Missing video, but not missing?

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Level 2

174 points

Missing video, but not missing?

I imported video files from my SD card and all seemed well until I noticed that three of the files appear to be blank. This is worrying as I had already reused the SD card. I looked into the library file where the files are stored and to my surprise, they are all there and play perfectly from the Finder, but in FCP, they appear as blank files. They are the correct time, but no video and no audio.

This shows how they appear in the Project window. When placed on the timeline, they are blank.

This shows them in the Finder along with the other files which do appear correctly in FCP. So the good news is that the files are there, but the three indicated are not playing in FCP. Tried dragging them in a second time and still the same issue. Any idea how I can fix this?

Mac Studio (2022)

Posted on Jun 5, 2025 1:47 PM

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Answer 1

terryb

Level 4

2,948 points

Jun 5, 2025 2:05 PM in response to Cartoonguy

It's possible it's a corrupt cache. If you have background render enabled, disable it then delete the cache.

Delete the render cache. Select the library in the browser, choose File->Delete Generated Library Files... Choose All Render files. Manage render files in Final Cut Pro for Mac - Apple Support

Another thing to try is deleting FCP prefs. Hold Option and Command while launching FCP and choose Delete Settings. It will open the default Untitled library. Re-open the library you were working on, set the Settings back to the way you like them (disable Background rendering, etc.) and see if the issue has been resolved.

Or, The Final Cut Bro, Dylan Bates, released an app for installing FCP plugins that also includes an option to clear the FCP cache while preserving custom settings and share destinations.

If these don't work, report back with the specific camera and codec details. There was a similar issue reported recently where some codecs were causing black frame imports.

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Answer 2

terryb

Level 4

2,948 points

Jun 5, 2025 8:03 PM in response to Cartoonguy

Perhaps the library has become corrupt? Try creating a fresh library, then with it and the original library both open, copy the event containing the bad clips from the original to the new one. See if the clips behave better in the new library.

I don't often copy between libraries but I recall this works best with media stored outside the library. If you Copy to the library when you import media versus Leave files in place, this might duplicate the media into the new library. Copy or move items between libraries in Final Cut Pro for Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 3

Cartoonguy Author

Level 2

174 points

Jun 5, 2025 5:45 PM in response to terryb

Wow, thanks for the detailed reply. So I tried trashing prefs using the Dylan Bates app as well as deleting all render files and still the same issue. Only difference is that now the audio is playing, but no picture. In FCP on the timeline, it looks like this. You can see a bit of the clip before which has no problem and no other clips in the project shot with the same camera are having any issues. As I say, in the Finder, the audio and video is there.

The Codec is 'avc1', Linear PCM and it was shot on a Lumix GH5. Cheers!

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Answer 4

Cartoonguy Author

Level 2

174 points

Jun 5, 2025 6:19 PM in response to Cartoonguy

One more thing. I created a new library and imported the same files into it and in that library, they work exactly as they should, so that's good, but they still do not work in the original library, which is where I need them as these clips are only a small part of the bigger project with many more clips.

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Answer 5

Cartoonguy Author

Level 2

174 points

Jun 5, 2025 10:45 PM in response to terryb

Well, I managed to solve it a different way, and a very simple way. I just deleted the clips from the library and then imported them back in again. Now they are fine.

Really appreciate your suggestions though. Thank you so much. I have sometimes had issues with libraries acting weird, so your suggestion of creating a new one is of interest, but if I create a new library and copy clips to it, then can I also copy the event and project files too? In this case, I have a number of edited projects I would not want to lose, so I would need to be able to copy those too.

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Answer 6

Cartoonguy Author

Level 2

174 points

Jun 6, 2025 2:19 PM in response to terryb

Sorry for not being totally clear. I did try to import the files again, but I had not deleted the other ones. Clearly this was something I needed to do first, but I was also wanting to figure out why these clips were not displaying correctly when the underlying files were sound, so that's why.

Really appreciate your helpful responses. Cheers!

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Answer 7

terryb

Level 4

2,948 points

Jun 6, 2025 10:55 AM in response to Cartoonguy

I mistakenly assumed from your first post that you first removed them when you said you dragged them in a second time. Glad you got it all working again!

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Answer 8

terryb

Level 4

2,948 points

Jun 6, 2025 3:08 PM in response to Cartoonguy

You're very welcome. My apologies for not catching that you might not have deleted them. Glad it all worked out!

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