FCPX or Not?

[Gary Huff]

I’ve played around with FCPX, but I haven’t had the downtime to give it a shot with an actual project yet.

I think the real turning point will be when Apple gets their APIs fleshed out and we see some actual plugins start being released, instead of what I’ve seen come out so far (I have no actual use for the plugins I’ve seen so far, even from MB).

[Mark Dobson]

File Z = cmd Z

[Andrew Hays]

I’ve played around with the trial version of the software. It takes some time to wrap your head around the new paradigm. I see the potential, but I think they need to fix a couple of things first before it can truly shine.

Things are gettin’ interesting…

[Rafael Amador]

I’ve been using it mostly for dealing with some AVCHD stuff (conversion/downscaling 1080 > 720) to be edited in FCPX.
I recognize that I haven’t get too in deep with FCPX. Sincerely, I have many other thing to learn, better than doing the same thing in a different way. A new way that, I feel, it won’t be of much help for my self: Media Managing or speed are not my problems.
Things like clips collapsing sounds like a kids problem when you have been editing in Betacam and making and making postproduction with a single channel FX generator.

I consider it as pre-edit application, which, in my case, complicates the workflow, but I really understand the priceless utility for many other people/workflows.
I see the “track-less paradigma” as fiction: FCPX hid them in Motion. I will believe in trackless video editing the day Motion will work that way.
Bugs and functionality are not a big concern. Bugs should be able to be fixed, and functionality added. All is about the kind of application that Apple will decide to build.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Andy Neil]

“I see the “track-less paradigma” as fiction: FCPX hid them in Motion. I will believe in trackless video editing the day Motion will work that way.”

Motion doesn’t work in tracks. It never has. It works in layers like AE. There’s a difference. One of the biggest being that you can only have one clip per layer.

Andy

https://www.timesavertutorials.com

[Mark Morache]

[Andy Neil] “Curious Mark, what things you would like to have been kept from FCP 7 (aside from obviously mulicam I suppose)?”

I miss my automation gain. There’s probably something buried in an audio effect.

I can’t version my edits like I could in 7. I can create a duplicate timeline, but either without the renders, or duplicating all the render media.

I can’t slip a clip in the timeline without moving the attached clips.

Copying and pasting just the attributes I want is a HUGE fail.

Favorite effects I miss. Yes, I can save a particular setting and recall it, but it’s nowhere as simple as dragging your effect with it’s parameters into a bin, then applying that to another clip, or group of clips.

I miss just seeing the opacity line on the video in the timeline. To see it in X I need to first open the video animation, then click the teeny little box to expand the opacity.

There is no autosave vault. Yes, it is needed. I can’t tell you how many times my ass has been saved with the autosave vault.

Clip relinking.

CMD [ and ] to raise and lower the clip volume 3db.

Selective exporting of the timeline. If in and out don’t work, perhaps we could use markers.

Speaking of in and out, the points disappear far to easily.

I can’t consolidate my media anymore. Perhaps that’s not so necessary since I’m not on tape anymore.

Even little things like the need to hit CTL-P before I type in a timecode. With a clip selected, why can’t I just start typing in the timecode?

Reverse match-frame to find a frame in the timeline.

Dupe detection.

The list goes on, but these are the things I used the most that are no longer with us.

I’m sure many of these will be added, but so many workarounds.

Aren’t there things you miss? Besides the multiclip?

———
FCX. She tempts me, abuses me, beats me up, makes me feel worthless, then in the end she comes around, helps me get my work done, gives me hope and I can’t stop thinking about her.

Mark Morache
Avid/Xpri/FCP7/FCX
Evening Magazine,Seattle, WA
https://fcpx.wordpress.com

[Andy Neil]

“Aren’t there things you miss? Besides the multiclip?”

Oh fully. Most of your list actually. Especially the 3db shortcut. I would add audio mixer, being able to customize clip size in the timeline ( the sizes they give me are not well suited to audio. I also miss the edit selection tool for lassoing multiple edit points and moving them at the same time.

However a couple of your missing features can be regained in FCPX. Slip an slide edits can be performed with the trim tool. I just posted a tutorial here on the cow about it.

Also, someone suggested reassigning CTL+P to the number pad enter key. It’s much more elegant for typing in timecodes (unless you work on a laptop).

You can also save favorite effects with a compound clip in your event browser although it’s nowhere near as elegant a solution.

In general though, I miss what you miss. I was just curious.

Andy

https://www.timesavertutorials.com

[Mark Morache]

[Andy Neil] ” Slip an slide edits can be performed with the trim tool. I just posted a tutorial here on the cow about it.”

Yes, It was a good tutorial.

What’s your workaround for slipping the clip without moving the attached media?

and more things I miss:

I miss the replace key. Replace from start and end are good, but there should also be a replace that uses the cursor as the reference.

I used the term automation gain before when I meant normalization gain. I actually miss both.

I miss the duration window. I used that quite a bit, and I don’t fancy hitting CTL-D every time I want to see the duration.

I’ll think of more.

———
FCX. She tempts me, abuses me, beats me up, makes me feel worthless, then in the end she comes around, helps me get my work done, gives me hope and I can’t stop thinking about her.

Mark Morache
Avid/Xpri/FCP7/FCX
Evening Magazine,Seattle, WA
https://fcpx.wordpress.com

[Andy Neil]

“What’s your workaround for slipping the clip without moving the attached media?”

I confess I’m not sure I know what you mean? Are you talking about clips connected to the clip you’re sliding?

As far as replace, I totally agree! My next tutorial talks about at actually. Four ways to replace a clip, and not one of them the way I’m used to.

Andy

https://www.timesavertutorials.com

[Mark Morache]

[Andy Neil] “I’m not sure I know what you mean? Are you talking about clips connected to the clip you’re sliding?”

Yes.

Don’t you ever want to slip the clip, and leave all the connected clips exactly where they are? Perhaps it’s a bit of music, or a soundbite, and it’s perfectly placed in the timeline, but you decide you want to slip the clip just a little bit because of the action in the shot.

Presently, there is no easy way to slip the clip without moving the attached clips. I may have a couple of b-roll shots and a sound effect or a soundbite. Currently I need to slip the clip, then move each attached clip back to where it was.

Sometimes I can move the connection point to a different clip, freeing up the clip I want to slip, but not always.

So now I need to do it in two steps to slip the clip then move the attached media back.

It was a problem that didn’t exist before the connected clip paradigm in FCX.

———
FCX. She tempts me, abuses me, beats me up, makes me feel worthless, then in the end she comes around, helps me get my work done, gives me hope and I can’t stop thinking about her.

Mark Morache
Avid/Xpri/FCP7/FCX
Evening Magazine,Seattle, WA
https://fcpx.wordpress.com