FCPx in local TV

[Steve Connor]

What format is the footage coming in?

Steve Connor
“FCPX Agitator”
Adrenalin Television

[Ben Edwards]

We are talking a new station so a format that works with FCPx would be chosen. I was quite surprised when I heard FCPx was being considered hence the question here.

Ben

—
Ben Edwards – Freelance Filmmaker
https://www.funkytwig.com

[Craig Seeman]

If you’re shooting AVCHD, it’ll be very fast. I think it’s a very good news cutter. There are a few here who seem to be doing similar work with it. If you’re shooting XDCAM it’s hurry up and wait for Sony to deliver direct support. The next FCPX update (should be soon) should get it over some the hurdles it still faces. It’s keyword/metadata based media organizing could be great for news although it still needs some more control over access/media availability.

[Mark Dobson]

Potentially I think FCPX would be ideal for a small TV set up.

If it’s running on a fast Mac with fast drives (thunderbolt?) it could cut short news pieces like a hot knife through butter. They are normally very straightforward and with pre-designed graphic components it could work well.

And again it is ideal for short straightforward magazine type programmes.

Where it really starts to slow down is during complex compositing, using numbers of compound clips.

When all is going well it is a joy to work with but I’m not sure it’s quite ready for such deadline dependant workflow.

I also would not underestimate the amount of time it takes to get to know this programme. I’m 6 months in with it and still finding out new workflows, workarounds and shortcuts.

[Andy Neil]

There are a couple of elements that actually make FCPX a worthwhile choice for editing news.

The primary storyline paradigm is well suited to cutting news quickly (using it as a voiceover track). The database structure can make broll hunting quite a bit easier. But the key advantage is how graphics packages can be integrated through Motion and easily attached to stories in FCPX.

Obviously, FCPX doesn’t currently have video output for either monitoring or edit to tape so once it’s in FCPX it has to stay digital. Presumably that isn’t an issue for your news operation.

The biggest disadvantage would be it’s instability since it’s a fairly new program. It’s not a big disadvantage since I’ve had lots of experience working in a news environment with new and unstable technologies, but it’s something to be aware of.

Andy

https://www.timesavertutorials.com

[Victor Perez]

It could be fast yes. But there is a lot more to creating a news piece than just cutting. Accumulating footage, shared storage, cooperating with others, what will be used for playback? File. Tape, Live to air from timeline? Doable, but not sure FCPX can do all thats needed yet.

Victor
http://www.editvictor.com
http://www.hbhm.tv
http://www.itvisus.com

[Joseph W. bourke]

Speed is far less important than functionality – I worked for fourteen years at a broadcast station whose main assets were, and still are, on tape. BetaSP, 3/4 inch, one inch, and DVCPro 25, not to mention some 16mm film archives make FCPX a decided non-contender in any station that still has its News and Commercial production assets on the cheapest format around – tape. Although accessing the file would be much easier if it were digitized, the massive amounts of redundant storage required would cost hunreds of thousands of dollars. A tape and a shelf to put it on is what does the trick right now, and considerably far into the future.

However for startups that have no archive to deal with, it could be a contender, if you can make it work with an inspect monitor for on-air checks, and the list of the many other detriments which have been bandied about endlessly on this forum.

Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com

[Brian Mulligan]

No one in Local News has time to keyword clips and database before they edit. Most broadcast editors edit visually.

Brian Mulligan
Senior Editor – Autodesk Smoke
WTHR-TV Indianapolis,IN, USA
Twitter: @bkmeditor

[Andy Neil]

[Brian Mulligan] “No one in Local News has time to keyword clips and database before they edit.”

Maybe not while editing a news story, but you could organize an event of stock footage with keyword collections to easily browse and find video broll for news stories. FCPX’s database structure could make that extremely useful.

Also, there was a post somewhere on the forum here talking about how FCPX keyword collections were being used for sports IN GAME for quickly organizing plays and players for finding and cutting teases and promos.

There seems to be this persistent thought that creating and maintaining keyword collections is hard, or requires a lot of typing. Neither is true. If you have time to drag and drop, you can organize with keyword collections.

Andy

https://www.timesavertutorials.com

[Marvin Holdman]

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is deliverables. What are your playback system requirements? If it is some form or mpeg, then you might have problems getting it out of FCPX, especially if it is somewhat proprietary. That being said, you will probably end up with some flavor of encoding software, if that is the case. As mentioned before, the single task of “cutting a news piece” can be easily accomplished via FCPX. The question you need to ask is, will it work in the big picture for your longterm goals (data management, scalability and legacy compatibility).

The choices are many, but the consensus I glean from this forum is that FCPX has promise, but is not quite there. Do you want to gamble your future on an unknown? Some will say that FCS had a slow start, but that was a different time, and a much different company.

Good luck.

Marvin Holdman
Production Manager
Tourist Network
8317 Front Beach Rd, Suite 23
Panama City Beach, Fl
phone 850-234-2773 ext. 128
cell 850-585-9667
skype username – vidmarv