FCPX users – stand up and be counted!

[Nick Ring]

I work at a small public access TV station. We historically used FCP (except for trimming and titling meeting coverage on Canopus capture boxes (ugh)). With the transition from tapes to AVCHD cameras for meeting coverage we adopted Premiere Pro CS5 for quick turn around to air without need of an intermediary codec. Users were still trained on FCP7. While legacy members still use FCP7 and we still use Premiere for our meeting turnaround, I’m moving forward with training new members on FCPX and the response has been immensely positive.

For the needs/experience of our users, FCPX is great and while one could point at this and say, “See, not pro!”, I see another slice of the overall market making meaningful (and artful) content and with tools that are aiding and improving that process.

For myself, I’ve moved over to FCPX for personal and work-related projects and am mostly pleased. Like anyone else, I have my list of issues, but I can work with it where it’s at and look forward to its growth in a non-distant future.

-nick

[Noam Kroll]

I use it nearly every day on small projects for broadcast.

[Helmut Kobler]

I’m using it now for a 3.5 minute documentary profile.

But I’m now wishing I had started this in Premiere, because I’m doing a fair amount of After Effects shots for the project, and the time taken to render out movies in After Effects and then import them in FCP X and place them on the timeline is adding up.

Dynamic link in Premiere and After Effects would have made this go a lot quicker.

——————-
Documentary Camera in Los Angeles
http://www.lacameraman.com

[Craig Seeman]

I’m curious why After Effects instead of Motion (not that FCPX sends to Motion either at the moment)? Specific AE feature that would be harder or impossible to do in Motion?

[Andy Neil]

Been doing most of my “at home” freelance work on it except where not ideal. Then it’s FCP7. None of my main post-prod jobs are in X but that’s to be expected. Even if it were a complete NLE last June, post facilities don’t usually switch out that quickly.

Ironically, it’s opened up a new avenue of work for me: Training FCP editors at shops how to edit on Avid. Of course, if X gets any traction in the post industry in the next 3-5 years, I’ll be able to train people in X as well.

Andy

https://www.timesavertutorials.com

[Lance Bachelder]

Using it in “some way”…

Also looking toward NAB and Adobe…

Lance Bachelder
Writer, Editor, Director
Irvine, California

[Helmut Kobler]

I don’t know Motion that well. I use it for lower thirds titles in FCP X, and for that, it’s good because you can bring the title design into FCP X from Motion, and then tweak “published” parameters within X, and change text content.

BUt for heavier duty motion graphics (mostly 3D picture collages with a lot of camera moves, fancy map graphics, etc)., I’ve stuck with After Effects. Generally, it’s because After Effects seems like it is always ahead features-wise by a version or two (3d camera, depth of field effects, etc.), and also because I find a lot of AE tutorials when I’m trying to do something new.

And then, yes, there’s the fact that there’s no dynamic linking between Motion and X.

——————-
Documentary Camera in Los Angeles
http://www.lacameraman.com

[Walter Soyka]

[Steve Connor] “I’m interested to know how many people on here are actually using FCPX for work in some way at the moment, if you’re brave enough would you like to step forward?”

Steve, I hope you don’t mind if I add a couple of questions to your poll.

Among those using FCPX for work, what’s the one top feature in FCPX you can’t imagine giving up, and what’s the one change you’d most like to see in the next release?

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

[Mark Dobson]

I’ll put my hand up.

Apart from using FCP7 to import XF files onto the system I’ve been using FCPX since it was released 9 months ago and can’t see any reason to stop using it or switch.

I can’t say it’s been an easy journey or that I have not questioned my decision to use the software but I’m now really excited to be working with FCPX.

But then we probably fit the customer profile for this software. We are a small production house doing almost everything internally with no real need to send files out for external production work.

We have now produced around 15 programmes on the system and each one gets faster as I learn how to circumnavigate the present flaws of the system, the main one being sluggish behaviour once a project gets beyond 10 minutes.

I’m just back from 5 days filming and am about to import 300Gb of 1080p files onto the system. I know that once I’ve created the various events it will take me a very short time to organise the files into various categories through using keyword collections. Probably a couple of hours.

Clip skimming is an incredibly powerful tool for anylysing material quickly and accurately.

I really look forward to the next update because I’m confident it will address even more of the inherent flaws in this new software.

[Tapio Haaja]

I used it three months last summer to create TV promos for national broadcaster here in Finland and I think there are lot of great features. Lately I’ve been using it only for my own small projects and my main issues are also stability and sluggishness.

But I’ve to say I’m little bit worried of FCPX because as far as I know FCPX and Motion are based on same engine. And I’ve been using Motion since version 1 and it hasn’t never been very stable software especially if you make anything more complicated. So if Apple couldn’t make Motion stable between 2004-2010 are they now going to do it? Of course it gets now more attention because rendering engine is part of FCPX but still I have to say I’m worried.

Last years I’ve been also testing betas of Adobe software such as Audition, Muse, Edge and Lightroom and I’ve to say even betas of Adobe softwares have been more stable than Apple’s pro apps lately.

Best
Tapio Haaja

On-Air Promotion Producer
https://avseikkailuja.blogspot.com/