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All the little things that I miss in Fcpx – that become a big deal
Long time reader here.
Noticed this forum has been getting quiet lately
so I thought I’d stir it up a little
in hope of some great discussion as always
and also maybe finding out if some of the things I miss in Fcpx have been addressed
in the latest versions which I haven’t had the chance to use.So here is my list of things that bug me about Fcpx:
– first and foremost, trimming. It should really get some love, after all, it is an editing software we’re talking about!
So: – when will we be able to select and trim multiple edit points simultaneously?
– and thus be able to do assymetrical trimming?
– when will we get a two up display when trimming with the keyboard?
– more consistency when selecting edit points with the keyboard, I find the app sometimes will simply refuse to select an edit point,
forcing the use of the mouse– In and Out points at the timeline (not storyline) level : please? It would be so good to be able to cut whole sections
of an edit by simply marking In and Out as in every other software…– Redo and Undo for any marking action, as in Mark In, Out, Mark Clip, clear Marks…Seems like such a basic feature……..Any time I mark or unmark something
I am accomplishing an action, so please let me undo it or redo it if I need to!– searching for markers: (really hope this has been fixed) when you log a long interview for instance, putting a whole lot of markers
for comments, you’d think that performing a search for an element contained in any one marker would bring the playhead
to that marker, thus actually helping you to find said marker. Instead the search only brings up the clip, with the playhead parked at the beginning,
and you’re left with a whole list of markers to read through in order to find the one you’re searching for, thus defeating the purpose of the search engine….– finding the playhead in filmstrip mode can be a nightmare. When you matchframe to an event full of clips
it sometimes is nearly impossible to tell which clip you’ve matchframed to and where the playhead sits…– and about matchframing, I believe if you have a dual system audio synced clip you can match back to the synced clip
but then there is no way to match back to the image or audio only original clips, which is sometimes necessary. Has this changed?– disclosure triangles in list mode: do they still keep closing everytime you go into a different event?
Having to open them each time can be pretty unnerving, the app should remember the state you left them in.– dupe detection, also such a basic feature…
– commit (or finalize) multicam clips, also basic…
– option to open compound clips in the timeline they’re at when double clicking them (it would be so much easier than going inside them, away from your edit…)
– synced clips and compound clips should inherit all metadata from the clips they contain: especially useful when working with double system audio,
as scene and take info are usually embedded in audio files, it seems like a no brainer that once you sync up your clips the new synced clips should inherit this scene/take info, making it then very easy to rename them. Instead you get nothing, and you have to populate manually all those fields before renaming. Why? When everything is already there?– option to create sync clips from the timeline (is it possible? I think not but maybe I’m overseeing something?)
– fix the annoying bug that makes the playhead jump all over the place sometimes when color correcting,
it makes it nearly impossible to work.– option to easily relink proxies.
– and more options for proxy sizes (rasters and data getting bigger and bigger, it would be nice to have more options,
as currently proxies can still be quite heavy…)– ensure the timeline playhead moves smoothly always, as in not skipping places, as well as timecode displaying every frame count
and not skipping (this lagging might seem a small thing but I find pretty unnerving too…)That’s more or less it. Mind you, most of these are small things that could be taken care off easily
– almost looks like some of the feature lists Resolve point updates get-
I’m not wishing for whizzbang features like tracking in all effects, or extremely powerful noise reduction (both for image or sound)
or any of those heavier things.
Just a ton of small features that would make the experience SO MUCH better.
I love FcpX and want to use it as much as possible,
but invariably I find myself also pissed at it when all of these little things start to compound and get in the way
of what is otherwise a really good experience.The thing is the app is already in it’s eight year of development,
so my hopes that any of those things will ever get addressed is really starting to fade…Love to hear your thoughts, especially if you know if any of those things have changed.
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29 Replies
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That’s a serious amount of stuff. Have you thought of using a different system?
Bernie
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Not too many complaints, but something inexplicable that happens to me randomly is, the timeline magnification will suddenly decide to snap back/re-set to fully zoomed-out, unbidden (unless I’m unconsciously commanding it somehow). Typically after executing a simple cut, but also sometimes just happens while scrolling thru the timeline.
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[Mark Suszko] “(unless I’m unconsciously commanding it somehow). “
Go to “preferences” and in the editing tab uncheck the “mind control” box
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Well I do of course use other systems, mainly Avid but also Premiere, and maybe soon Resolve, which I use for Color or prepping.
