Video Data size doubled when Imported to FCP11 WHY

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Level 1

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Video Data size doubled when Imported to FCP11 WHY

My three data cards for 4K Video Capture totaled approximately two hundred thirty five GB

I created three Events in the same Library representing each Camera's Data Card

Exactly the same amount of files on each data card are reflected in each of the three Library Events

When I loaded the three data cards into FCP11 all in the same library and prior to any editing rendering or sharing the Data size is now totaled at approximately six hundred and thirty five GB

I know this because I closed the Library and Quit. That is when I noticed the almost tripling of the GB size.

Posted on Aug 20, 2025 12:18 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Meg The Dog

Level 6

13,766 points

Aug 20, 2025 12:27 PM in response to Nastasia

If you go to the menu Final Cut Pro > Settings > Import, what options have you selected? What you have selected there will affect your media storage, such as creating Optimized Media, etc. Do your selected options match your intent for handling the media?

MtD

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Answer 2

Aug 20, 2025 01:41 PM in response to Nastasia

Meg is probably spot on.

To confirm that this extra space is due to transcoded media you can select some clips and in the Inspector select the info pane. At the bottom you will see “available media representations” - it may say say “original”, “proxy” and “optimized”.

You can easily get rid of the unnecessary transcoded media by selecting the library in the browser sidebar and choosing File->Delete Generated Library Files…

Then quit FCP and see how much space you gained.

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