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FCPX Newbie – is learning FCPX worth the time?
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[John Davidson] “My ears are burning! I was gonna stay out of this fight!
“No. You’re currently the Dude.
[John Davidson] “I’m glad we switched and look forward to IA coming out with handles for AAF exports in August, which will make our ProTools mixer very happy. That said, we’re getting good with roles for the time being.
“See, the Dude abides. I can’t wait to see what you’ve got cooked up over there.
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[Charlie Austin] ” heartily agree. For folks on *both* sides of the fence. 😉 It’s like the modern version of the classic Mac vs. PC “debate”. lol
“Ain’t it just?
[Charlie Austin] “But, hey… if I need to go to Pr or MC, no biggie… I know ’em all. It ain’t rocket surgery. 🙂 “
True enough.
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[Charlie Austin] “Um… I’m in L.A. and I take it seriously. So there’s one. :-)”
I think you need some company Charlie.
I noticed that Damian Allen is the instructor on Sound Editing in FCPX on ripple training.
His resume looks like this
“Damian Allen is well known in the visual effects and post-production industry as a leading technique and technology consultant. Most recently he has served as the Chief Technology Officer and Compositing Supervisor for 3DRevolution, a 2D-3D conversion studio who have completed conversion work for Hollywood features such as Immortals (2011) and Cats and Dogs 2 (2010). He concurrently owns and operates Pixerati LLC, a high end design and consultancy company for the Hollywood film industry.”
What is he doing wasting his time with this small time product ; )
It was a good course BTW
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Wow – I didn’t realize the minefield I was stepping into – LOL. Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t ask motion or AE?
Some of what I’m hearing sounds kinda scary – especially no mixer? How do you precisely control multiple audio tracks? As far as computer editing goes I started in audio and then moved into video editing – and I like to have a lot of control over audio so I hope that’s possible in FCPX.
One of the reasons I abandoned the Mac in the past was the fact that when they upgrade their systems – whatever you had been using is likely to become extinct with no warning. Sounds like this is what happened with FCP7.
Still there seem to be reasons to learn FCPX that will make it worth the time and maybe I’ll like it for some projects. It does sound like it won’t be what most wanted ads are looking for, but it also sounds like FCP7 is on its way out and in a few years you probably wont be able to run it on the latest Mac operating system – like much of the old Mac software in my closet.
Personally I wish manufacturers would make systems that are more compatible and similar so these debates are unnecessary. An editing system is mainly a tool to rearrange audio and video clips in a sequence, a job that used to be done with a razor blade and tape. In almost any other profession your skill with the hammer is far more important above the hammer brand you use.
Christopher Key
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[Christopher Key] “How do you precisely control multiple audio tracks?”
Manually key-framing (rubber-banding) levels within the clip. If there are multiple tracks from the same source, you have to break them apart. There are some functions, like Range-based level adjustment, that make mixing easier than it sounds. Audio editing improvements (and hopefully better mixing) are on Apple’s feature list for the next update. There’s also a healthy set of Logic filters with X.
[Christopher Key] “Sounds like this is what happened with FCP7.”
Still going strong in most of the world and likely to work fine with Mountain Lion. After that, all bets are off.
[Christopher Key] ” but it also sounds like FCP7 is on its way out”
This past year has been a wait-and-see year. I think you’ll see a lot of migration (in all directions) during this coming year.
[Christopher Key] ” An editing system is mainly a tool to rearrange audio and video clips in a sequence, a job that used to be done with a razor blade and tape”
In some ways (for better or worse), X is actually a return to those basic concepts, more so than most of the “modern” NLEs.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
[Christopher Key] “Some of what I’m hearing sounds kinda scary – especially no mixer? How do you precisely control multiple audio tracks? As far as computer editing goes I started in audio and then moved into video editing – and I like to have a lot of control over audio so I hope that’s possible in FCPX. “
I’m coming from a similar place as you… Started in audio, was a post production mixer for years, and moved to video. FWIW, I really like working with audio in X.
I think the Roles concept, while still in it’s infancy and sort of a paradigm shift, is incredibly powerful. I think of roles kind of like mix groups. Combined with compound clips it’s really easy to “mix”. Assign VO, DIA MX FX, and whatever subroles you want, get your rough mix with keyframes, stick whatever role(s) you want in a compound clip and change the overall level, add fx, whatever. You can’t ride a fader in real time yet, but I’m sure that’s coming. Like anything else, you can change levels while the sequence is playing… Unlike anything else you can edit – trim, select clips and change levels etc – while the sequence is playing. There’s a ton of room for improvements, bug fixes etc, but I’m digging the direction they’r going with it.
I’m really looking forward to more Role functionality such as grouping like roles in the timeline etc. I really don’t miss tracks at all. It does take a while to wrap your head around how things work or don’t work in X, but once you get it it’s very cool. I actually don’t even use the primary storyline/magnetic timeline… doesn’t suit my needs but it’s nice to have the option to not use it. Anyway… learn all the NLE’s… they all have free trials so why not right?