They all have great stuff, and annoying stuff too.
The thing is the one I really root for is FCPX,
because it’s core design ideas are the ones I like most.
If they could just fix/enhance all those little things I’d truly be happy… -
How about the things that FCP 7 did, and did well, but were left off of FCP-X, and never re-added. Amazing things like:
– Log and Transfer…where you could preview the footage, mark IN and OUT on it, THEN import it. That way, you didn’t need to import the full clip if you happened to have cameras that shot hours of nothing. This saved a lot of time and space.
And this not being part of FCP-X really boggles my mind…
– The ability to consolidate a cut (project, sequence, whatever) so that you have ONLY the footage used in that sequence, with some handles. Right now I’m being handed a 2 hour project cut on FCP-X to be onlined in Resolve and I’m getting an 8TB drive for this. Why? Because the edit only uses 10 seconds of a one hour clip, but can only consolidate that full clip, not just the section used. And I’m talking hundreds of clips…so that really adds up. Yeah, you can manually do that, but BOY, will that take forever.
So, two very useful things that FCP 7 did that FCX does not. To be fair, there isn’t ONE NLE that does that first thing…bring in only the footage you want with IN and OUT points. ALL the NLE’s do all or nothing. So odd to lose that ability.
And I agree on the committing the multicam angle. First off, that would save a LOT of space when consolidating the cut for online. Because not only will I get that angle with the 1 hour interview clip where I only use 10 seconds…but I’ll get the other angles too. And then Resolve doesn’t view the compound clips well, and I need to manually commit each shot.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Just going to list what should be added:
Out of sync indicators
Mask tracking
Vectors for color grading
Better integration with Motion
Batch export clips from timeline with handles
Better keyframes
Moveable markers
The ability to do stuff as Shane Ross mentioned though Worx4 X is good
Role based mixer
More collaborative tools
Ability to add video transitions without adding audio fades automatically
Bill Davis you are holding it wrong extension ???? -
Lots of reasonable requests there.
I agree with the trimming and have been vocal about it here in the past as well. – def my biggest pet peeve in X. If you come from literally any other system its not even funny how limited you are.
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[David Mathis] “The ability to do stuff as Shane Ross mentioned though Worx4 X is good”
OH! HEY! That’s great!
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Same story as always. Many editors will continue to view X mostly through the lens of their prior NLE operational expectations. Rather than attempting to clean away some of that mental pre-conditioning and accept it for what it is.
Focus on the air at the top and the FCP X glass will ALWAYS be half empty for a particular editor.
Focus on the liquid at the bottom – and it suddenly can appear satisfyingly full.
If you’re actually thirsty to get work done rapidly and efficiently – what’s already there will probably quench most editors. Not all, and certainly not those who can’t let go of functions they feel are mission critical to how they wish editing would always operate. But it will be satisfying for many, many, many working editors – and a joy to operate at the same time.
iJustine’s LumaForge unboxing video for her new Jellyfish just crossed my feed, and the thing that was most fun to watch is how honestly HAPPY she was while she was setting up her new server system. There was apparently real JOY added to her life during a day of server setup? That’s NUTS!
But if you remain obsessed with the air on top – it’s extremely probable that you’ll NEVER have enough juice in your glass to make you happy.
Just how prior expectations tend to color life and work in the real world.
My 2 cents.
But I’m positive others will disagree as they continue to focus on what they prefer from their prior workflow that is missing — rather than adapting well to what they now have, which is very present.
To each their own.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Bill Davis] “Same story as always. Many editors will continue to view X mostly through the lens of their prior NLE operational expectations. Rather than attempting to clean away some of that mental pre-conditioning and accept it for what it is.”
Well, I thought that being able to consolidate footage used in the cut with handles would be something VERY useful that most people want…especially when archiving a project. But, I guess THAT is too “old school” for Apple? It’s not preconditioning…it’s a very VERY useful feature that for some reason Apple ignored. And the ability to Log and Capture only sections of clips, or only parts of a card…another way advanced feature (Again, one that NO NLE has currently, none) tossed aside also seems odd. BUT, OK. Guess useful features that save time and space are old hat.
Guess storage is so cheap that they say “why wouldn’t you want all that?” Because when you hand off a 2 hour doc to be onlined, it’s better to get 1-2TB of footage rather than 8-12TB
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def
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