Search Function for Media Import Window?

[Gregor Queck]

Regarding the search window: when you are in the import window, you can hit command-space, search, drag the thing you found in the import window. But that only works with one thing at a time…. for multiple, you can use the finder- search, put it in folders and if you then import the folders, you also get keywords from folder names and finder tags….
Fotos, sound fx and motion templates also appear in the sidebar…

The missing search is strange, it kind of forces you to organise your stuff…..

Regarding the project pane: I suppose you’re talking about the Library. There are smart collections for video, audio etc. and you can make your own of your heart’s desire …. and/or use keywords.

Regarding resizing: I use a trackpad for many years, with this resizing, scrolling and, for that matter, using it, is really fun…. try it for a week…..

Hope this helps.

. . .

[Stuart Christensen]

Thanks for the response Gregor!

The Spotlight single search is somewhat cumbersome but will work in a pinch I guess. It’s just so odd that a proper
search function is not available and slows down my work to a snails pace. I would love to know their reasoning behind not including one.

I like the Smart Collections on a basic level, but I’m not a fan of creating keywords for sorting/grouping etc. because of the volume of different assets I’m accessing. I rarely rename my footage or give it any tags or metadata due to the amount of time needed to organize that footage before importing. For example, a real estate shoot might have about 150 different clips that I need to work with so labeling each clip before I sit down to edit is not possible, so I just look at the sequential ordering to find what I’m looking for. But I will probably have to examine adopting them in some fashion as they are what FCX offers (not ideal but workable).

The most frustrating is the timeline resizing (without commands) or opening their silly little window to use a slider. If I have a long edit (40 minutes or longer) and the edit has (sections) that I need to quickly resize to navigate, one of the most useful features is being able to click on and grab the head or the tail of the timeline slider to increase or reduce the size of the timeline in one fluid motion. I understand what you are saying about using a trackpad for this but in my case that too would keep slowing me down, but I will give it a try anyway and give you an update.

Thanks again for taking some time to respond!

All the Best!

Stu

I know alot….but not as much as the other guy.

[Jeremy Garchow]

What do you use for an input device (mouse, etc)?

As far as organizing your material, how is the information organized in the Finder?

When you use search in the import window of other applications, what do you search for if there’s no metadata?

[Stuart Christensen]

Hello Jeremy, thanks for responding!

I exclusively use a three button mouse, (LeftMiddleRight), no magic mouse for me…I need a real rodent! This works well with my setup. It seems as though whenever I am editing that mouse is always attached to my right hand, except for when I am typing sentences or something longer that a quick “utterance” to do titles etc. It also allows me to work lightning fast within any interface. It seems like I’m always clicking on something with that darn mouse!

Anyway, lot’s of my general day to day stuff never warrants labeling each clip. The footage can just be placed inside of a regular folder that acts as the Job Title as well. Here’s a scenario, I might shoot a super large, high end property and at the end of the shoot I might have about 200 clips, all in some sort of sequential order determined by the camera. When I get done shooting the job, I have absolutely no desire to give each clip a proper name so that I can search for it later. Instead, I just stick it in a folder and use my own memory to find a clip within that folder, and I can generally remember the order of shots as I recorded them on cam which translates to their position within the sequential ordering determined in cam.

Now, here’s where a proper search function comes in as being an essential part of any UI…If I want to creatively and spontaneously gather images/soundefx/prior art/AE titles/music etc….to add them to a project, FCX makes one leave the interface to find the various items to add, and then one must drag and drop them into the interface or put them all into a folder and then go back into FCX media import and find that folder, choose the items and import. And yes, I am fully aware that I can navigate to various hard drives and folders from within the import media window, but the lack of a “proper” search function within that environment creates a most annoying edit setup especially if you want to spontaneously search for items based on known names or document titles.

The only other alternative is to develop some sort of super human photographic memory of every file on your system and know the navigational path to that specific file, even though it may reside on multiple hard drives connected to the system. So I am at a loss to understand why FCX, has determined that this is not something that editors want or need. Apple knows best? Not at the moment. But I do like Finder which is a part of every operating system Apple has created.

Go figure!

Thanks again for responding Jeremy, I’m sure others may chime in to get to the bottom of this!

