Using subclips would be a way to get more detailed descriptions/names and still avoid renaming original files. For some unfathomable reason, though, I hate using subclips (it's either something from fcp's early days--or mine!).

The subclip icons are kind of ugly, with those jagged edges, like they have been unceremoniously ripped from the original clip...

But, in keeping with the rule (mine) to only have one copy of the source (which has been safely backed up) and keeping the source with it's original name and location (in the BPAV structure) --subclips are very convenient for organizing media in FCP. And you can do a lot with them, even create 'real' clips from them with media manager if you want. Kind of what some have suggested to use the XDCAM Transfer Utility for... making selections from the original media, identification with naming and logging, references to the original media, and keeping organized, except without the duplication of media.

With not too much cutting and pasting, Log & Transfer seems to offer the best of both worlds. If you add "Original Name" to the columns and change "Name" to the clip name you want, pasting it into all the Name slots, you can then use the little +box to incrementally add numerals to the new names.

When the shots come into fcp, you've got your new name with numerically ascending suffixes, plus the original file name showing up in the "Log Note" column. It's not a perfect system, as the renaming is not fully automated and L&T is slower by about a third than XDCTransfer, but at least it's a solution.

Calibrated Q?
 

Hello:
I hate to sound like a complete dimwit but I installed the demo version of Calibrated Q MP4EX on a Mac 8 core running Tiger 10.4.11 and FCP 6.05 and cannot seem to figure out how to import clips either from the BPAV folder on my memory card or from the same folder copied to the MAX OSX desktop. There is no help file available nor is there any user info on the developer's web site. I don't know if the installation process should have installed a plugin to FCP 6.05 but there is no evidence for Cal Q when opening the import drop down list in FCP. Can you assist?
Thank you in advance,
Ron

You need to use the FCP "Import" or the "Import Folder" file/menu or the control/right click menu in the browser. Then navigate to the .MP4 files for individual imports or the folder containing the .MP4 files.

You can also just go to the files and drag them in.

Thank you for your suggestion but I tried that and when I inserted the file into the timeline and hit play, I received an error message similar to the one you might get if a clip required rendering, although, the usual colored (un-rendered) bar was absent. This response caused me to suspect that Calibrated Q was not working properly.

There are quite a few variables to troubleshoot.

The Calibrated plugin is a quicktime plugin, and if it's installed it's in /Library/Quicktime/CalibratedMP4EXQ.component (and there's another one as well, I think 2 calibrated components are installed there.)

If those components are there (you could try restarting your computer if they are)

If you use Quicktime Player to try to play the .MP4 file (the demo version truncates any clip to 30 seconds) what happens? If it plays in QT then just try playing the clip in FCP's viewer, rather from a sequence. If that plays fine then it could be that your sequence isn't set up the same as your clip.

Hope this helps.