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FCP X: Export Problems

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Larry

I’m getting a lot of reports about error messages when using File > Share.

YOUTUBE EXPORT PROBLEMS

This first surfaced the middle of April with problems when exporting to YouTube.

This article explains that the problem was caused by Google, and how it was resolved.

“BAD FRAME” EXPORT PROBLEMS

Another problem that others are reporting is a project export failing due to a “bad frame.” While I have not seen this personally, it seems to occur when exporting for DVDs or Vimeo.

This is generally caused by either bad media or bad render frames. However, the problem is particularly perplexing, because the Project will render without any errors, but not export.

My first suggestion is to export as a Master File, which tends to minimize this problem. If it continues to occur, the only known workaround is to divide the number of the frame reporting an error by the frame rate of your project to determine its location in the Timeline. Then, replace the clip with the bad frame with another clip.

NOTE: To determine the frame rate of a Project, select File > Project Properties and click the small wrench icon that appears in the lower right corner of the Inspector.

The frame rate is listed in the Rate popup menu.

CHAPTER MARKER EXPORT PROBLEMS

Currently, after upgrading to Final Cut Pro X 10.0.8, I am having problems exporting chapter markers for a project.

Specifically, at the end of the export, this error message appears and cancels the entire export.

This is a list of the markers I’m using in this project. A general rule of chapter markers is that they cannot be within one second of each other or, in the case of a DVD, exceed 99 markers per project.  In this project, there are 25 markers in total. As you can see, all of my markers are a couple of minutes apart.

In this case, all markers were created in 10.0.8. (I mention this because an older Apple support thread described an error when trying to export chapter markers using FCP X 10.0.6 that were created in FCP X 10.0.5. The solution there was to replace all the markers.)

This export error persists even after trashing FCP X preferences and moving marker positions. However, the file will export perfectly when chapter markers are not included in the export.

Hmmm… let’s see if I can track this down.

Apparently this message indicates a corrupt marker. The way to fix this, since there is no indicator in FCP X about which markers are corrupt, is to delete markers, individually, starting with the end of the project. (When deleting a marker, write down the timecode location and title of the marker, because, ultimately, you’ll be creating a new marker at that location.)

Keep deleting markers until the Project exports properly with chapter markers. In my case, deleting five markers, starting from the end of the Project, did the trick. Yes, this is a bit time-consuming, but it has the benefit of solving the problem.

Then, create NEW markers, don’t use Undo, at the locations of the markers you removed. The new markers will not be corrupted and the project should export properly.

TELL APPLE

If you are having export problems, be SURE to report them to Apple using the Final Cut Pro > Provide Final Cut Pro Feedback menu option.

Apple has assured me on many occasions this is the best way to report problems, even if they don’t personally respond to your report.

 

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36 Responses to FCP X: Export Problems

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  1. Ted T. says:
    October 15, 2013 at 1:56 pm

    Trying to export the project I am working on (doesn’t matter to what: master file, Apple, Device, etc. all produce the same result) is producing a black screen with no audio (for the length of the project) – only the start and end titles get rendered.

    The project plays fine in FCP X 10.0.9; the initial screen on the export dialog produces a correct looking screenshot (with both the picture and title visible), and predicts realistic sizes for the export file, which ends up being tiny by comparison.

    Other projects with a similar workflow are exporting fine: basically I have recorded a couple of concerts, and each project is one song with start and end credits and some color correction, stabilization, etc.

    Any hints/help appreciated — the all mighty Google is yet to find someone who is having an identical problem.

    Reply
  2. Ted T. says:
    October 15, 2013 at 7:30 pm

    I am very grateful for the help — unfortunately deleting the preferences didn’t help. I had already tried deleting the render files.