Stu

I know alot….but not as much as the other guy.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Stuart Christensen] “I exclusively use a three button mouse, (LeftMiddleRight)”

There’s no scroll? If your mouse allows, it’s possible to use the scroll to expand and contract the timeline.

You can also shift-z to zoom all the way out, then press and hold z and lasso a selection in the timeline, and FCPX will zoom in to that selected selection. Then press and hold h and drag left/right with the mouse to move the timeline back and forth.

As far as the importing, you can add folders to favorites in the import window. You can also simply import the master folder as a keyword collection (say you had a folder called 20 W 5th St, or whatever). This would should up as one keyword called 20 W 5th St in an event in your library, and you can browse through it by content created (order in which it was shot/created).

Also if you know a folder name, hit command-space from FCPX, type the folder name, and drag it in to FCPX, as has been mentioned.

You may also consider setting up a template library that has all your reusable media (effects/music/art/whatever’s) organized and ready to go. That way, every time you start a new library, all that stuff is already in it. I use FCPX Library Manager to manage libraries and it also has a template library function.

[Stuart Christensen]

Thanks for the tips Jeremy!

Yes, the middle mouse button is a (scroll wheel or click button) but I am uncertain about how to use it to
expand or contract the timeline as you have indicated. Could you elaborate on this method?

My main aggrevation with FCX centers around expanding and contracting the timeline WITHOUT using keyboard commands in conjunction with the mouse because it makes me constantly take my eyes off the timeline and go through way to many hoops to simply resize the timeline. When working on a large project, the bottom timeline slider is so important for navigation, and it could be so much better if FCX would build in a tail at either end of the slider so you could simply click on the tail, hold and drag to resize the timeline. I’ve used all of the suggestions you mentioned but have found them so clunky and time consuming, not to mention frustrating that I seriously question whether I want to do long form projects on FCX just because of this issue. It seems like one of the most fundamental basic design flaws I have encountered with FCX so far.

I can live with the quirky Smart Folders and other methods of organizing media, but the real issue here, is still the lack of a proper search function within the media import window. There are so many reasons to include one that mainly have to do with the creative, spontaneous and unpredictable decisions I make while editing, it would take me way too much time to pre-edit something in my mind and assemble media prior to editing. I have a massive amount of assets that I can find instantly with the search functions in every application I use except for FCX. I get that FCX wants to create a new “paradigm” in editing, they want to do something in a new and different way, but for me, it’s almost becoming a deal breaker, and I have used it almost daily for a couple of years now and I’m noticing that it really slows down the process of simple tasks because of these missing elements.

I don’t know if other people feel the same about this stuff, or if they just accept things and adapt. I’m all for new and better ways but in this case it just leaves me scratching my head, throwing my hands in the air and saying “Really?”

If FCX would just be considerate of editors and re-examine these two issues, it would (in my opinion) become a contender instead of an option.

Thanks again for your input, you are kind in trying to help me out!

Stu

[Brett Sherman]

[Stuart Christensen] “My main aggrevation with FCX centers around expanding and contracting the timeline WITHOUT using keyboard commands “

I guess I don’t get what’s wrong with keyboard commands. If you don’t like the standard Cmd+ and Cmd- shortcuts, you can make your own single key shortcut. Typically editors have one hand on the mouse, one on the keyboard all the time. And as far as scrolling, you really want a horizontally scrolling mouse like the Magic Mouse. I’m not sure what other models work. But I’ve come to like the Magic Mouse a lot.

[Stuart Christensen] “he lack of a proper search function within the media import window”

As others have suggested. You can use the Finder window and simply drag your clips into the Browser. You can drag it directly on keywords so it gets categorized on Import. For example, you could have a keyword that says “New Clips” then just drag additional clips onto that and it instantly gets categorized with that keyword. Or you can drag in a whole folder and it creates a keyword with that folders name. So if you’re organizing media at the Finder level, it will keep that organization. To me the Import Window is really only to transfer and rewrap camera original files. Everything else I bring in I drag from the Finder level.

[Stuart Christensen]

Hello Brett! Thanks for responding to my rather winded thread!

