FCPX from an Editor who used it on Iditarod 2012

[Tony West]

[Chris Harlan] ”
I didn’t ask you to guess anything. You decided to comment to me. ”

Yes, you did.”

paste the line then, instead of your comment.

[Chris Harlan] “I’ve been around big events for far longer than you have.”

This is strange, I don’t know you, so how do you know how long I have been in the business.
If this is true post what year I started and where.

[Chris Harlan] ” I really am not confused about trucks”

Then you should understand what I said about trucks.

[Chris Harlan] “I’ll tell you, though, what is confusing me, Tony; it is that I haven’t the slightest idea what it is you are talking about. “

You keep saying that you don’t know what I’m talking about then I explain it then you say you don’t know what I’m talking about again.

People point out that X can’t handle complicated audio, so my point is one, most shoots don’t have a ton of tracks of audio. More times than not it’s one person on camera at a time. And two, when you have a big muti-cam shoots with many mics, that sound is mixed down before the editor gets it. so that’s a job that X could handle also.

[Chris Harlan] “some sort of conversation that makes me feel like, well, I’m on mushrooms.”

I feel that way to about you.

If other people on here thought I was confusing I would give it a thought but they are not.
It’s just you.

I don’t really enjoy conversing with you and you don’t enjoy conversing with me, yet you keep sniffing around my post seeking to communicate with me.

I find that behavior………weird.

[Herb Sevush]

[tony west] “when you have a big muti-cam shoots with many mics, that sound is mixed down before the editor gets it. so that’s a job that X could handle also.”

I cut multi-cam cooking shows, 5 cameras lately. Generally 2, sometimes 3 people cooking at once. There is a mixed track that I send to all of the cameras, plus there are 3 iso tracks plus iso tracks from 2 EFX shotgun mics mounted in the kitchen that are spread out over the remaining available camera tracks.

When cutting I use the mixed tracks 90 % of the time. But when I need to go to the iso’s it’s generally for repairing audio and the cuts run from 3 frames to 30 seconds. I have dozens of these cuts in each show, where I need to replace ch1 Cam A audio with ch2 Cam C audio. I also need to refind sync if I decide to go from a cover shot back to a WS. By all counts X is not suited to this task. Legacy was, Avid is, Discreet *edit could do this 10 years ago – this is not an unusual workflow for multi-cam.

So yes, most truck shoots have a mixed track to work with, but no, that doesn’t get around the problem of cutting those shows with X unless the mixed track is perfect. Needless to say, I have never seen a perfect mixed track in the last 20 years of doing this.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Tony West]

[Herb Sevush] “But when I need to go to the iso’s it’s generally for repairing audio “

OK Herb, good points.

My question is this (and I know it’s a extra step workaround that you shouldn’t have to do) but can you repair the audio on that clip before you start your multi-cam edit since it’s hard to do once you get in there.

Like you said

[Herb Sevush] “90 % of the time” you are on the mix so you tweak up RF hits or whatever before, so when you start your edit you are dealing with audio you have already fixed.

[Herb Sevush]

[tony west] ” can you repair the audio on that clip before you start your multi-cam edit since it’s hard to do once you get in there.”

It doesn’t work that way, the entire edit is done in multi-cam mode, you don’t start in one mode and then switch later on. Also I never know what I’m going to have to fix till I make the edits.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Walter Soyka]

[Bill Davis] “I get your perspective. But in this, your view and mine simply don’t dovetail.”

Fair enough. That’s part of what makes this forum interesting — different people, different perspectives, different needs, different workflows.

[Bill Davis] “And if other packages have similar capabilities so what? Does that make a discussion of how they’re implemented in X less useful in a forum where the Software’s name is right up front?”

I’m not saying it’s not useful to discuss, but FCPX will not score any knockout punches in areas where its competitors offer similar functionality.

Easy DSLR workflow is new to the FCP franchise starting last June, but it’s old hat to Premiere users. Tony’s sports highlight reels, on the other hand, are a great example of a workflow where FCPX has a unique advantage and can score a knockout punch.

I know that you can cut anything in MC, Pr, or FCPX if you have to. Since all three NLEs exhibit totally different design philosophies, I’m most interested in knowing how to use them to play to their strengths.

[Bill Davis] “I wrote for so long for a general video editing audience, so I tend to try to “universalize” what I post. While I know it’s going to be read and critiqued by you and many other working professionals here, it’s also going to be read by a large audience that isn’t working at the top level of production. “

I thank you for the compliment, but speaking for myself, I think I’ve still got a long way to go before I reach the top level!

