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It’s All Connected — Clip Relationships and The Magnetic Timeline Paradigm
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[David Lawrence] “Now imagine a third edit option. For lack of better terms, let’s call it a “layer edit”. In this scenario, when the editor encounters a clip collision, they have an option to layer or nondestructively overlap the clips, rather than overwrite or insert them. I can think of several UI designs for achieving this.”
I don’t have to imagine this, I worked this way for years. The EMC editor, the first PC NLE and arguably the first modern NLE, had this as a feature, at least in it’s last few years when I worked with it back in the 90’s. Whenever you did an overwrite edit the underlying clips still existed underneath the top layer. At any point you could reveal what was under any clip. This was 15 years ago and while it wasn’t elegant, there was no list of what was on top and what was underneath, it did work.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
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nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
Very good example Brett!
But there is a simple solution to this problem. Quickly create a temporary compound (if there are multiple clips) or a secondary (if none of your connected clips are overlapping) that you want to lock in place.
Think of it like locking clips without needing to lock the whole track like you would need to do in the ‘old’ days (and all the related sync issues if you affected clips 5 min down the timeline which by chance where on the track you needed to lock to make your changes).
So select the clips you need to lock in place plus one clip that is connected to a clip on the primary before the one you want to slide, or trim, or replace. Make a compound or a secondary, adjust your clip, and then break apart your compound or secondary again. Done.
One does need to learn new methods with a completely new method timeline, as I still do almost everyday day with X. But for me the benefits of this new timeline method far outway the difficulty and time needed to learn the new methods needed to make it sing. If you don’t like the new method, life is too short and alternatives are plentiful 🙂
And to answer David’s question. I think compound clips in X do all the things you are trying to address and are far more flexible to deal with all sorts of scenarios. Maybe the only thing that would be cool is if I can open them in place (without the need to break them) if I want to adjust one clip within the compound to something outside of it.
Cheers
Carsten -
[Carsten Orlt] “Make a compound or a secondary, adjust your clip, and then break apart your compound or secondary again. Done.”
Unfortunately breaking apart clips removes any effects, color correction or audio level adjustments that have been made.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
basically, I think apple talked themselves into this.
Clip connections, at heart, as you neatly point out, represent a default grouping behaviour, where apple decide to create locked relationships between the audio and video laid against their primary storyline.
but they then took this a stage further and started using phrases like “relationships” as regards clip audio and b-roll. the thing I find most annoying about it is that they make the objects children to the degree that if you choose to delete the primary parent, they are also destroyed.
this is manifestly stupid. Just because they call it the primary, does not make it the primary. the very most important things may be occuring, at any moment, between alternates in v2 and v3 – traditionally.
this issue goes as a piece with the difficulty in re-arranging clip connections before performing an edit – because apple are creating canonical relationships that rapidly become out of date due to the fluid nature of the edit, we are forced to reset the false auto-connected logic apple have imposed at the outset, and we are forced to do this, continuously, throughout the edit.
the problem in essence is that apple have chosen to create arbitrary connections at a certain point in the editing process, but those links, and their logic, are transient – further editing decisions and a rethought on relationships render apple’s tied connections invalid.
so we are left re-picking the clip connections, laboriously, through time as the nature of the edit evolves.
Its stupid on their part, and betrays a basic, simplistic stupidity about the process and iteration of editing.
it’s a very, very, very stupid timeline.
https://vimeo.com/user1590967/videos http://www.ogallchoir.net promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics
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[Oliver Peters] “Unfortunately breaking apart clips removes any effects, color correction or audio level adjustments that have been made.”
Correction. It would not do that to individual clip effects in Carsten’s example. Only if you’d added effects to the compound. If you break apart a single clip, though, it will remove effects.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
[Aindreas Gallagher] “the thing I find most annoying about it is that they make the objects children to the degree that if you choose to delete the primary parent, they are also destroye”
Well yes and no. Depends on whether you delete or ripple delete (where Apple also “conveniently” reversed the keys). Delete (the “rub out” key on a full keyboard) leaves a gap/slug with connected clips attached.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
yes, thats true, but don’t let it get in the way of the fist waving.
For two cent, I half think apple are going to fashion a preference action on the timeline that removes clip connections from view in a future update? (if the object model allows)
Clips connections are only enacted at the point of use. In theory my selection of objects could enact them at the point of selection, as much as the initial drag to timeline. they really only exist as a grouping behaviour – its not nodal in the sense of imparting continuous downstream colour correction and matte stuff ala resolve or flame.
I always thought the parent child nodal stuff was total intellectual messing around overkill in the context of a VA editor. Its just unnecessary and heavy handed. not to mention detrimental to free form editing thought?
https://vimeo.com/user1590967/videos http://www.ogallchoir.net promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics
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Clip Connections can be hidden in the Timeline. This gets rid of the little line icons indicating the connection points. Was that what you meant?
I find that this is kinda misleading as the clips just kind off hang there like layers.
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[Aindreas Gallagher] “For two cent, I half think apple are going to fashion a preference action on the timeline that removes clip connections from view in a future update?”
Huh? That exists now in the clip height pop-up. Or do you mean something other than hiding the visibility of the actual connecting lines?
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
Also, It would be very helpful if we could connect clips to an specific timecode.
We could move clips/storylines anywhere and those clip would keep in their position, always on top.
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Matias Canelson
https://www.canelson.com.ar
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