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Is anybody here actually cutting multi track audio with X?
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I came across this amazing thread after downloading FCP X for the first time and importing a dialogue scene from an old tv show I wanted to try editing for practice. The first thing I need to do is synchronize the picture and track. Picture was originally on film. I’m not concerned with output quality as this is a teaching exercise. But — and recall I have never done a thing with FCP X (but am a highly experienced drama editor) — I can’t for the life of me figure out how to sync the raw dailies — which then need to be subclipped into scenes and takes. I came to Creative Cow hoping for a tutorial. The only info I can find anywhere assumes the camera already has sound associated with it. I just have visible slates and audio claps. Can anyone direct me to some instructions or tell me how I begin? Meanwhile, this discussion is fascinating. It is so far afield from anything I ever think about when it comes to editing — which is primarily how to make a scene compelling to an audience. But I guess people have to consider this stuff these days.
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[Jeremy Garchow] “It is not the magnetic timeline that bothers you, it is the connections!”
Connections are a big part of it but there’s other stuff as well 😉
[Jeremy Garchow] “What is needed is a modifier so that if you adjust a primary track (trim/roll/whatever), the secondary clips does not move along with it. The work round now is to move the primary clip out of the primary and adjust, then move it back in. I have sent this to feedback before. The more people that send it, the more likely it will get enabled.”
That would help. Of course, once we add this plus selective targeting, the behavior starts getting more and more track-like.
[Jeremy Garchow] “I guess it’s how you define that relationship. Everything in FCPX relates to that primary storyline of time. Anything in the primary is fixed to time if you want it to be. Anything connected to that will also be fixed to that point in the clip. It changes the relationship of clips. If I know something has to hit at a certain time in the sequence, then it goes in the primary at that time, and I edit around it accordingly”
[Jeremy Garchow] “The one you want to determine time, and the rest is connected. Let’s say it’s drums. You put the drums in the primary, and everything else stays in relation to the drum, if you want to change the relationship, you move it, just like in FCP7. Or if the relationship between those elements is fixed, you have to compound them all, then you can move them very easily in time together.”
OK, but again, having to pick a single track as the master frame-of-reference is an arbitrary limitation. There’s a reason you don’t see DAWs or sequencers work this way. Any instrument you choose will be wrong at some point.
Is the single primary limit really the thing that drives editorial efficiency in FCPX? With a little creativity, track-based systems could also incorporate most or maybe all of the things you like about the magnetic timeline.
For example, Premiere Pro has a nice clip grouping function (something FCP legacy sorely lacks). What if you could hold down a modifier key and when you move a group, instead of overwriting adjacent clips, they’d move out of the way? Maybe the track could expand vertically and they could jump into a space above. Hold down another modifier and move any individual object in the group. Then add a toggle on the timeline for ripple. Leave it on if you like to working that way. Then add metadata for clip selection, etc.
Lots of possibilities for the best of all worlds in FCPX, assuming Apple wants to expand the model. Multiple primaries would be a great start. Their solution to the multitrack audio problem will tell us a lot.
_______________________
David Lawrence
art~media~design~research
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[David Lawrence] “Their solution to the multitrack audio problem will tell us a lot.”
Do you think they perceive of that as a problem? I would hope they do, but I feel far from certain that they see things that way.
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[David Lawrence] “That would help. Of course, once we add this plus selective targeting, the behavior starts getting more and more track-like.”
is it more track like, or is just giving us more control like we have been wanting since June 21st?
I have always wanted a target system, it would make things a lot easier to control. The “monitor” system in the Angle editor is a great example of that as it is, essentially, a target system and it works pretty well for that. Now, if we could have those targets on clips, or secondaries, it would give us even more control, and it still fits in to the trackless thingy. I’m not sure I can mention the pair of dimes word again.
And, to help with the multichannel audio, it would be great if I break apart the multichannel audio, and that clip is NOT in the primary, that the audio would stay attached to the originating clip instead of attaching it to the primary. Again, it doesn’t need to be in a track, I just need to change it’s connection origin and reap the gains that would create.
[David Lawrence] “There’s a reason you don’t see DAWs or sequencers work this way.”
Sequencers work to keep things in sync. While it might not look like the magnetic timeline of FCPX, there are certain ways it operates like it.
[David Lawrence] “Is the single primary limit really the thing that drives editorial efficiency in FCPX? With a little creativity, track-based systems could also incorporate most or maybe all of the things you like about the magnetic timeline.”
I think it is the basis for efficiency, yes. Is it perfect right now? No. I do think it will work, I really do, I just think there needs to be a few more user control features added. And I am sure Apple is aware of this, although perhaps I am just being naive.
[David Lawrence] “For example, Premiere Pro has a nice clip grouping function “
Yes, yes it does. The more I play with it, the more I like Premiere.
[David Lawrence] “What if you could hold down a modifier key and when you move a group, instead of overwriting adjacent clips, they’d move out of the way? Maybe the track could expand vertically and they could jump into a space above. Hold down another modifier and move any individual object in the group. Then add a toggle on the timeline for ripple. Leave it on if you like to working that way. Then add metadata for clip selection, etc.”
I am not being facetious here, but this sounds on a very basic level, like the FCPX timeline. No, it doesn’t work exactly that way, but it is very close.
[David Lawrence] “Lots of possibilities for the best of all worlds in FCPX, assuming Apple wants to expand the model. Multiple primaries would be a great start. Their solution to the multitrack audio problem will tell us a lot.”
I completely agree. The timeline needs a bit of help, and I think Apple is still listening.
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[Jeremy Garchow] “I am not being facetious here, but this sounds on a very basic level, like the FCPX timeline. No, it doesn’t work exactly that way, but it is very close.”
Exactly! But with the option of tracks for those who need them. 😉
[Jeremy Garchow] “The timeline needs a bit of help, and I think Apple is still listening.”
Agreed and hope you’re right.
_______________________
David Lawrence
art~media~design~research
propaganda.com
publicmattersgroup.com
facebook.com/dlawrence
twitter.com/dhl
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