I'm using a low-rez .mov file to show a client approximate placement and levels of some music clips I created for her documentary. Every time I save the project, Logic (8) shows a progress bar for copying the .mov, then tells me Copy/Move Failed. The project is unharmed, so far as I can see, and my changes have been saved. Why would it even try to copy or move the .mov file? Thanks

Hi Sammy, Are you performing a 'Save as...'? If so, then under the section of 'Include Assets' click on Advanced Options and deselect 'Copy Movie files to project folder'. Cheers Rounik

No, I was just saving periodically as I would for any project. Perhaps I should do a Save As... and deselect this option...

I would try saving as... but include the copy movie file. Now work from the saved as... project and save as normal. Does the issue persist? Out of interest, what format and codec is the movie file you are working with in Logic? :) Rounik

It's a Quicktime .mov, and the info on the file says: Integer (Little Endian), H.264. I know very little about codecs and formats, so hopefully this answers your question. It was supplied by the project's picture editor, so I assume it's good. One thing I discovered about this video: when I open it in QT, it jerks along in some spots, then stops altogether. It might be a bad transfer. For this particular project, I wonder if Soundtrack Pro might be more appropriate, as I'm placing several mixed down wav files to get approximate placement and levels for the director. I've never used Soundtrack, though I have at least one of your tutorials on it...

Hi Sammy, There are a lot of different codecs and formats... so while you won't want to be worrying about these issues (after all it's the Video Editors job ;), I would recommend becoming familiar with it. It'll make great after dinner conversation too! ;-) Check out the Compressor 101 tutorial for more detailed info. H.264 is a highly compressed video format which I wouldn't recommend for using in Logic. Logic will play much better with less compressed formats such as Sorenson3 or even better DV. So, I would suggest exporting it using Quicktime Pro to DV format or requesting that from the Editor. Then when you're transferring the video with audio back to the Editor you can compress it to H.264 if you wish... that way it will minimize upload/download times on the way back. Soundtrack Pro would be a good app to use. Though, there's no reason why you can't use Logic. Many people use it for scoring feature length and commercial films. Best Rounik

Wow, thanks for the wealth of info. I just realized I have the Compressor tutorial as well, and haven't once checked it out (I tend to buy a pile when on sale). Is QT Pro the version we have with Logic Pro?

No problem Sammy! Yes, after installing Logic Pro 8 Quicktime's 'Pro' features are automatically enabled. :) Rounik

Hi Guys, hope it's not too late to chip in. PhotoJPEG is also another good format to work in for what it's worth. How long is the documentary you are working on by the way Sammy? Converting to DV, by uncompressed nature, will make the file size pretty big and it's something you might also want to stick on another drive if you have one. I just finished mixing a film and I have to say, having the extra drive available to use purely for the video, really made Logic work... well... as it should! Cheers, John

Yeah, I tried using Quicktime to export it to DV, which wasn't an obvious path, but I think I chose the correct one. I didn't realize until after the rendering was done how large the new file was - 9 GB, compared to the 750 MB for the original. My set-up for hard-drives: my quad-core tower has 2 internal, plus I have a couple of external firewire drives. I have Logic and other apps on the main drive, with my projects on the second one. Would you recommend using one of the FW drives for the video? I don't know anything about the PhotoJPEG format you referred to.