How to move a Premiere Pro edit into Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro cannot open a Premiere Pro project, and it cannot read the FCP7 XML that Premiere exports either. Its own format is FCPXML, which Premiere does not write. The route between the two is to convert the .prproj to FCPXML directly: the converter reads the project file in your browser, writes FCPXML 1.10 with a Final Cut project per sequence, and reports what changed on the way. No Premiere, no Final Cut plug-in, nothing uploaded. This guide is the steps, what carries, and the honest state of Final Cut acceptance.

Why there is no built-in path

Premiere's XML export is FCP7 XML (xmeml), the format of Final Cut Pro 7. Final Cut Pro X and later dropped it and read FCPXML instead. Apple's old XML translator is gone, and third-party translators need a working Premiere to make the export in the first place. Reading the .prproj directly removes that dependency: it works when Premiere is not installed or will not open the project.

Step by step: .prproj to Final Cut Pro

1. Drop the .prproj on the Premiere to FCPXML converter. It is read locally: sequences, tracks, clips, source ranges and media paths appear before you convert.
2. Convert. The preview shows the first lines of the FCPXML and the Kept and Changed line says what survives for this project. Download the .fcpxml.
3. Import in Final Cut Pro. File → Import → XML, choose the .fcpxml. An event named after the file appears with one project per sequence.
4. Relink the media. Each media file is written once as an asset with a file URL to the path stored in the .prproj. If the footage is at that path on the Mac, Final Cut links it directly; otherwise File → Relink Files and point at the folder.
5. Check the layout. Clips arrive as connected clips on lanes above and below a storyline gap the length of the edit: V1 on lane 1, V2 on lane 2, A1 on lane -1, and so on. It is not a magnetic primary storyline; select the clips and use Create Storyline if you want one.

A project above the free cap is $7 and converts to any format for 24 hours, or is covered by Pro ($9/month or $39/year, files up to 50 MB) and Studio ($19/month or $79/year, files up to 500 MB).

What carries over

Carried: clips with their timing, names and source in and out; every video and audio track as its own lane; transitions, with a dip or wipe written as a cross dissolve of the same length; sequence markers; opacity, scale, rotation and position keyframes, and audio gain keyframes, written with linear interpolation; clip volume; speed changes; nested sequences as compound clips; bins as keyword collections; the audio channels a clip used and each source's own frame rate; titles as a Basic Title with font, size, solid fill, bold, italic and alignment.

Written with a change: original keyframe curve handles are not kept, so eased animation becomes straight segments between the same keyframes. Hold keyframes become separate clip sections. A fade at the head or tail of a track is left out, since Final Cut has no one-sided transition. Static rectangular crops carry; animated crop, feathering and crop zoom need rebuilding. Track pan and mixer routing are not translated. Adjustment layers become picture composites over the tracks below them.

Not carried: colour, filters and other effects, which the report names one by one. Frame size is assumed to be 1920×1080 because the .prproj does not store it where the converter can read it, so set the project size in Final Cut if the edit is 4K or vertical. Anything the report marks as needing review, check on import.

Every route out of a Premiere project is listed pair by pair in the capability table, and the same edit into Resolve is covered in the Premiere to Resolve handoff.

Where this stands with Final Cut Pro

The FCPXML is written to version 1.10 and validated against the site's own reader and the capability table. Native acceptance in Final Cut Pro has not been verified, because a Final Cut install has not been available for testing. Treat the first import as a test: import into a fresh library, relink, and compare the cuts against the report. If Final Cut refuses the file or drops something marked as carried, the about page is where to send it.

FAQ

How do I open a Premiere Pro project in Final Cut Pro? Convert the .prproj to FCPXML, then File → Import → XML in Final Cut Pro. An event named after the file appears with one project per sequence. Relink the media if Final Cut asks.

Does it need Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro installed? Neither. The .prproj is read in your browser and the FCPXML is written there. Final Cut Pro is needed only to open the result.

Why FCPXML and not the XML converter? The XML converter writes FCP7 XML, which Premiere and Resolve read but Final Cut Pro X and later do not. FCPXML is Final Cut Pro's own format; this route writes version 1.10.

What is not carried? Colour, filters and other effects, named in the report. Keyframe curve handles become linear segments, a one-sided fade at a track edge is left out, and track pan and mixer routing are not translated. Frame size is assumed 1920×1080.

Has this been tested in Final Cut Pro itself? Not natively. The output is validated against the FCPXML 1.10 structure and the site's own reader, but a Final Cut import has not been verified. Import into a fresh library first and check the edit against the report.