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FCPX opinion and wish list
So, I just finished a wedding video project and I chose it specifically to star using and learning FCPX. I have to say that I really enjoyed somethings but others drove me nuts sometimes (nothing that good old 7, wouldn’t do also). Here I leave a kind of wish list (sure there are also many more out there on the web. Have read a couple but still have some points I haven’t found else where..) So read through if you want and ad to it… Thanks.
I should mention that I read only the first 6 chapters of the manual so there might be things here that are doable and I haven’t got to that point on the manual yet. But i had to continue with my project. Now I’ll get back to the manual.
For reference, I’m using a late 2009 Mac Pro, 8GB RAM.
– filter more like Aperture: search for everything by default and not just text
– two up display for precision editing should appear also on keyboard use, not only when dragging.
– on slide edits, two up display is not showing although turned on preferences
– chapter markers
– marker navigation by control click on timeline
– external drives should be ejectable of the system without having to quit FCP
– selecting and edit point in the timeline should leave the playhead where it is. Sometimes I’m looking for a place to then extend the edit, find it only to have to search for it again after selecting the edit point as it moves the playhead to that edit point.
– no excess luma warning available
– no indication on screen as to the playhead being at a marker
– selection of favourites in thumbnails by clicking the green line, not effective (fils lots of times).
– better way to show which part of the interface (viewer, timeline, browser) is active
– I miss labels to easily and rapidly organise clips without having to think about keywords. Also, I used to label clips in a colour for the ones I had already used and now I have no easy fast way to do that.
– playhead should not move when clicking anywhere on the timeline but just on the time bar. Sometimes I have the playhead where I want to extend a cut to and when I select the edit point, the playhead moves to there.
– when selecting a clip in the browser, I’d prefer the playhead would be on the beginning of the clip. Everytime I select clips to then edit and mark footage, I have to use a shortcut “move to selection start” to see footage from the start.
– jkl controls should be as in FCP7, that is double press L and get two increments in speed and then press J and get one increment down but still moving forward. In X I double press L and if I press once in J the clip plays backward
– is there any tool to select everything from a point on in the timeline, either in just one or on all “tracks” like the T tool in FCP7 and previous?
– I’m under the impression that adjusting a 50fps clip on a 25fps timeline to 50% speed, uses the 50fps, not dropping every other frame, but making use of the over-crank in the footage. Right? If I do the same on a 25fps clip, I notice the duplication of frames.
– no simple way to add audio transitions. I have to detach audio form the video. If I’m working with lots of clips this is time consuming… instead I’d prefer to just be able to add the audio transition like I could do on FCP7.
– I have lots of markers showing up without me doing anything. I have 8 markers to separate the 8 different scenes in my project and recurrently I get like, 15 other markers spread through out the timeline. I delete them but sometime after, it happens again. (bug?)
– Timeline bugs. Very frequently I get my playhead jumping to the beginning of the sequence without me wanting to, when I click on a place in the timeline I want to set the playhead to. Other times, I press play and the playhead disappears and the timeline shows me the beginning of the sequence although I see the correct footage on the viewer.
– extendable markers, please. Also, markers on the timeline and not only in clips and story lines. 7 colours for markers in FCP7.. why abandon?
– when colour correcting, there should be an immediate way of turning on/off the adjustment to compare before and after without having to switch to the video panel in the inspector
– should be able to just drag and drop a colour adjustment from one clip to another, or copy paste it
– When colour correcting I have no need for the event browser. I’d prefer to be able to have the inspector and colour board both visible all the time instead of having to switch between the two while most of the screen is not being used
– when viewer on second display, histograms should be in primary display next to inspector, etc. No need to steal space on the viewer when so much of the primary display is not being used
– zooming in or out the timeline is somewhat slow compared to FCP7.. timeline generally less responsive than on legacy FCP
– in FCP7 I used to mark ins and outs on clips then send them to Compressor as separate files (directly from the browser, not in the timeline) and then use compressor to make new media files of only the between in and out points footage, using a codec identical to the original capture. Then I’d delete the original media files, and retain only the trimmed ones, thereby saving lots of disk space. I guess one way to do this would be to be able to send only the Favourites in FCPX to Compressor. But there seems to be no way of doing this. Right? So, any really good way to media manage so far? That consolidate media thing, is really not serious for me. What about throwing out unused parts of a long media file and retain handles? What about media files that are not used in a project but that I want to trim anyway to save for future projects?
– FCPX should indicate through edits and allow their easy removal. -
2 Replies
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– on slide edits, two up display is not showing although turned on preferences
Release the Option key after you have the Slide tool active.
– marker navigation by control click on timeline
Marker navigation is in the timeline index
– selecting and edit point in the timeline should leave the playhead where it is. Sometimes I’m looking for a place to then extend the edit, find it only to have to search for it again after selecting the edit point as it moves the playhead to that edit point.
Use the skimmer. The extend will move the skimmer.
– selection of favourites in thumbnails by clicking the green line, not effective (fils lots of times).
Haven’t ever seen this happen.
– is there any tool to select everything from a point on in the timeline, either in just one or on all “tracks” like the T tool in FCP7 and previous?
No. The idea is that the magnetic timeline makes this unnecessary.
– I’m under the impression that adjusting a 50fps clip on a 25fps timeline to 50% speed, uses the 50fps, not dropping every other frame, but making use of the over-crank in the footage. Right? If I do the same on a 25fps clip, I notice the duplication of frames.
Rather than using the speed change. Use the conform function for your 50fps media in the retiming menu.
– no simple way to add audio transitions. I have to detach audio form the video. If I’m working with lots of clips this is time consuming… instead I’d prefer to just be able to add the audio transition like I could do on FCP7.
Alex Gollner has an audio transition effect.
– I have lots of markers showing up without me doing anything. I have 8 markers to separate the 8 different scenes in my project and recurrently I get like, 15 other markers spread through out the timeline. I delete them but sometime after, it happens again. (bug?)
Not seen this one.
– in FCP7 I used to mark ins and outs on clips then send them to Compressor as separate files (directly from the browser, not in the timeline) and then use compressor to make new media files of only the between in and out points footage, using a codec identical to the original capture. Then I’d delete the original media files, and retain only the trimmed ones, thereby saving lots of disk space. I guess one way to do this would be to be able to send only the Favourites in FCPX to Compressor. But there seems to be no way of doing this. Right? So, any really good way to media manage so far? That consolidate media thing, is really not serious for me. What about throwing out unused parts of a long media file and retain handles? What about media files that are not used in a project but that I want to trim anyway to save for future projects?
Copy and paste into a new project to export a section of media.
All the best,
Tom
Class on Demand DVDs “Complete Training for FCP7,” “Basic Training for FCS” and “Final Cut Express Made Easy”
Coming in 2011 “Complete Training for FCPX” from Class on Demand
“Final Cut Pro X for iMovie and Final Cut Express Users” from Focal Press -
We are now on 10.07 and my wish is very simple…I really want back the ability to have color coded bins and be able to color code the items in the bins. I recognize there are no bins now, and thats cool, but being able to color code helps even more with organizing. Just saying.
Ted Irving
Freelance Content Creation
CBS MaxPreps/BBN3
http://www.tedtv.tv
tedirving@yahoo.com
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