Export to handbrake

Here's a quick one. Wouldn't it be nice to have a Send to Whatever command from FCPX to another compression engine, like the Send to Compressor command that's already built in? Here's how to build a Export to Handbrake command from the Share menu.

It's pretty easy to do. Open up File -> Share -> Add Destination. Depending on the version, you should have a Export to File destination already in there. If not, use the Master File destination. Right click and duplicate (command-D). Now double-click your duplicate and rename it what you want. I called mine Export to Handbrake.

Under the settings on the right, leave format, and video codec the same (video and audio, and same as source). What you're interested in is the Open with part at the end. Click on it and choose Other... and find Handbrake in your applications folder. Done!

What this will do, is export a master file with your project/timeline's video and audio settings (ProRes flavour and resolution), thus saving you that step, if you like those master files. And then, the fun part, that master file will be opened in Handbrake for you. In Handbrake, you can choose your encode setting, or settings, add it to a render queue, render it right away, or render it when you've got some spare CPU time, all with Handbrake's GUI and control.

For bonus points, one could also use this trick for any other export file, like encoding with Adobe Media Encoder with WebM or spitting out an AIFF for an audio edit. To really get fancy, one could Open with an Automator action that opens any number of HandbrakeCLI encodes, if one was so inclined.

Published: March 6, 2017