Final Cut Pro

Store your original footage on Aspect so everyone on the team can access the same files. Mount the Aspect project on each Mac, then let Final Cut Pro reference that media from your library. Using the same mounted root keeps those references consistent when a library moves between editors, so you do not have to relink the footage at each handoff.

​

Mount the project and open a library

1. Upload your raw footage, audio, and graphics to an Active Storage project and give your editors access.
2. In the Aspect desktop app, open the drive view and select Mount. Confirm that the project appears in Finder.
3. In Final Cut Pro, choose File → New → Library and save the library on the mounted Aspect project, or open an existing library from that drive.

Keep the entire .fcpbundle library together. Use one editor at a time for a shared library; separate libraries can reference the same raw footage for parallel work. Have every Mac mount the whole Aspect project under the same volume name. Import from that mounted root, rather than from an editor’s Downloads folder or a separate local copy.

​

Choose how Final Cut references your media

For originals already stored on Aspect, use Leave files in place in Final Cut’s import settings.

​

How symlinks work

With Leave files in place, Final Cut creates symbolic links, or symlinks: small files inside the library that point to the source media. Opening a clip follows that reference to the footage on the mounted Aspect project. The link is not a copy of the video. Copying or handing off the library carries the reference, while the original media stays where it is. This lets multiple libraries use the same shared originals without duplicating the camera files into each library. For those links to work on another Mac:

• The original files must be on Aspect and accessible to that editor.
• The same Aspect project must be mounted at the same root path.
• Media names and locations must remain consistent during the edit.

A reference to a file on one editor’s Desktop will not make that file available to the team. Put the media on Aspect before importing it. If a referenced file has moved, use File → Relink Files → Original Media to reconnect it. If you need a library containing actual media copies, set its Media location to In Library and consolidate the required media through Final Cut. Changing the storage setting alone does not move previously imported files. See Apple’s explanation of import references.

​

Set import and cache preferences

Open Final Cut Pro → Settings → Import; older versions call this Preferences.

• Choose Leave files in place for the media already on Aspect.
• Turn off automatic Analyze Video options such as Balance color and Find people.
• Turn off automatic Analyze Audio options such as Fix audio problems when they are not needed for the import.
• Leave Create optimized media and Create proxy media off for bulk imports. Generate the representations you need for selected clips afterward.

These settings also apply when you drag media into Final Cut from Finder. For a one-off import, review the same options in File → Import → Media. Pin selected clips before running analysis or transcoding when you want the work to read from local storage. For cache files, select the library and open File → Library Properties → Modify Settings. Set Cache to a fast local SSD. The cache holds generated render, analysis, thumbnail, and waveform files; it is separate from your shared originals and Aspect’s cache.

​

Work with proxies

Use proxies for lighter playback while keeping the originals on Aspect for finishing.

​

Reuse proxies from Aspect

1. In Aspect, select the source videos or a folder and choose Copy.
2. Choose a destination in the shared Aspect project.
3. Enable Copy videos as proxies under Content, then select Copy.
4. Wait for the MP4 copies to finish. Videos still processing are copied once their proxies are ready; the source originals stay in place.

Select the original clips in Final Cut, then choose File → Relink Files → Proxy Media. Locate the corresponding copied MP4s, review the matches, and complete the relink. Final Cut requires compatible media duration, frame rate, and audio channels. If a copied proxy does not match, create the proxy in Final Cut instead.

​

Create proxies in Final Cut

Select the clips you need, choose File → Transcode Media, and enable Create proxy media. Choose ProRes Proxy or H.264 and an appropriate frame size. Final Cut stores generated proxies in the library’s configured Media location. To share them, use In Library when the library is on Aspect, or choose another media location on the mounted Aspect project through Library Properties → Modify Settings. In the viewer’s View menu, choose Proxy Preferred for playback. Use Proxy Only when checking that every clip needed for an offline edit has a proxy. Switch back to Optimized/Original before a full-quality export and confirm that the required media is available.

​

Pin the library and timeline media

Before going offline, pin the library and the actual files used by your timeline in Aspect:

• Pin the .fcpbundle library you will edit.
• Pin the original or proxy video files you will play, plus audio and graphics.
• Wait for pinning to finish, then open the library and check the timeline in the intended playback mode.

With externally referenced media, the library’s symlinks are not the footage. Include their target files in your pinning selection. Pin camera originals too if you need them for finishing or exporting while offline. Continue working through the mounted Aspect path so the library keeps the same references.

​

Hand the library to another editor

Finish your edit and close the library in Final Cut. Wait for Aspect to finish synchronizing the library and any newly generated media, then let the next editor know it is ready. The next editor mounts the same Aspect project, confirms the latest files are available, and opens the library. Keep one owner of a shared library at a time, including during offline work; Aspect does not merge simultaneous edits to a Final Cut library.