FCPX – How do you add Notes to a tagged range and not the entire clip?

[Mark Smith]

If you select a range of a clip, say subject answers question 1 of 4 interview questions, then favorite the selection , you can add notes to the note field lets say a transcription of the answer. Once favorited, you can also change the name “favorite” to something more meaningful to you. the same range can also be keyworded if. You are so inclined .

This may solve your problem.

[Ann Marie]

Thank you. I will try what you suggested. Much appreciated.

[Mark Smith]

This strategy should work for you. I ran into the same problem a while back and was perplexed for a bit till I figured this out.

[Mark Morache]

Ok… so this is breaking my brain a bit.

It’s possible to have an entire clip assigned to a keyword, and also smaller segments of that clip assigned to that keyword.

However, if you have assigned the entire clip to the keyword, you need to do some gymnastics in order to designate a subrange to that same keyword in order to add a note.

Once the entire clip was assigned to a keyword with the subjects name, I selected ranges, assigned them a temporary keyword, added a note then selected all the subranges in that second keyword collection then dragged all the subranges in the second keyword collection onto the original keyword collection icon with the subjects name as the keyword, then shift-deleted the temporary keyword collection in the browser. Now all the subranges with the notes are assigned.

I suppose I could also select the portion of the clip where the questions are asked, or a single frame and un-assign the keyword for that portion, in order to force a subrange that I can add a note to.

Does anyone actually use the notes on the sub ranges? Is this easier than say adding a marker to put a loose verbatim in as the marker name.

I’ve used markers, however, when I put the browser in list view in order to see the marker names, I also see every subrange and assigned keyword in the list, and I’d love to be able to filter that out, like you can in the timeline index.

I’m also a little afraid that since the keyword for the subranges and the keyword for the entire clip are the same, that the subranges might disappear, and the notes with them.

And of course if I search for a note or a marker, all it does is filter the browser view so I only see the clips with that search term, which means it’ll still show me the entire clip.

My brain hurts. This seems harder than it should be.

Ultimately, I’d like a way to loosely log clips in FCPX. If there was a way to print that marker list to get a hard copy of your notes, that’d be great.

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Mark Morache
Evening Magazine, Seattle, WA

[Ann Marie]

Howzit Mark,

It broke my brain a bit too.

This is what I I ended up doing, it might help you, here goes . . .

I put keywords on the long interview clips in the event (or some still call a bin) to organize. Then I drop those long interview clips into a timeline. I then cut up the long master clips to shorter clips on how I want to have them in separate clips for my documentary. I add a 2 sec handle on the cut clips in the timeline. I select the clip and then do option + G and create a compound clip that I attach a name. Those compound clips end up in the event window. I then put keywords on the compound clips identifying them as a compound clip. It creates another keyword collection to easily work with. When I select the compound clip keyword collection I created I can then quickly add notes to those clips in the event area (bin). The reason I put a 2-second handle on the clips I selected is when you drop them in your timeline for editing you have a little play with the compound clip for a dissolve/transition. If there is no extra media on the clip you have to open the compound clip redo the compound clip creation and add the extra media to do your dissolve/transition.

I can export the list out and it prints out my clips and my notes in how I organized them.

Again, I hope this helps and I absolutely agree with you, this is way harder than it should be to name and add notes to a cut clip from a master clip.

Apple should work on making this way easier!

[Jeremy Garchow]

I guess adding a keyword range to the entire clip, then further subdividing that clip in to ranges with the same keyword seems redundant to me.

If you want to add notes, it might be good to simply add a “Notes” keyword, and add the note to that range.

If you need marker text extracted, Producer’s Best friend will do it: https://intelligentassistance.com/producer-s-best-friend.html

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Ann Marie] “I then put keywords on the compound clips identifying them as a compound clip.”

You can create a Smart Collection to gather all your compound clips (instead of adding a keyword to the compound clips).

I’m still having trouble seeing the reason why you are having trouble. I can add Notes to ranges without the ranges adopting the master note.

Can someone please walk me through step by step, how the range notes aren’t working as expected?

[Ann Marie]

What might seem redundant to you does not seem redundant to me. = ) Everyone has their own editing styles and organizational way. The second keyword is only for Compound Clips created. They are not the same keywords for the individual compound clips.

When you’re dealing with a long doc that has 20 or more interviews, as I am and where this thread started from and in not being able to take a long master clip and break it down to subclips without all the subclips carrying the same name as the master clip, that’s where the problem is at the moment.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Ann Marie] “What might seem redundant to you does not seem redundant to me. = ) “

I do understand that what’s good for the goose is not always good for the gander. I am trying to help work around any limitations presented with FCPX. I think that FCPX has very good organizational tools, but you do have to use them in the way that they are designed.

[Ann Marie] “When you’re dealing with a long doc that has 20 or more interviews, as I am and where this thread started from and in not being able to take a long master clip and break it down to subclips without all the subclips carrying the same name as the master clip, that’s where the problem is at the moment.”

Oh, you are talking clip names. NOT notes. The only to give unique clip names in the Browser is to duplicate the clip, but it gets very messy and I don’t recommend it. You can also rename clips on the timeline, and that name will not rename in the Browser. Here’s a picture of a clip called “Test” which I spliced twice, added notes to two clips, and renamed two of the segments. Remember this is all from the same clip. If I match frame, it all goes back to the clip “Test”.

Since FCPX can’t rename subclips, perhaps there’s a better way to achieve what you are doing without making tons of compound clips. What information do you get from a clip name that you couldn’t get from a keyword or other tag?

[Ann Marie] “The second keyword is only for Compound Clips created. “

As an aside, making smart collections may be a good idea for you as all of your compound clips will end up there, regardless. You can even add a modifier to the clip name like “Clipname_SubClip” and you can tell the smart collection to aggregate just the compound clips with text that includes “_SubClip”.

[Mark Smith]

Here’s how I ‘subclip’ inrterviews or any clip for that matter. Taking a cue from Bill Davis, I go thru my interview clips and for the particular bits I want, I place ‘in’ and out markers, then favorite (F key) the range. Please note if you want to keep all the ranges you have taped out in a clip visible, then after you select the first range, use the key combo cmd+shift I or O to add the second, third, fourth etc ranges. This way when you get around to actually picking bits to drop in the time line they are already defined as ranges and all you have to do is grab them and append, overwrite, insert edit what you already have defined. THe favorite field can be edited so it says something other than the ‘favorite’ placeholder text, or it could just be asterisks *. **. ***. ****Then I tab over to add notes to the notes field which could be a verbatim transcript or paraphrased transcript of the speaker’s words. Once this is done, then if you want to toss in some keywords for an additional layer of organization across interviews that you have sub clipped you can. So lets say you’ve interviewed 5 people about how being a teacher changed their lives. You sub clip as outlined above, then keyword their responses- for instance Most insightful moment as a teacher- . THis method gives you the subclipping inside of each clip PLUS a collection of responses from all interviewees about ‘most insightful moment as a teacher’.