8 Problems in FCP and How to Fix Them

Doesn't matter if you're a beginner or more advanced, you've probably run into some errors or weird issues while editing, and if you haven't yet, there's a good chance you will. Here are 8 common Final Cut Pro problems and how to fix them.

1. Your audio splits from the clip

You go to overwrite a B-roll clip down into your primary storyline with Option Command Down, and suddenly the audio is split off from the clip, and even Command Z won't put it back. Simple fix: click the clip and press Control S, or right-click and hit Collapse Audio. Why's this handy? It lets you keep the audio from your primary storyline clips playing in place while you drop alternate footage into the same spot, basically a quick way to make J and L cuts while keeping your timeline compressed to the primary storyline.

2. The scary red "missing file" frame

That red frame means Final Cut can't find the clip anymore, usually because a drive got unplugged, or the file was moved or deleted. Click the event with the missing files (or just the clip if it's only one), go to File → Relink Files → Original Media, and Final Cut shows you what's missing. Hit Locate All, point it to the file, folder, or drive that has them, and click Choose. If your downloads folder is a mess, just select the whole folder and let Final Cut do the hunting.

3. Clips with a little camera icon

See a small camera icon on your footage, or clips you can't even view with a red frame as the thumbnail? That means something went wrong during import and your clips didn't come in fully. Plug your SD card or drive back in. Everything might look fine now, but you're not done, you need to reimport: go to File → Import → Reimport from Camera Archive and hit continue. The camera icons disappear and the import starts again. Eject once it's done.

4. "Storage device almost full"

If this pops up for Macintosh HD, first thing, stop editing off your computer's internal drive. It's limited, libraries build up fast, and you'll box yourself in. A solid setup is a couple-TB HDD for storing media and old libraries, plus an SSD to actually edit on (I'm on a Samsung T5 with zero complaints, and the T7 is a great choice too). Create your library on the external, then in Library Properties → Modify Settings, set media and cache to "in library." When you import media that already lives on an external, choose Leave Files in Place so Final Cut doesn't duplicate everything. Also turn off background rendering (Command comma, then Playback), and render single problem clips as needed with Control R. To reclaim space, go File → Delete Generated Library Files, and don't worry, it's reversible since you can always re-render or re-transcode.

5. Your timeline suddenly looks weird

If your timeline looks strange out of nowhere, you've probably got the Precision Editor open. It lets you fine-tune the edit point between two clips (I don't really use it, but it's handy for seeing how a cut is affecting your clips). To get back to your normal timeline, just hit Esc. To reopen it, double-click the connection point between two clips.

6. Audio waveforms won't show up

Sometimes your waveforms just vanish, you'll see loading lines instead, and you can still hear the audio but not see it, which is maddening mid-edit. In my experience this is just a software glitch. Quit and reopen Final Cut a couple of times and the waveforms come back. No idea why it happens, but that's the fix.

7. A red box and a zoomed-in viewer

If your viewer looks scaled in with a red box you can drag around, your viewer is just zoomed in. Click the percentage number and choose Fit, or click the viewer and press Shift Z (same shortcut fits your whole timeline into view too).

8. A compound clip you no longer want

Made a compound clip with Option G and changed your mind? If it was your very last action, Command Z undoes it, but later on just select the clip and press Shift Command G, or go to Clip → Break Apart Clip Items.