look like subclips with long durations.
  6. After verifying that you have your clips, it's okay to delete the "Temp" bin. (Creating the "Temp" bin is not even really necessary; it is suggested here to keep things distinct, and for safety, i.e., in case you make a mistake in the Finder.)
     
• Remove Subclip Limits (if you have already begun editing)
  The following workaround steps are best suited if you will be recapturing any clips affected by this issue, and you're already at a point in your workflow where you have done either of the following:
  • Added affected clips to the Timeline
  • Modified affected items in the Browser
  
  Take these steps to work around details of recapturing with this issue:
  1. Choose File > New > Bin to create a new bin in the Browser and call it something like "Batch Items."
  2. Locate all the clips in the Browser that you will be recapturing and place them into the "Batch Items" bin. (If you need or want to create sub-bins within this bin for organizational purposes, that's fine.)
  3. Select all the items within the "Batch Items" bin and choose File > Batch Capture to begin recapturing the selected items.
     
     When finished, the captured clips will appear as subclips and instances of those items in the Timeline will appear to be online, but may contain no media on playback.
     
  4. Select all the captured items in the "Batch Items" bin and choose Modify > Remove Subclip Limits.

  Now the items in the Timeline will be online and play normally, and the Browser instances will be online and will have the appropriate icon.

  Notes
  
  1. One side effect of the "Remove Subclip Limits" workaround is that all clips updated by the Remove Subclip Limits operation in this case will erroneously display double the correct value for their Duration property in Browser columns and in Item Properties. If played in the Viewer, the second half of the clip will display as black. The edit points in the Timeline and disk storage requirements are not affected. The Browser clips can be used for normal editing by simply trimming off the segment of the media that displays as black.
  2. If you use the "Remove Subclip Limits" workaround, and then for whatever reason need to recapture those same clips yet again, a small number of clips within the Timeline could have their out points trimmed by a single frame. Cut-only edits should be rechecked for accuracy and adjusted if necessary.