The main problem with keyboard commands for resizing the timeline is that the process requires a lot of extra steps needed to complete a simple task that could be simplified to a simple click and drag on the timeline slider bar (head or tail) end without taking your eyes off the interface. I’m sure that’s why Premiere decided to never just take that option away from it’s users, so why would Apple? All versions of FCP prior to FCX had this feature, and it’s an essential UI element for so many other apps because it works really well.

Just for fun, try resizing the timeline twenty or thirty times rapidly while moving a lot of stuff around in a long form timeline using keyboard commands, and you will quickly start to question this basic procedure and functionality. Do it 60 or 100 times daily and you will have no hair left on your head!

As for the Magic Mouse, the hand fatigue of using one for an eight to ten hour period every day is something I wouldn’t wish upon anyone, not to mention the limited functionality of what they call a MMB (Middle Mouse Button).

The whole Finder issue is another conundrum. I’m on a 27 inch iMac using the whole screen for FCX, so when I want to use finder for drag and drop, I have to minimize the interface a bit to allow me to open a finder window, do a search, find a file and then drag and drop into my project, then go back and resize FCX interface to full screen before getting on with my work. Again, a proper search function would make me respect FCX so much more. I do however hook up an additional monitor for just this task, so it works and I will do just fine, but it technically shouldn’t have to be this way.

Computers and programs should evolve to make our work more productive in the aspect of less mechanical and more creative, which is what FCX has the capability to become, but it seems to fight with it’s own arrogance regarding how we should edit.

By starting this thread, I was really just hoping for a plug-in out there that would restore some basic functionality to FCX, but sadly I think my options are limited.

Again, thanks for your input, and if you run across any plug-ins that would help for this please let me know. Who knows, maybe Apple will stumble across this thread and give it some consideration…..I’m not holding my breath.

I know alot….but not as much as the other guy.

[Brett Sherman]

[Stuart Christensen] “Just for fun, try resizing the timeline twenty or thirty times rapidly while moving a lot of stuff around in a long form timeline using keyboard commands, and you will quickly start to question this basic procedure and functionality. Do it 60 or 100 times daily and you will have no hair left on your head!”

I do exactly this. I think you’ll find most editors use keyboard shortcuts continually. And find it more efficient than mouse interactions. In fact, one of the complaints of many with FCP X is that it require TOO MUCH mouse interaction. In my view mouse interactions are superior when you need variable input, such as skimming a clip. But inferior with a single action, say marking an in. Zooming the timeline is somewhere in between. It’s variable, but doesn’t require an exact location. Because of that the keyboard shortcut works well for me. And once you know it, you don’t need to move your eyes off the screen. It becomes second nature. I even do the more complicated two-handed Cmd+ and Cmd- and never look down. In general I only need to look down to just get my bearings again on occasion.

You might want to take a look at CommandPost. It lists this as a feature – ‘Timeline Zooming with Mouse Scroll & Modifier Key (includes Magic Mouse)” I think you hold option and scroll the mouse wheel.

[Stuart Christensen]

Hello Brett,

I totally agree with most of your observations. I think at the root level, we agree FCX makes you use a mouse unnecessarily and have missed the places where it’s necessary. I guess it will always be an ongoing evolution.

Hypothetically, if you only had one hand, could you do things as efficiently as you do now?

Fortunately, this is not my case, but if I were a UI designer, my goal would be to design for mobility and ease, and the less interaction I have with a keyboard and mouse the better, as well, the other drawback of being tied to a keyboard is the effect of shoulder and arm fatigue, and a mouse is just as bad.

Keyboard shortcuts play a huge role in what I do as well, and that’s why I am bringing this topic up I guess. I’ve been daily editing on all platforms for the past 15 years and felt is was a duty and entertaining new experience to explore this magical new program that went by the name Final Cut 10 (or iMovie Pro) whatever you wish to call it. I went to Premiere for a while and passed on FCX. When I was finally forced to use FCX because I upgraded to the Mac I’m currently using, I adopted FCX as a standby…The more I used it, the more I liked it…And the more I disliked it as well. But then again, almost all of the software I use I could lodge the same complaint. At the end of the day, I’m amazed at what’s possible across the entire spectrum of what we do and where editing is at today.

I will do some research regarding your lead. Thanks for pointing me somewhere!

All the best!

Stu

I know alot….but not as much as the other guy.