frustrating experience with compound clips

[Tony Sarafoski]

To add to my previous post (and something I didn’t know till now), there MUST be a 2 frame gap between favorites for them not to overlap.

Oh this is so much fun NOT!

[T. Payton]

I feel your pain. Quick question for clarification. Are you:

A) performing your final edit in a compound clip in an event (aka fcp7 like sequence)?
or
B) placing the multi-cam clip in a compound clip and then using that compound clip as an editing source?

If you are A, then you might try editing in a project rather than a compound clip.
If you are B, then what is the benefit to that? (I’m sincerely curious)

Whether A or B, here are a few rules of thumb I put together for a tutorial (which I haven’t finished yet) regarding compound clips:

1. DO use compound clips for organization in your timeline (audio buses, compositing, precisely timed elements, etc)

2. DO NOT use compound clips as an editing source. Well that is almost impossible, but if you must use them as a source for editing realize that all metadata (favorites, markers, notes, etc) from the original compound clip will reside in each clip instance in your timeline. Therefore keep your metadata to a minimum, or break apart the compound clip in your timeline one time to remove this metadata. (Better yet put them in a multicam clip)

3. It is best to use multicam clips for editing sources because they are a “master clip” as there a true parent-child relationship between them. Also all the metadata isn’t copied to a timeline for each instance, they simply refer to the “parent” master clip. There are some drawbacks to editing this way, but the positives far outweighs them in my book.

4. Every time you blade a compound clip, the timeline is making a duplicate of everything in that compound clip. If you blade a compound clip that has 10 elements, say 30 times. You now have 300 elements in your timeline, even though you only see 10.

At our shop we do very long interviews (average 30 minutes) with double system sound. Our workflow is to first create a synchronized clip (typically of several DSLR video clips to one long audio clip.) Then place that in a multicam clip and use that multicam clip as a “master” clip for the interview. We will favorite it, add notes, etc. and edit it into a timeline. The workflow works wonders for us, plus we have the added benefit of being able to color correct or do audio cleanup to just one “master” and have it reflect in all our edits.

I hope this helps.

——
T. Payton
OneCreative, Albuquerque

[Tony Sarafoski]

Hi T.

A) performing your final edit in a compound clip in an event (aka fcp7 like sequence)?

When I first started using FCPX, I certainly tried using it in such a manner, however I soon realised the the UI was freezing because of these bloated compound clips. To be honest I hadn’t used compounds in my event for some time, and I have no idea what possessed me in trying to use them for this job.

B) placing the multi-cam clip in a compound clip and then using that compound clip as an editing source?

That’s correct T, basically I start by creating a multicam clip, add the extra cameras, sync, then drop the multicam clip in a new project. I scrub through and switch between cameras where necessary.

Once complete, I create a new compound clip in the event browser, then copy/paste the multicam clip from the project within the “event” compound clip. I then use JKL to scrub, mark favorites, and that’s pretty much it.

If you are B, then what is the benefit to that? (I’m sincerely curious)

Here’s the problem, I need to first edit the 2 camera shoot which runs for approximately 2 hours. Then once that’s complete, I then need to re-skimm through it and mark “shorted” favorites which will get used in a “shorter” edit.

1. DO use compound clips for organization in your timeline (audio buses, compositing, precisely timed elements, etc)

TOTALLY agree, compounds in a project seem to work just fine, they do have their downside there too, but overall they work fine.

2. DO NOT use compound clips as an editing source. Well that is almost impossible, but if you must use them as a source for editing realize that all metadata (favorites, markers, notes, etc) from the original compound clip will reside in each clip instance in your timeline. Therefore keep your metadata to a minimum, or break apart the compound clip in your timeline one time to remove this metadata. (Better yet put them in a multicam clip)

You make a very interesting point here. What if I edit the multicam clip in a project, then copy/paste this back into a multicam clip in the event? will this overcome the bloating problem?

3. It is best to use multicam clips for editing sources because they are a “master clip” as there a true parent-child relationship between them. Also all the metadata isn’t copied to a timeline for each instance, they simply refer to the “parent” master clip. There are some drawbacks to editing this way, but the positives far outweighs them in my book.

So could the metadata be causing the reaction?

4. Every time you blade a compound clip, the timeline is making a duplicate of everything in that compound clip. If you blade a compound clip that has 10 elements, say 30 times. You now have 300 elements in your timeline, even though you only see 10.

RightyO… gotcha!

At our shop we do very long interviews (average 30 minutes) with double system sound. Our workflow is to first create a synchronized clip (typically of several DSLR video clips to one long audio clip.) Then place that in a multicam clip and use that multicam clip as a “master” clip for the interview. We will favorite it, add notes, etc. and edit it into a timeline. The workflow works wonders for us, plus we have the added benefit of being able to color correct or do audio cleanup to just one “master” and have it reflect in all our edits

I’ll be sure to try this method, in the meantime I’ve already exported the compound and brought it back in as a single MOV file, which I’m now remarking the favorites 🙁

Thanks for the info T. that’s a great help.

[T. Payton]

Compound clips are powerful things, and just like compound interest they can work for or against you. 😉

Interesting workflow. I hadn’t thought of that.

My advice to you would be to not mark favorites in the event browser after you do your switching, rather duplicate your project after your switching and then edit down in that timeline. Will work really well.

-T.

——
T. Payton
OneCreative, Albuquerque

[Tony Sarafoski]

hmm…. not sure I understand T.

How can I PM you?

[T. Payton]

Sure or you can call me. Go to my company name below with .net.

——
T. Payton
OneCreative, Albuquerque

[Richard Kuenneke]

T: I’d like to see you demo this.

Rich