-
FCPX… My 2 cents
Okay so been using FCPX for a couple of months now and evaluating whether it could be used on my next “paid” project. I have come to the conclusion that, while there is a great foundation here and lots of great features, there are still too many missing features or things that need to be changed before I could fully commit to working with it over other NLE’s like FCP7 etc. We all know 7 is solid and can be used for pretty much any type of project and we’ve all used it long enough to know any shortcomings, workarounds etc. But we can go into a project and know that we can deliver that project whatever the end use may be. While I’m a fan and will continue to play around with FCPX, I personally don’t have that FCP7 comfort level as it now sits.
A few features I’d like to see (some of which have been mentioned in other threads and some which may be possible but I haven’t learned the feature yet sorry):
1. Customizable Workspaces – no brainer.
2. Waveforms! Need to see STEREO and MONO waveforms and would like to see entire waveform not just half if possible.
3. Favorites! Need to see the name I give a favorite in the various windows including the timeline! What’s the use of creating a bunch of specific names if you can’t see them easily. In thumbnail view you can’t see Favorite names at all 🙁
4. Really would like to go back to tracks – forget this story thing and give us tracks!
5. Project Library. I know there is a 3rd party program to turn projects on and off but it would be cool if there was a simple dialog window upon launch like Avid or PPro to specify which projects I want open and viewable in the Library.
6. Like to see some right-click Send To’s! Send to Editor (Photoshop), Send to Logic, Send to Motion etc. like we have in legacy.
I also think the program needs better overall snappiness and speed. FCPX is really quick at first but bogs down as projects get more complex, much worse than legacy! Seems like maybe 10.03 update made things slower?
There’s many more things but most have been mentioned here before.
Lance Bachelder
Writer, Editor, Director
Irvine, California -
27 Replies
-
[Lance Bachelder]
3. Favorites! Need to see the name I give a favorite in the various windows including the timeline! What’s the use of creating a bunch of specific names if you can’t see them easily. In thumbnail view you can’t see Favorite names at all 🙁
4. Really would like to go back to tracks – forget this story thing and give us tracks!
5. Project Library. I know there is a 3rd party program to turn projects on and off but it would be cool if there was a simple dialog window upon launch like Avid or PPro to specify which projects I want open and viewable in the Library.
ad 3) In the timeline (beware: it is called sequence now!) open the itemlist on the left and you have the keywords there and you can jump to keywords in the timeline by selecting them.
ad 4) disagree. But if they made it optoional it wouldn´t hurt me…..
ad 5) I make 3 directories in every Project: FCPEparked, FCPPparked and FCPTemplates. In there I store the Events, Projects and MotionTemplates that belong to a client or project. In the Finder it takes mere seconds to move the Events.
But what does bug me is the inability to eject drives from within FCPX. Whenever I attach a drive with Events on it they come up in FCPX. No problem until you want that drive out again. You have to close FCPX for that. Silly. -
[alban egger] “ad 3) In the timeline (beware: it is called sequence now!) open the itemlist on the left and you have the keywords there and you can jump to keywords in the timeline by selecting them.”
Alban I think you might have misunderstood what Lance was saying.
When you create and then re-title a favourite in the Event browser, that new name for the section you have favourited ( bad word I know ) does not get transferred into your project timeline. Neither do Markers or notes stay attached to clip once they go through to ‘the other side’.
Sure you can rename the clip in the Timeline index but that was not what Lance was saying. He would like the name he has given his favourite to show up in the timeline. It is not called a sequence.
This is a real pain and whilst everything is nicely organised in the event browser this does not translate into the project timeline.
-
It’s not called a timeline either in my understanding. It’s called a project. It IS a timeline, but so is a sequence.
-
[Bret Williams] “It’s not called a timeline either in my understanding. It’s called a project. It IS a timeline, but so is a sequence.”
Final Cut Pro X Help refers to it as the Timeline.
It is certainly not called a project.
But I guess people can call things whatever they like.
-
Exactly – but even if the Favorites don’t show up in the “timeline” – they need to be viewable in the browser, especially in Thumbnail viewing mode. You can select to view only Favorites but if you’ve “sub-clipped” a bunch of Favorites and named them say for a long interview or take you need, the filename is still all you will see. In List view you can twirl down and see Favorite name but that’s the only way.
For instance if you were doing an interview show I would like to create a keyword collection called “Mr.Smith” then sub-clip (Favortie) and NAME all the soundbites I need and drag them into the Mr. Smith collection – then when I click Mr.Smith I would see a list ot thumbnail of everything I just added with the name I gave it. I no longer care about seeing the original filename. I don’t want to change the name in the Timeline Index, it’s too late at that point. It is called a Timeline in FCPX – that’s why they have the Timeline Index window.
My wife is cutting a show where there is a 25 min. clip she had to sync with external audio – it’s now called Synchronized Clip: whatever. She then Favorited and named everything she needs from that clip- She then put the view to show Favorites only – there is a list of clips all with the same name and she now has to twirl down each one to see the name she created. Crazy thing is if you select to “Hide Rejected” the view is okay – there is just one Synchronized clip to twirl down and see all the Favorites. But in show Favorites only view is wrong.
This is a feature and workflow that can be awesome but needs refining. I’m sure this will get better in future revs as long as Apple is listening to their users.
Lance Bachelder
Writer, Editor, Director
Irvine, California -
[Lance Bachelder] “2. Waveforms! Need to see STEREO and MONO waveforms and would like to see entire waveform not just half if possible.”
Hm. I think you’re actually seeing the entire waveform, and not just half of it. Zoom in closely, and yup- the negative wave is mirrored on the horisontal axis (look at the bouncy-ball behaviour of the graph). It’s the only way I can interpret it. Which, I say, is just as worthless, or in some cases maybe even worse than just seeing half of it.
I kind of like to know if I’m looking at the positive side or the negative side of the waveform.
Erik Lundberg
Technical Director, Media Technology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
-
[Erik Lundberg] “the horisontal axis”
And pardon my swedish-infested brain for not being able to spell stuff in foreign languages at this hour. Been a long week.
Erik Lundberg
Technical Director, Media Technology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
-
Lance, I’m in complete agreement with what you are saying here. The changes you outline would get me right off the fence. The one thing off the top of my head that I would add to your list are sync monitors in both the timeline and as an overlay.
-
[Lance Bachelder] “For instance if you were doing an interview show I would like to create a keyword collection called “Mr.Smith” then sub-clip (Favortie) and NAME all the soundbites I need . . .x
We work with a lot of interview material and dealing with that has been the hardest transition really.
But for us the only way is to go through an interview making favourites of all pertinent answers and then in list view re-title all the favourites with a précis of the answer. I haven’t got into using notes yet.
Where we have asked many people the same question obviously we create new keyword collections and drag selections into these.
Sounds like the way you work.
I’m sure someone knows the answer, but why is there this Metadata divide between the Event Library and the Project Library that prevents retitled sections of files being visible in the timeline.
them into the Mr. Smith collection”
-
The problem of keeping elements in sync in fcpx is one of the most flabbergasting “features” of the software.
I simply don’t get it. Why was timecode overlays not implemented from day one? Because? Or sync indication in the timeline?
Ok. Don’t answer it. I know. Rethorical question. I’ll be quiet now.
Erik Lundberg
Technical Director, Media Technology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up