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~”It is a poor craftsman who blames his tools.” ~ -
[Bill Davis] “The only people I see talking about PPro are the ones with large vested operations and want a tool that’s “more like FCP Legacy” largely for their editing style comfort.”
There are none so blind as those who will not see.
[Bill Davis] “Buying Premier Pro, in contrast is still wrapped in a maze of “bundle packages” and “own verses subscribe” options that make little sense for anyone but the company selling it.”
I guess for someone who values the simplicity and rigidity of X, choices are troubling. Since it’s so hard to figure out these bundles I guess you don’t use any Adobe products in your workflow. So tell me Bill, what do you use instead of Photoshop?
[Bill Davis] “That’s also true of AVID and PPro – but the paths are vastly different – and the main difference is that the last two are still trying to be the programs they once were in order not to “annoy” their bases.”
That’s one interpretation. Another might be that they were interested in making the best tool they could for skilled editors and they wren’t awarding points for reinventing the (color) wheel. Apple is casting a wider net into a larger sea, Adobe and Avid seem to be making high quality rods for serious fisherman. There is room for both approaches.
[Bill Davis] “The only thing I know for certain is that nearly everything about how I make video has changed over the past 5 years. I don’t use the same cameras, I don’t’ use the same tungsten lights, or analog audio gear, or CRT monitors I used to use. All of that technology has changed for the better.”
But I sit in the same chair and use the same eyes, ears and hands to do the work. I’ve held onto some of my CRT monitors as well – still great for accurate color correction. As for cameras, we are now going back to using older film lenses on some of these cameras, lenses that were last used 10 – 15 years ago. Things do not always change for the better, things are not that simple.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
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nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
[Christopher Key] “Still there seem to be reasons to learn FCPX that will make it worth the time and maybe I’ll like it for some projects.”
Sorry, mate. I misunderstood your question. FCP X is definitely worth learning, but from my POV, not first. Its on my ToDo list, but pretty far down, unless the environment changes some. For me, its mostly a curiosity. But that certainly could change. Its why I keep my eye on it.
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[Bill Davis] “The only people I see talking about PPro are the ones with large vested operations and want a tool that’s “more like FCP Legacy” largely for their editing style comfort.”
I don’t do a lot of creative cutting any more, so my needs are certainly different than yours here, but I spend so much time in After Effects, Photoshop, and Illustrator that I regret not switching to Premiere sooner. Dynamic Link is cool.
[Bill Davis] “As new editors flood in (and they are, in legions) they’ll need to choose a tool.”
True. However, we also talk about how editors aren’t just editors anymore. They must also be graphic designers, motion designers, sound designers, and colorists, and Adobe’s suite of offerings plays to this. Photoshop is a near must-have in nearly all levels of production, and After Effects and Illustrator are very, very common in video production, too. That’s a pretty big wedge driving in front of Premiere Pro.
[Bill Davis] “Buying Premier Pro, in contrast is still wrapped in a maze of “bundle packages” and “own verses subscribe” options that make little sense for anyone but the company selling it.”
I don’t know. I think Adobe’s Creative Cloud makes a lot of sense for customers, too — and if it doesn’t make sense for you, you can still buy the perpetual license.
Creative Cloud costs $50 per month. If you start work at 9:00am, your month’s fee will be paid for by 10:00am on the first day of every month. You get a really impressive set of tools for less than twelve hours’ worth of work over the course of each year.
I’d bet a surprising number of editors give more money every month to Starbucks than they would to Adobe on subscription.
[Bill Davis] “Apple felt that annoying the base was both a necessary and fair price for making a better product for the future.”
Actually, I think Apple’s price is, for lack of a better term, artificially low. I don’t think anyone other than Apple could afford to sell an NLE so cheaply.
[Bill Davis] “In five years we’ll look back at the way most contemporary editing is being done. And if at that point, the “mega-suite” something for everyone Premier approach is dominant, I’ll say so. If the more focused and connected model of X comes to dominate, we’ll know that as well.”
I’d argue that “focused” and “connected” are great words to describe the tightly-integrated specialty apps in Creative Suite. I guess it’s a matter of perspective.
FCP Legend was everything to everyone, and it came to dominate the NLE market. FCPX doesn’t seem to be playing that game. I have no doubt that FCPX will continue to be a commercial success, but I’m not sure that we’ll see Legend-style domination in the NLE space again for some time from any of the players.
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 -
FCP7 is dead. Forget it. Apple doesn’t support it anymore.
PP6 is similar to FCP7, because it is trackbased. But that’s about it.I have moved on to FCPX and it is exactly what a modern editing software needs. It is not compatible with old workflows, and probably doesn’t have a strong foot in the market, but I wouldn’t be shocked if 2 years from now it is just where FCP7 was 14 months ago.
FCPX is much easier to learn. So if you want to learn a NLE for the future it is great. if you want freelance jobs NOW then you are better off with a traditional one
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