SSD still full of media after moving projects to other disc

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SSD still full of media after moving projects to other disc

Working on a very large project and needed to make room on my SSD to finish it. I moved 5-6 other projects off of the SSD and onto another drive, but the SSD still shows 75% full. When I look at the contents of the 1TB drive, it shows 178GB in the Final Cut Library, but there are two other folders on the disc named "Final Cut Optimized Media" and "Final Cut Original Media" that are filling the drive up to about 75% full. I would really like to make more room on the disc to speed up the workflow but don't want to jeopardize my previous work.

What are these files, and why didn't they move along with the projects and events I moved to the other drive? How can I safely get the ones that don't pertain to my current project to where they need to go?

iMac with Retina 5K display, macOS 10.13

Posted on Jun 19, 2019 4:46 AM

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Answer 1

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Tom Wolsky

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152,001 points

Jun 19, 2019 5:04 PM in response to ChrisFitzgerald

1) It really depends on your situation and your media and how you need to work with it. You could consolidate to copy the media in the new library. That will still leave the media in the original drive, but you can delete what you no longer need there.

2) If you're working alone and don't need other applications to access then media then it's easiest to work with managed media, i.e. the media stored inside the library as in the image above.

You might want to think of each production as a separate library. Make a library import the media into it. Cut the project and export it. Make a master file of the project and then take the master and the whole library and offload it onto an archive drive. I don't know if that works for you, but it's one common workflow. If you need to collaborate, you can store the media externally, and when you're done, consolidate the media into the library, and move it to an archive drive.

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Answer 2

Jun 19, 2019 2:24 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

Got, it, thanks! I was selecting events within the library rather than the library itself. I clicked on the library itself and saw the following:

So it looks like most of the original content is still on the SSD drive.

Two questions at this point:

1) Should I modify or consolidate one of these settings?

2) Am I using a less than ideal or outdated way of moving events from one disk to another? Ideally, I'd like to get to the point where as soon as I export a project to video for upload, I move it off of the SSD and onto the bigger drive for storage.

Thanks again for all the help!

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Answer 3

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,001 points

Jun 19, 2019 5:39 AM in response to ChrisFitzgerald

When you moved projects and events, what did you actually do? You moved them where? Into another library? Were they moved from SSD1 Library? It looks like the media for the projects was not stored inside the library. Is that correct?

Moving the projects and events from one library to another library on another drive will not move the media if you're using external media.

You can dump the optimized media folder, unless you really need optimized files for playback, in which case I'd recommend perhaps working with proxy files. The original media folder is more of a problem. You can't move that as it contains your content; it's what you imported from your camera or wherever you them from.

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Answer 4

Jun 19, 2019 6:11 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Thanks, Tom - I followed the protocols I found on Larry Jordan's FCPX site. This involved selecting an event in the SSD1 Library, going to the File Menu and selecting "Move Event to Library", then selecting the library on the other disc I wanted to move the events/projects to. They seem to have moved and function in their current location, but I don't understand why so much of the original media didn't move with them. I have never understood the way FCPX handles moving media, and obviously still don't comprehend it.

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Answer 5

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,001 points

Jun 19, 2019 6:19 AM in response to ChrisFitzgerald

If the media is external, when you move the event no media is moved. SSD1 has pointers to the original media folder on that drive. When you move the event, you're creating new links from the other drive to the same folder.

If you use external media the process is complicated, the assumption being that you used external media because the files need to be accessed by other uses or applications. The first thing to do is to get the media copied onto the second drive. In the second library set the storage location to either inside the library or to a folder on that drive. They consolidate the library to copy the media to the other drive. You can then delete the unneeded media from the original media folder on SSD1.

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Answer 6

Jun 19, 2019 6:37 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

When making projects, I import all media into the event that relates to the project I am working on. I thought this meant that the media was not external. The confusing thing is that sometimes I would use the import window within FCPX because it opened automatically when i attached a camera or flash card, but other times I would import camera and sound files to the mac via air drop and simply drag those files into the event i was working on. I was under the impression that these two methods accomplished the same thing, but I may be mistaken.

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Answer 7

Jun 19, 2019 6:41 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

One more question about dumping the optimized media in the SSD1 drive: I don't need that for playback except for the current project I am working on, which I need playback for until I export it for upload. This current project is the only one I have worked on this month (June 2019). To be safe, could I trash all optimized media that shows up as last modified before June of 2019?

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Answer 8

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,001 points

Jun 19, 2019 6:43 AM in response to ChrisFitzgerald

Trash all the optimized. You most likely do not need it for playback unless you're working with a very usual format. In which case you can rebuild the files you ned just for the project you're working on.

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Answer 9

Jun 19, 2019 8:23 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

I trashed the optimized media, and that cleared up a ton of space, thanks. As for the original files, I'm not sure how to check the project properties to see where the storage location is. Can you be a little more specific? In the info window when i click on a project, it shows everything in the correct library and drive, but I don't see anywhere where I can be sure it's talking about the original media.

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Answer 10

Jun 20, 2019 5:09 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Ok, now I think I finally understand! to your last point first: I had always wondered if it was possible to make each project its own library. That kind of workflow makes sense, but I wasn't sure if a drive could hold multiple libraries and I always seem to see other people having a "Library" with lots of different "books" (projects) in it. If it is possible to have multiple libraries on a single drive and easy to move an entire library at once to a different location, that seems the cleanest solution of all.

To your fist point, If I understand correctly: if I consolidate files in Movie Drive 2, the original content on that drive should read as significantly increased after the consolidation because original content for the projects I have moved there will be moved onto that drive as well.. Then, after exporting my current project as a movie for upload, I could move it to a new library on Movie Drive 2, and consolidate that media. THEN, and only then, it would be safe to delete all remaining files from SSD1 to keep it clean for the next project.

Does that all sound correct? Thanks!

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