Hey gang.

I'm trying to export a self sontained QT file of a 30 min show I just cut. It gets about 3/4 through, then crashes. The message "General Error" appears.

All the files match my seq. settings. Everything is rendered. I clear in & out points & reset.
I deleted prefs & flushed caches. I ran Disk Utility, Disk Warrior, Onyx, FCP maintainence pkg. And finally, I just un/reinstalled FCP 7. It's still happening~

Then I tought, "what if it's not the software, but a corrupt file?" (Even though I can play & edit all the files.) So I mounted a different client's drive.... & successfully ouput a self-contained QT file. If it's a corrupt file, and FCP maintainence didn't locate it, what is left to do? My client is having kittens.

Thanks in advance!

Steve
FCP 7 (all software updated)
Mac Pro 1, quad tower
6 gigs RAM
1TB storage

Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 2
Total Number Of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
Memory: 5 GB
Bus Speed: 1.33 GHz

Try copying just your Sequence to a blank project, close the old project and try the export again. From what you described, sounds like corrupt media, but in case it's a corrupt project file, that could work. If it doesn't, try copying the contents of the Sequence to a new Sequence in a new project.

And if that doesn't work either, try exporting a reference movie file. Then put that reference movie file into a Sequence and try the export.


www.derekmok.com

It tried copying sequence to new project... no dice. Tried copying the contents. Nada. Can't export ANY kind of movie.
I think I narrowed it down to the file that I suspect is corrupt. I don't know enough about this specific subject to draw any conclusions. But I deleted it from my sequence, and was finally able to export a self-contained movie using AIC codec instead of Pro Res 422. Which is a relief --

However I can't properly explain to the client why one of their favorite shots was unusable. It is visually OK, I could edit it, but it simply would not export.
I even tried changing its codec in MPEG Streamclip, which did nothing to allieviate the problem. Where can I find out more about corrupt clips, for a layman (on that subject)?

Thanks!!!

> I even tried changing its codec in MPEG Streamclip, which did nothing to allieviate the problem. Where can I find out
> more about corrupt clips, for a layman (on that subject)?

There are many ways in which a clip can be corrupt.

MPEG Streamclip doesn't "change the codec of a clip". It recompresses the clip into a new file. And also, in my opinion, lots of people misuse MPEG Streamclip where they should be using Compressor. In my experience, MPEG Streamclip is about twice as likely to generate a clip with flawed timecode and other technical gnarlies. I use it strictly as an end-of-project compression software for screeners (MPEG-4s, usually) and I advise that you do the same.

Try using Compressor to re-compress the clip into a new file. If that doesn't work, re-import the clip from the tape or the camera-master files.


www.derekmok.com

Final Cut Pro uses QuickTime and is susceptible to errors that can prevent QuickTime from reading a file. However, it also has its own layer of additional bugs that can render a movie unreadable even if QuickTime can play it just fine and it meets QuickTime specifications. The latter situation is much harder to locate and fix.

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...

Divide the sequence into sections and try exporting. That way you can find exactly what media file is bad.

Also, have you deleted all render files and rendered the sequence again? Could be a bad render file.

Good luck.

By the way, one thing you didn't mention was whether you had properly converted the media before editing. We know your Sequence is either ProRes 422 or Apple Intermediate Codec. But did you optimize the media clips before editing? For example, a lot of people don't understand that you do not edit H.264 QuickTime movies directly from a DSLR. You have to convert them first to avoid technical problems in FCP.


www.derekmok.com

I also used to get those "General Error" messages when I'd attempt to render a sequence that contained still photos that were too large.

FCP 7.0.3, PPro CS5.5, MPro Octo 2.8, 16 gigs RAM, Matrox MXO2, Sony EX1

When you copy the sequence don't just use copy and paste. Either load the sequence in the viewer and use F10 into a new sequence/project. Or use the shift/command drop, also you can try opening the sequence with the drive unmounted and forcing a re-link.

These have helped with my general/memory errors.

Digital rebellions software has a free 14 day demo, and it has a corrupt clip finder.

>It gets about 3/4 through, then crashes. The message "General Error" appears.

What RJ said. Also to minimize time finding the corrupt clip, go to somewhere around the 3/4 point if the sequence. There is probably a corrupt clip there. Re-transcode that clip in compressor.


>When you copy the sequence don't just use copy and paste.

I worked with an editor once who once mentioned that copying and pasting will result in memory bloat in FCP. I have never found a correlation. For memory bloat, it has always been about the amount of media and the amount of edits in a project. But that is memory bloat in the project file, which sometimes contribute to random error messages.

Stills on the other hand can get iffy. Especially if they are large stills and you are rendering in "High precision YUV". Switch to 8 bits and that will get rid of most render errors on stills. Reducing the size of the still also helps.



www.strypesinpost.com