-
I’m starting to think x is better than 7 :-)
(I spare you the usual ‘here is my track record – so I know what I’m talking about, cause I think you should always do your own research 🙂
Now for example:
you want to edit an interview and add it to your edit. In 7 you put your IVW on a separate video and audio track, maybe lock all other and edit away combining different parts to make one statement – or you pre-edit and copy paste into the main seq. Once done you unlock all tracks and make some changes to video and other audio to make it all run smoothy including changing content of your previous cut. You’re done and proud of yourself, showing it to the director thinking ‘so good he/she will love it’. Unfortunately he/she doesn’t and wants changes, but only to the IVW not the other video, which they love and do not want to change. So now you have to start to be very careful not to affect the length even though you’re ask to cut out 1 line and three more non consecutive words later. Specially because there is other audio 10 mins later on the same track. Because we’re ‘pro’s’ we get it done, of course, but after some clever editing.
Now imaging the IVW would be in an independent container and you could just edit it separately but right in place without touching anything else. Impossible? Welcome to X and the ‘additional storyline’. You have your primary and you can create as many additional as you like.I’m starting to understand what this storyline business is all about. If all additional material is not linear on one track it doesn’t matter what you do with it, changing one connected element will never affect anything down the line! And if it is on the ‘main’ line the only thing you’ll ever affect is the overall time and/or the elements that are directly connected to the clip you’re adjusting.
Of course you must have one primary element on your TIMEline but you could actually put anything there, including a gab clip. If you make a music video you put your music there and connect video to it, never affecting other video that is already connected. If you cut docu which is IVW driven and has no narration you might want to edit your IVW’s on the main line and connect cutaways, maybe combining little action connected clips into one secondary storyline and connect it (and than being able to edit the little action sequences in place with out touching your IVW backbone!!!). If you do action driven docu you might want to edit your action on the main storyline and connect IVW through a secondary storyline(s) as mentioned before. Or you do drama and edit on the main storyline just adding cutaways as connected clips.Bugger me but this is actually a better way to edit than before and if that makes me an ‘iMovie user on steroids’ I don’t care because it is the smarter way to work.
Now that of course doesn’t mean they should have handled the transition to X differently and we still need the import/export & external video functionality apart from getting rid of some bugs.
But all I’m saying is this starts to look like the better editing tool.
my2cents
Carsten -
13 Replies
-
For pure timeline editing I am convinced it’s much better.
Steve Connor
Adrenalin TelevisionHave you tried “Search Posts”? Enlightenment may be there.
-
everything else is compositing and for that you have Motion or AE ( though not interlinked yet)
and the real time effect handling is way better than 7!
-
“If all additional material is not linear on one track it doesn’t matter what you do with it, changing one connected element will never affect anything down the line!”
Actually no. The magnetic timeline ensures that everything downstream will be affected.
Secondary storyline is very limiting. Can’t have composite modes. Can’t add transitions to connected lips have to be converted to secondary. Can’t connect to secondary only to primary. If you make it a compound you have to open the compound to edit, then you lose the audio tracks in the main timeline. It’s one workaround after another.
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”
and “Final Cut Pro X for iMovie and Final Cut Express Users” from Focal Press -
Tom, with all respect, but you are still thinking the old way 🙂
I stated that of course when you change something on a clip on the main line you affect the overall time and/or the clips directly connected to the clip you are shortening or lengthens. but if you do anything to a clip that is connected you do not not affect anything else.
Secondary story lines are not compositing tools! They are editing tools! if you want to apply an effect to multiple clips I think you use the compound clip function (haven’t tried that yet)
applying a transition to a simple connected clip is not possible that is true. You could use opacity though but can’t of course use wipes or any other transition. That definitely can be improved.
Don’t understand you last point about loosing your audio with compound clips?
I only see workarounds if I try to apply to old approach, but I think this new way has a lot of merrits.
All the best too
Carsten -
“Secondary story lines are not compositing tools! They are editing tools! ”
That’s ridiculous. You can apply a composite mode to a connected clip but that not when the clip’s in a secondary?
if you’re editing a project with music and narration, and a section of video is made into a compound clip. To edit the contents of the compound clip, you have to open it into its own timeline. You now no longer can hear the primary narration and music.
Secondaries are a great idea, but they have limitations, and there’s no easy way to step out of them.
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”
and “Final Cut Pro X for iMovie and Final Cut Express Users” from Focal Press -
Every NLE is one workaround after the other if you look at it with the eyes of yet another NLE. Any Avid editor will tell you that about FCP7 and vice versa.
The trick is to find your way of working for your projects with the tools at hand. And you need to choose your tools according to your work. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, so does FCPX. But from my limited experience with it, it saves so much time on the basic tasks, there is easy time to break up a compound clip, adjust it and put it back in compound mode. it´s only two clicks. how many click did every “Trim-Start” use in FCP7?
-
[Tom Wolsky] “That’s ridiculous. You can apply a composite mode to a connected clip but that not when the clip’s in a secondary?”
Actually true. I didn’t try that. When you have applied a composite mode to a connected clip and make it part of a secondary, the composite mode stays with the clip but is ignored. Something to fix and send to Apple via feedback 🙂
[Tom Wolsky] “if you’re editing a project with music and narration, and a section of video is made into a compound clip. To edit the contents of the compound clip, you have to open it into its own timeline. You now no longer can hear the primary narration and music. “
Again true. Of course you can split the compound clips back to it parts do your change and compound again. Not sure this will be solvable because you are actually wanting the ‘secondary storyline’ and ‘compound clip’ functionality combined into one.
Now if any of this is ‘ridiculous’ is another question 🙂
Cheers
Carsten -
[alban egger] “The trick is to find your way of working for your projects with the tools at hand. And you need to choose your tools according to your work.”
Well, an editor is an editor because he/she can cut a video with any app including movie maker. The tools are what makes the job easier, the project smoother and the changes faster. In it’s current state FCPX is not doing the majority of my job easier but only a fraction of the tasks at hand. Using a locked audio track for a music video edit was the fastest way to edit to the beat. Using a workaround to do the same thing should have been an option. Not the only option. I’m amazed by the technology in FCPX. But the Magnetic Timeline seems to have caused more trouble than help from my POV (BTW it should have been named Magnetic Storyline, shouldn’t it?)
BTW if you have a compound clip with transitions inside, when you “uncompound” it you loose them. So making and breaking compound clips is completely useless in this specific task.
-
Probably I’m destroying some other options (although I don’t know which).
But why not make the second story line a story line ?
I’ve done this on some edits and it behaves the same as the original (main storyline) and I can add effects to it that effectively also transform the lower story line.Somehow I’m missing something but I’m making all my second “layers” story lines and can add whatever I want to them ?
Can someone explain if I’m missing something ?
Because if there is no loss why not just do it like this standard.http://www.frankdoorhof.com
http://www.frankdoorhof.com/portfolio -
[Frank Doorhof] “I’m making all my second “layers” story lines and can add whatever I want to them ?”
I think your plan is a pretty good one for most editing purposes – the limitation of course is that you can’t composite with secondary storylines.
Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up