    I am open to any other suggestions. About the only thing I can come up with now is re-importing the video file into a new event and redoing the editing…

    Reply
  3. Ted T. says:
    October 15, 2013 at 7:49 pm

    Well at least I am not alone — someone is reporting what seems to be the identical problem:

    https://discussions.apple.com/message/23406340

    Reply
  4. Millie says:
    October 24, 2013 at 3:44 pm

    I was having a huge problem with the ‘bad frames’
    All i did to fix it completely was go to ‘modify’ at the top the click on ‘render all’
    I just waited for it to render then my movie was fine 🙂

    Reply
  5. Casey says:
    November 13, 2013 at 6:28 am

    I can no longer go to Share > Export Media! It does absolutely nothing! I can select the other share options, but not the one I want.

    Does anyone else have this issue? I tried william Ridenour’s suggestion above, but no luck! This is annoying.

    I’m afraid after making the new OS update that something went wrong.

    Reply
  6. Sandy Stubbings says:
    February 3, 2014 at 12:59 pm

    When trying to “Share” a project (DVD) I get the message “This item cannot be shared while it is still referencing median the camera.” Does all the media in my project have to be saved on my Mac to “Share” my projects?
    Sansdy

    Reply
    • Larry Jordan says:
      February 3, 2014 at 1:03 pm

      Sandy:

      I don’t know this definitely, however, copying media to your hard drive is absolutely the preferred way to work.

      Larry

      Reply
    • Sandy Stubbings says:
      February 4, 2014 at 2:23 pm

      I begin my project by “importing” my clips from camera (or card) into Final Cut. Doesn’t this save it to my computer? If not, how do I save to the computer before I import? (I am new to Final Cut Pro. Sorry if this is a dumb question.)

      Reply
      • Larry Jordan says:
        February 4, 2014 at 8:19 pm

        Sandy:

        This isn’t a dumb question – its a good one.

        When you import, you are given the choice of copying files to the library, or leaving them in place. If you choose to leave them in place, AND you don’t optimize, FCP does not copy yoru files, but references them from the camera card.

        For most situations, I recommend both optimizing and copying the files into your library. Here’s a series of articles that explain this in more detail: http://www.larryjordan.biz/fcp-x-10-1-manage-libraries/

        Larry

        Reply
        • Sandy Stubbings says:
          February 5, 2014 at 7:01 pm

          I had it set to Copy files to the library and to optimize. It still isn’t working.

          Reply
          • Larry Jordan says:
            February 5, 2014 at 9:39 pm

            Sandy:

            Time to call Apple.

            Larry

          • Sandy Stubbings says:
            February 15, 2014 at 12:02 pm

            You are so right. Went in to Apple and did One-to- one. Nathan solved this problem and several others for me. I highly recommend. One-to One for all new Apple purchases!

          • Michelle says:
            May 29, 2014 at 9:50 am

            Sandy / Larry,

            Could you explain the fix Apple gave you for this? I’m getting the same error when I try to export – but I’ve also copied all my files on the hard drive and optimised them….

            Thanks for any assistance you can give!

  7. GillY says:
    September 24, 2014 at 7:46 am

    I have NEW FCPX, can I export my project to a dv cam..I didnt see any options..

    Reply
  8. Ilya says:
    June 8, 2015 at 5:17 pm

    Same thing happened to me – wasn’t able to export to any destination. I was on a tight deadline so I was desperate. I tried Send to Compressor and it worked!!

    Reply
  9. AL says:
    August 11, 2015 at 6:56 am

    10.1.2
    Everything has been working great , i have made several movies and was able to export no problem. now with one of my movies when i export i’m not getting the entire movie. i’ve tried export Master, make Blu-ray, DVD and Apple Device.

    what could i being doing wrong with this one movie?

    Thanks
    AL

    Reply
    • Larry Jordan says:
      August 11, 2015 at 1:32 pm

      Al:

      This is most often caused by having something selected in the Timeline when you export. Be sure nothing is selected and you should be OK.

      Export a master file to test the export, before wasting time burning a bad DVD.

      Larry

      Reply
  10. caris says:
    July 27, 2016 at 11:38 am

    I am having trouble exporting my movie, what ever i click on the share option nothing happens i just click on for example, export file and nothing pops up this is happening on every option in the share menu and in the other selection on the right where you can also share your videos.
    Thanks

    Reply
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