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How exactly has FCX improved or expedited your workflow?
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[Jeff Kay] ” I simply do not see a value in having B-roll in another track. To me it clutters the timeline, taking up valuable screen real estate with more video tracks, while should a change need to be made, it opens up increased likelihood of pieces getting out of line, simple fast trims can still restore the primary footage; basically I see no reason for there to be anything on the timeline that is completely hidden all that can do is lead to confusion further down the road. I will certainly use more than 1 video track if I need to, but keeping footage all in one track allows me to work better.”
Couldn’t agree more. Possibly my lack of interest in the magnetic timeline is based on this aspect of my workflow. Interesting.
All in all, nice post.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
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nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
[David Powell] “The X drawback is you cannot finalize multi-clip edits and you can’t matchframe back to the original clip, so you lose time here if you need to stabilize or do a slo-mo affect.”
Do you mean to say you can’t add effects to a multiclip in X?
If you need a slo mo in a multiclip then how do you do it?Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
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nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
[Jeremy Garchow] “If you cut dialog, you can load up all takes of one scene/camera angle in one clip and have all of those takes available to you on the timeline. All of these appear as one clip on the timeline. If the director comes in and says, ” I know we had that one take where her arm was higher and not blocking the light” you find it in the Audition clip, select it, and bring it to the front. Because of the magnetic timeline , everything else stays in tact, relationally. There’s no moving or awkward replacing, just really useful editing. Any ins and outs or timing changes stays with EACH take, so if one take is a little longer or shorter, the magnetic timeline simply adjusts. “
The single new feature I am most envious of in X.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
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nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
[Herb Sevush] “[Jeff Kay] ” I simply do not see a value in having B-roll in another track. ….”
Couldn’t agree more. Possibly my lack of interest in the magnetic timeline is based on this aspect of my workflow. Interesting.”In FCP X you can cut B-roll as a connected clip, but then use Overwrite to Storyline to drop it down into the Storyline. This leaves you with a nice, clean “single-track” (video) timeline and doesn’t erase the audio, which remains split under the picture.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
[Oliver Peters] “In FCP X you can cut B-roll as a connected clip, but then use Overwrite to Storyline to drop it down into the Storyline. This leaves you with a nice, clean “single-track” (video) timeline and doesn’t erase the audio, which remains split under the picture.”
I’m guessing that by doing this you loose a lot of the magnetic magic of moving things around. In other words I’m sure you can do this in X, but for someone who routinely works this way, what’s the advantage of doing it in X vs Avid or PPro.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
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nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
[Herb Sevush] “I’m guessing that by doing this you loose a lot of the magnetic magic of moving things around.”
No, not at all. The b-roll clip because the same as any other clip on the Primary Storyline. There are advantages to the MT whether or not you can connected clips. The big advantage to doing this is you have better control over transitions between “A-roll” and “B-roll” clips.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
PS: If my B-roll shots are still fluid as to their order, then leaving them as connected clips is better until I lock things in. Easier to shuffle the order. However, in that same situation, I would use V2 and higher tracks in MC, FCP7 or PPro. Then, when locked, I cut them down to V1. Essentially the same process in FCP X.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
[Oliver Peters] “If my B-roll shots are still fluid as to their order, then leaving them as connected clips is better until I lock things in. Easier to shuffle the order. However, in that same situation, I would use V2 and higher tracks in MC, FCP7 or PPro. Then, when locked, I cut them down to V1. Essentially the same process in FCP X.”
I will use upper level tracks to play around with while I’m first creating a sequence, but the moment I’m comfortable with the edit I drop them down to track 1. I won’t move down the timeline till I have cleaned up everything up to that point. This is still at the rough cut stage. If I need to revise it’s child’s play to restore the original sync video, at least in Legacy. Anything on my timeline on a higher track is either GFX or a composite EFX, making it very easy to find them visually. But it sounds like I could still use that strategy in X without penalty, which is good to know.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
[Herb Sevush] “I will use upper level tracks to play around with while I’m first creating a sequence, but the moment I’m comfortable with the edit I drop them down to track 1.”
Yes, you can do the same in X. You can also “Lift from Storyline” if you need to make a clip a Connected Clip in order to go back to a fluid re-ordering of clips. So, if you like a nice, tidy timeline (as I do), then “Overwrite to Storyline” and “Lift from Storyline” are your friend.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
To answer part of the original OP, there are three things that I feel really speed up my workflow in X:
1. I run my Events display in list view almost all of the time. In most NLEs, you have to double-click the source clip to load it into a viewer and then play or scrub the clip to see the full contents. With X in the list view, I can simply arrow up or down in the Event Browser and see what my clips hold. Since most camera clips are no more than several minutes long, it’s easy to see the complete contents of that clip by the filmstrip showing that clip. Not only is this faster, but also less fatiguing on my wrist and hand. Naturally skimming also helps to quickly identify the content of this clip.
2. Operators using modern digital cameras shoot a lot of bogus material. Clips just for slates, false starts, etc. If you have 1,000 clips, probably 200-300 are completely useless for the edit. By using the Reject function and “Hide Rejects” view, you can quickly go through all of your clips and get rid of any that you will never use. They aren’t gone, just hidden. Likewise you can use Favorites to select the hero takes. Then by using Smart Collections or “Show Favorites” isolate your view to only these picks. Both of these functions also work within ranges inside a clip, too.
3. Although there are times I prefer bins, working the Keyword Collections can be very good, since you can use multiple Keywords per clip. As an example, I’ve done commercial campaigns with real employees. Using Keyword Collections was a great way to organize footage by person, city, department, etc. When the client asked to see all of the shots from any one of these options, it was easy to pull them up and display only those options.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com
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