Apple Final Cut Express HD - Manual (Page 192)

192 Part IV Capturing and Importing
Finding Your Media Files After Capture
The most common question editors have after capturing is: Where did my media files
go? Knowing the directory in which Final Cut Express HD stores captured media files,
and being able to quickly navigate the Mac OS X file hierarchy, are two of the most
important aspects of being a successful editor.
Where Are Captured Media Files Stored?
To determine where your media files are stored, you should first check the Scratch
Disks tab in the System Settings window. In the Scratch Disks tab, the folder with the
Video Capture column selected is the folder in which Final Cut Express HD captures
media. However, Final Cut Express HD does not store media files directly in that folder.
Instead, each time you choose a new folder for video capture, Final Cut Express HD
creates several folders within that folder:
 Capture Scratch
 Render Files
 Audio Render Files
Final Cut Express HD uses the Capture Scratch folder to store captured media files.
However, it is still one level deeper in the hierarchy than you may expect. Within the
Capture Scratch folder, Final Cut Express HD creates a folder named after the project
that contains the currently selected capture bin.
For example, suppose you chose a scratch disk named “Media.” If you are currently
capturing clips for a project named “Hard to Trace,” your captured media files are
stored here:
/Volumes/Media/Capture Scratch/Hard to Trace/
Note: Since you can select up to 12 scratch disk folder locations, you may have to look
in several locations before you can find the disk that contains your media. However,
this is an issue only if you have the Video Capture checkbox enabled for more than one
scratch disk folder in the Scratch Disks tab in the System Settings window.
To summarize, captured media files aren’t really stored directly in the folder you choose
as a scratch disk folder. Instead, they are stored two levels deeper, in folders
called: Capture Scratch/[Project Name]/.
Important: A very common mistake is to select a folder named Capture Scratch in the
Scratch Disks tab. On the surface, that seems like the right thing to do, but make sure
you don’t. Instead of selecting a Capture Scratch folder, select the parent folder of the
Capture Scratch folder. Never select the Capture Scratch folder itself; if you do, your
media files will be stored in the following hierarchy: [Disk Name]/Capture Scratch/
Capture Scratch/[Project Name]/.