3

Using Final Cut Pro with Compressor
This section explains how to submit Final Cut Pro projects directly to Compressor.
Submitting a Final Cut Pro Project for Transcoding
You can use Compressor to improve the transcoding process for your Final Cut Pro projects.
For example, you can transcode your Final Cut Pro project without rendering it. This avoids
a potentially time-consuming step depending on how many transitions, filters, and video
effects have been applied to your project, and also results in no generational loss of the
content from your source media files. This process also eliminates one step from the
earlier transcoding workflow, which involved exporting from Final Cut Pro to QuickTime
and then transcoding that QuickTime movie in Compressor.
Depending on its file size, a Final Cut Pro project that is transcoded only on your computer
could significantly affect your computer’s performance.
Note: Transcoding a Final Cut Pro project doesn’t actually create a rendered project,
although the transcoded output media file does have all the rendered effects applied. If
you want to continue working on the project within Final Cut Pro, you need to render it
in Final Cut Pro.
To transcode a Final Cut Pro project
1 Open the project you want to transcode in Final Cut Pro.
2 Use one of the following methods to select the project for transcoding in Final Cut Pro:
• In the Browser, select the sequence you want to transcode.
• Make the Timeline the active window by clicking in it.
3 Save your Final Cut Pro project and give it an appropriate name.
4 Choose File > Send To > Compressor.
Compressor opens (if it was not already open) and the sequence appears as a job in a
new untitled batch.
The Final Cut Pro
sequence and project
names are combined
to create the new
job’s name.
5 Assign settings and destinations to the job as necessary.
126 Chapter 8 Finalizing Jobs and Submitting Batches