Convert FCP7 to FCPX

Converting Final Cut Pro 6 & 7 to Final Cut Pro X !

Hey there! So here we are with a new insights article.
Today we will show you a great piece of software for the Mac letting you convert your FCP7 projects to FCPX.

Since there were some serious problems in migrating projects to FCPX, Intelligent Assistance developed a program called ‘7 to X’.
We will show you how this programs works, the key features and a short tutorial video.

First of all, we install the program, which can be downloaded from the Mac App Store.

What does it require?
-Final Cut Pro version 10.0.6 or later
-An application that exports Final Cut Pro XML (such as Final Cut Pro 7 or 6, Premiere Pro CS6 etc.)
-OS X v10.9 Mavericks, v10.8 Mountain Lion, OS X v10.7 Lion or OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard

After installing the program you open your project into Final Cut Pro 7. Choose the File menu and from the Export submenu, select XML...

Choose Apple XML Interchange Format, version 5, then name and save the XML file.

Note: If you have Final Cut Pro X and Final Cut Pro 7 installed on different Macs or partitions, save the XML file to an external storage device.

So what if you still use FCP 6 or maybe Premiere Pro? These can also be converted to FCPX, but be sure to choose ‘Apple XML Interchange Format, version 4’ when doing this.

Run Final Cut Pro X and select in the Event Library where you want the new Event to be created.

To translate the project you have 3 options:
-run 7toX and use the open dialog to locate your exported XML file;
-drag-and-drop the XML file onto the 7toX application icon;
-right-click on the XML file in Finder and choose Open With > 7toX for Final Cut Pro from the contextual menu.

Note: be patient, depending on your project size this can take some minutes

After Translating FCPX will import the XML file

As you can see there is a new Event created with the name of your XML file.
In here you find all your media and the sequence(s) which you can open in the timeline to edit, of course there is some rendering needed.

There are many options to enhance the translation from FCP 7 to FCPX, like changing the compound clips and connection points to updating your Motion files, all these options you can find on the website of Intelligent Assistance.

What is our “Opinion”
Any drawbacks? Of course not everything get’s translated because of the different ways these programs are build. Some transitions will not make it, text titles may change a little, keyframed speed changes will end up in a constant speed change and so on.

The project we used translated great, also our markers stayed where they were. A Project in ProRes 1080i from 2:15 minutes took just 3 minutes to convert.

So worth the buy? For sure! The people at Intelligent Assistance should be proud of doing something Apple wouldn’t/couldn’t do.
If you still work with FCP7 and want to start with FCPX this is a great way, but also if you have older projects needing some extra work and you are ready for FCPX this is simply a piece of software you need to have, and for only $ 9,99 this is for sure a bargain!


Tutorial video:

Tags: Videoedit