Apple Final Cut Express 4 - Manual (Page 198)

198 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 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 captures media.
However, Final Cut Express does not store media files directly in that folder. Instead,
each time you choose a new folder for video capture, Final Cut Express creates several
folders within that folder:
 Capture Scratch
 Render Files
 Audio Render Files
Final Cut Express uses the Capture Scratch folder to store captured media files.
However, media files are still one level deeper in the hierarchy than you may expect.
Within the Capture Scratch folder, Final Cut Express 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.