I’ve been treating this as a conversation with the participants here. I didn’t realize I was a foil to write to a larger audience.

If I were going to write an open letter to the large audience that isn’t working at the top level of production, here’s what I’d say:

I encourage you to try FCPX for yourself. Learn it, use it, then love it, like it, ignore it, or hate it.

If you aspire to rise, though, I’d also encourage you to learn other NLEs. Look beyond the Apple ecosystem. In my experience, the more-interesting and better-paying projects come with higher expectations and deeper challenges. These challenges are not all easily solved within any single app.

Knowledge of other tools — and/or the ability to connect the dots in between then — is critical for anyone looking to advance their career in post-production or improve the quality of their output.

More importantly, intimate knowledge of the principles behind the tools is the key to problem-solving in post-production.

For example, if you must rely on the Share feature to compress and upload to Vimeo, drop whatever you are doing right now, and go learn the basics of compression. Not knowing something like this puts you at a disadvantage against someone with even a cursory understanding of compression, and when there is so much talent (or at least interest) in the field of production, you need to do everything possible to make yourself marketable or to make your output superior.

I don’t mean this as an indictment of FCPX, and I want to be very clear that I believe you can do outstanding work solely in FCPX.

I do mean this as an indictment of the way that Apple’s design philosophies can undermine professional development if you are not careful. Simplicity is a fine goal, right up until it impedes flexibility or nuance. I have no problem with Share functionality making it easier to upload to Vimeo, as long as it continues to support custom exports, too.

Share to Vimeo is a time-saving shortcut. If you only ever use that shortcut, though, and never learn how to do it for yourself, you’re strapping on a straightjacket designed in Cupertino.

Please note that there are also straightjackets available from Tewksbury, San Jose, San Rafael, etc.

With any application from any vendor, read beyond the marketing materials. Cut through the hype. They all have strengths and weaknesses. They are not all appropriate for the same work. No one vendor in this space has a monopoly on innovation or vision of the future. As much as your choice of tools can help you, it can also hurt you.

My message to anyone would be to always continue learning, and to never accept artificial limits on your capabilities.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Steve Connor]

[Walter Soyka] “With any application from any vendor, read beyond the marketing materials. Cut through the hype. They all have strengths and weaknesses. They are not all appropriate for the same work. No one vendor in this space has a monopoly on innovation or vision of the future. As much as your choice of tools can help you, it can also hurt you.

My message to anyone would be to always continue learning, and to never accept artificial limits on your capabilities.”

Fantastic post Walter.

Steve Connor
“FCPX Professional”
Adrenalin Television

[Simon Ubsdell]

[Walter Soyka] “My message to anyone would be to always continue learning, and to never accept artificial limits on your capabilities.”

Terrific and inspiring post!!!!!

The “keep learning” thing is the most important thing you can do both from a business point of view but more importantly from a personal growth point of view – and not just within the world of your immediate job.

If you only know one way of doing something, especially if that way has narrow limits, then you’re really losing out in so many ways.

Everything new you learn sooner or later feeds into what you already know and enhances it.

Sometimes it even pays to embrace things you don’t think you like – at the very least you will gain valuable perspective. And one day you might just find the job that is perfect for the knowledge you have acquired.

Simon Ubsdell
http://www.tokyo-uk.com

[Tony West]

[Herb Sevush] “It doesn’t work that way, the entire edit is done in multi-cam mode, you don’t start in one mode and then switch later on. Also I never know what I’m going to have to fix till I make the edits.
“

I just shot a cooking show with 5 cams 9 ch audio. I didn’t cut it. The station did in 7

I would have liked to have done it in X so I could put it to that type of test.
I’m pretty confident I could have got it done.

For me it comes down to pros and cons

pros:
I like that audio sync
I don’t waste time with jamming tc in field
64 bit
and other tools

cons:
audio funky to handle in multicam mode

Pros out number cons for me.
I guess it’s the same for that guy that started the thread in the first place.

[Herb Sevush]

[tony west] “I would have liked to have done it in X so I could put it to that type of test. I’m pretty confident I could have got it done.”

I’m sure you could, the question is, in my situation, why would I want to, since there are better systems for cutting this type of material that are already out there. For this type of job Legacy is way better. The right tool for the right job.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Tony West]

[Herb Sevush] “For this type of job Legacy is way better. The right tool for the right job.”

Yes, you should use that no doubt.

I won’t though.

I’m never going back to 32 bit

That’s the whole thing right? Everybody should use what’s working for them.