... It's render, render and more render!...
Am I missing something about final cut?
The render management in FCP is poor, I agree. But there are techniques to avoid having to render.
- Edit in a format that does not require render. Apple ProRes is the easiest. Convert to ProRes on Capture or Transfer.
- Make sure your Timeline settings match the video and audio settings of your master clips.
- If you
have to render, make sure that you pay attention to the warnings about losing render files when turning track visibility on & off. 'Command-Z' (Undo) is the most powerful tool in this respect!
- if you are moving rendered clips around in the TimeLine, make sure that they stay on the same track and do not have other tracks above or below that are different in the new position. This way the render will slip or shift with the clip; but as soon as the surrounding tracks above or below change in the move, you will lose your render file as soon as you finger comes off the mouse
GRRRRR. Command-Z again!