Why is Premiere modifying video files? at DVinfo.net

Marcus Durham · July 20th, 2011, 03:06 AM

Hi,

I used Premiere until 1.5, but then switched to Final Cut. Obviously with the current debacle I'm in the process of jumping back.

First impressions of 5.5 are good. The package has come a long way and I'm picking it up again with ease (I still use 1.5 from time to time for archive projects).

In terms of importing FCP projects the ones I have tested have imported very well indeed with only a few filters and opacity settings missing.

However I have noticed one thing. After importing the project all the associated .mov clips suddenly had their file dates changed to today. Any idea why Premiere is doing this and how I can stop it?

For a start it is sometimes handy to have a quick reference of when the file was first written. But secondly when I went back into Final Cut it suddenly thought all the files had been modified and demanded to not only re-render the lot but also recalculate all the stabilisation.

The answer might be to only import to Premiere from a backup but I am puzzled as to why Premiere needs to modify the files. FCP doesn't and older versions of Premiere didn't.

Thanks.

Zoran Vincic · July 20th, 2011, 03:50 AM

If it bugs you just uncheck the option "Write XMP ID to files on import" under preferences -> media

Marcus Durham · July 20th, 2011, 06:51 AM

Thanks. Rather strange behaviour to have the software modifying files like that. It wouldn't be much of an issue for new projects but as I was testing out importing a Final Cut Pro project I ended up having to restore the originals from a backup.

David Beisner · July 22nd, 2011, 09:06 AM

I think the reason you're seeing the date update, is that Premiere uses the XMP ID information to access a significant amount of metadata available in the clips (and you can edit that metadata from within PrPro. When it updates that XMP ID information on the clip, it has technically modified that clip, which updates the date from an original creation date to a modification date. If you don't use metadata, then turning off that XMP ID feature won't affect you at all. If you do use metadata extensively, then you may want to hang on to it.

Or I may be taking a complete shot in the dark and be totally wrong--I don't use metadata very much because my workflow doesn't require it, and so I'm kinda just shooting from the hip on this one. :-)

July 20th, 2011, 03:06 AM	#1
Marcus Durham Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 693	Why is Premiere modifying video files? Hi, I used Premiere until 1.5, but then switched to Final Cut. Obviously with the current debacle I'm in the process of jumping back. First impressions of 5.5 are good. The package has come a long way and I'm picking it up again with ease (I still use 1.5 from time to time for archive projects). In terms of importing FCP projects the ones I have tested have imported very well indeed with only a few filters and opacity settings missing. However I have noticed one thing. After importing the project all the associated .mov clips suddenly had their file dates changed to today. Any idea why Premiere is doing this and how I can stop it? For a start it is sometimes handy to have a quick reference of when the file was first written. But secondly when I went back into Final Cut it suddenly thought all the files had been modified and demanded to not only re-render the lot but also recalculate all the stabilisation. The answer might be to only import to Premiere from a backup but I am puzzled as to why Premiere needs to modify the files. FCP doesn't and older versions of Premiere didn't. Thanks. __________________ Marcus Durham Media2u, Corporate Video Production For Your Business - http://www.media2u.co.uk

July 20th, 2011, 03:50 AM	#2
Zoran Vincic Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Split, Croatia Posts: 189	Re: Why is Premiere modifying video files? If it bugs you just uncheck the option "Write XMP ID to files on import" under preferences -> media

July 20th, 2011, 06:51 AM	#3
Marcus Durham Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 693	Re: Why is Premiere modifying video files? Thanks. Rather strange behaviour to have the software modifying files like that. It wouldn't be much of an issue for new projects but as I was testing out importing a Final Cut Pro project I ended up having to restore the originals from a backup. __________________ Marcus Durham Media2u, Corporate Video Production For Your Business - http://www.media2u.co.uk

July 22nd, 2011, 09:06 AM	#4
David Beisner Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Dayton, TN (USA) Posts: 219	Re: Why is Premiere modifying video files? I think the reason you're seeing the date update, is that Premiere uses the XMP ID information to access a significant amount of metadata available in the clips (and you can edit that metadata from within PrPro. When it updates that XMP ID information on the clip, it has technically modified that clip, which updates the date from an original creation date to a modification date. If you don't use metadata, then turning off that XMP ID feature won't affect you at all. If you do use metadata extensively, then you may want to hang on to it. Or I may be taking a complete shot in the dark and be totally wrong--I don't use metadata very much because my workflow doesn't require it, and so I'm kinda just shooting from the hip on this one. :-) __________________ David Beisner Media Specialist, Bryan College, Dayton, TN -- www.bryan.edu