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My FCP X Studio and thoughts
Now that the first month of the New Year is drawing to a close, less then a week, I thought it time to see what others have planned going forward in terms of software and hardware. Last year was full of some nice surprises, starting with a new version of Resolve and Fusion being available on the Macintosh side of the equation for the first time. Then we have that 3D text for FCP X in the not cheesy at all version.
This year I plan on adding Color Finale, giving it a try and like it so far, to the mix. I also added the LUT from Color Grading Central, also loving it. So cheers to Denver Riddle for the awesome stuff. Not having to leave my now favorite NLE for some color grading is a huge benefit. Round tripping can be a pain, especially when things don’t like to play nice, let alone the time consumed in the workflow.
I am subscribed to Photoshop and plan to keep my subscription going forward unless there is a significant price increase. Mainly using it to do some work for title cards and move that stuff over to Motion for additional work.
Speaking of Motion, now that film is making somewhat of a comeback, going to use the rigs to create those little title cards like you see in the old fashioned silent movies. Just acquired a used camera from eBay with some B&W film to go with it. Thinking of production some silent movies with Motion as a way to give me a chance to try out different backgrounds and such with the use of rigs.
Looking forward to see what Blackmagic Design has up their sleeves with Fusion and Resolve going forward. Hoping to see some type of integration as with The Foundry Nuke Studio only with a more affordable price point. Could be this year but just taking a guess.
Sorry for the rambling there and interested to see what others are planning for this year, yes, Uncle Tim, that includes you. No excuses now. 🙂
Camera Operator | Editor | PA
FCP X, Motion, Compressor, Resolve Studio, Photoshop
Black MagicDesign Cimea Camera, Bolex H16, Kodak Super 8 -
15 Replies
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I am planning my first Mac Pro purchase, but holding off in case of a refresh. 4K is really taxing my current setup, even when using a 1080 timeline.
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Hopefully there will be a refresh, not a discontinuation. Still with iPhone sales peaked, they might put the focus back on to their computers 🙂
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I have an older Mac Pro, the cheese grater variety. Render times in Resolve Studio are painful and anything above HD results in sluggish playback performance. Time for an upgrade there.
I plan on adding Premiere Pro by middle of the year but staying clear of After Effects for now. Not anything to with the subscription only “option”, just don’t have a need for it at the time.
I been eyeing the Digital Bolex but have yet to hear from anyone on here if it is worth the cost. It only records in 2K format as far as I know which could be a factor in a purchase descion.
Might sign up for Adobe Stock here in a few weeks as Photoshop resides on the computer unless there is a more affordable option.
Carry on the rant, the debate and all of that nonsense back to work for me.
Camera Operator | Editor | PA
FCP X, Motion, Compressor, Resolve Studio, Photoshop
Blackmagic Design Cimea Camera, Bolex H16, Kodak Super 8 -
[Gary Huff] “but holding off in case of a refresh.”
How long are you willing to wait? I’m in a similar boat and I’ve pretty much written off the MP. If I had to buy something today it would either be a high-end iMac or an HP workstation.
[Steve Connor] “Still with iPhone sales peaked, they might put the focus back on to their computers :)”
Computers are tapped out man. Apple’s looking at wearables, their new AppleTV push and cars.
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Not so fast naysayers
https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-to-release-new-macbooks-this-year-says-analyst/
Andy Field
FieldVision Productions
N. Bethesda, Maryland 20852 -
[Andrew Kimery] “How long are you willing to wait? I’m in a similar boat and I’ve pretty much written off the MP.”
I definitely can wait. Not having much call for 4K yet, and it’s mostly about render speed to get it out of the NLE as opposed to needing it to work at all. An offline/online with the C300 Mark II’s proxy setup is definitely workable for the time being.
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[David Mathis] “I been eyeing the Digital Bolex but have yet to hear from anyone on here if it is worth the cost. It only records in 2K format as far as I know which could be a factor in a purchase descion. “
I’m pretty sure it does 1080, but I feel like the Digital Bolex is an oddity that is mostly used to play with and not really as an A-camera system. I find the footage from it to be rather DVX-like, which seems like a step backward. You might get to find a nice price on eBay.
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Thanks for the heads up. Guess it is time to save up for a Red camera. I also feel the price point is a little too high for a Digital Bolex, just my opinion.
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I recently spec’ed out a system for a client. Top-of-the-line iMac, 2nd 27″ display, 8-bay Promise Pegasus. He’s mainly running Premiere Pro and AE. Footage is generally C100 or C300 with a lot of legacy stuff from old projects – Varicam P2 and Canon 5. All native and 720p or 1080p.
The system performs quite well and fast, although I still get occasional beach balls and crashes. He’s got Parallels and Windows 7 open for background back-up and access to the company IT infrastructure. That might account for some of the things I’m seeing. Most of these issues are minor, though.
I would love to see how it would do with FCPX and all ProRes media, but not at this shop.
As far as 4K, it’s very taxing no matter what. I think 4K in a 1080 timeline is worse than 4K native. Best with optimized/mezzanine codecs instead of the “native” stuff.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
Oliver,
Thanks for posting. I do have a question for you, if you have a moment. I am planning on filming, in the traditional sense, with a Super 8 camera and my Bolex H16 camera in a few weeks. What would be the best resolution to scan in at. Also, would flavor of ProRes should I use?
Plan on editing with FCP X, color correction (very light) to be done with either Color Finale or Resolve. No heavy VFX or compositing will be needed, just a simple title card or title sequence will be the most that is done.
I plan to finish out to DVD or upload to Vimeo.
Any suggestions, feedback or whatever is greatly appreciated.
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