Solution To The Inconvenient Magnetic Timeline

[Sandeep Sajeev]

Thanks for the tip.

I’ve been cutting commercials and Broadcast for about a decade now on various versions of Final Cut. To be honest, I haven’t had any issues with the Magnetic Timeline. Yes it’s a bit strange at first, but there are numerous ways to bypass the magnetism while editing.

I’ve only been working on FCPX for a couple of days, but I haven’t ever felt that I needed to change my thinking/approach to cutting. Yeah some of the steps are different, but it’s not that big a deal.

Not that you implied it was, but I guess I was just surprised, especially after reading about all the issues people were running into and this whole paradigm shift thing.

[Ben Holmes]

You might also want to try the Position tool – the P key. This allows you to drag material wherever you want without snapping material out of the way.

Ben

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/community/communitydetails/?UserStoryId=8757

[Sandeep Sajeev]

P also lets you Trim without Rippling the Timeline.

[Jeremy Garchow]

You can even press and hold the P key (if the arrow tool is selected) to temporarily turn off ripple.

The same is true in reverse. If you’d like to shut off ripple for the most part, always use position tool, and hold the ‘a’ button to temporarily turn on ripple.

[T. Payton]

Edit a documentary in FCP. Then you will LOVE the magnetic timeline.

I hear you however. It takes some getting used to. But I have been teaching some of my staff (not editors) Final Cut and the magnetic timeline make perfect sense to them. For those of us who have used other NLEs, we have to unlearn some old workarounds (unlearning is very difficult, at least for me). But once you “get it” it is a thing of beauty and you’re timelines will be very clean and efficient. Sure there are workarounds, but there are workarounds for every app and workflow.

I did a :30 spot last month and here is what my timeline looked like when I started. I was very much in a legacy FCP state of mind. Notice all the stacked layers of video:

Then I came to my senses and make the timeline more “FCP X Correct” utilizing the magnetic timeline and this is what the final spot looked like with the myriad of SFX elements.

Because I was taking advantage of the magnetic timeline when the client asked for an early shot to be a few frames longer, it was very easy to accommodate, and other last minute changes were very simple.

The Magnetic Timeline is really very well through out, but is NOT the timeline you know in a typical NLE. But I encourage you to take the time to unlearn and learn FCP X and I think you will see the benefits.

——
T. Payton
OneCreative, Albuquerque

[Tony West]

[T. Payton] “the client asked for an early shot to be a few frames longer, it was very easy to accommodate, and other last minute changes were very simple.
“

That’s what I really love about it T.

When the client wants a change it seems totally set up for that.

I used to dread changes, but with this TL it’s so quick.

[Ben Taylor]

Thanks for the excellent tip with the P key!

I understand that the magnetic timeline can be very beneficial, but I always find my timeline to be somewhat messier in comparison to using a program such as Adobe Premiere or FCP7?

[Steve Connor]

[Ben Taylor] “I understand that the magnetic timeline can be very beneficial, but I always find my timeline to be somewhat messier in comparison to using a program such as Adobe Premiere or FCP7?”

Not when you know how it works! It does take a while to get used to the logic of it, but when you do it becomes second nature.

Steve Connor
“The ripple command is just a workaround for not having a magnetic timelinel”
Adrenalin Television

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Ben Taylor] “I understand that the magnetic timeline can be very beneficial, but I always find my timeline to be somewhat messier in comparison to using a program such as Adobe Premiere or FCP7?”

Messier in what way?

[T. Payton]

I can understand “messy” but in this way:

In final cut pro legacy (or other NLEs) you put clips wherever you want, in whatever track, and they stay there and don’t move. However, there is no relationship between clips. The timeline doesn’t distinguish between SFX or B-Roll or whatever. All clips are independent. They are all independent (with the exception of an audio track linked to a video clip). Therefore relationships were kept in the head of the editor.

FCP X is all about relationships. Relationships between clips are now the norm and are a part of the timeline itself. The timeline “knows” what is B-Roll over an interview and knows what is a SFX on a car crash because of the relationships.

FCP X gets messy when we want to take back all the relationships in our head. Then we are fighting with the magnetic timeline rather than it doing our biding.

I think you’ll find that if you take the time to learn how to wield the magnetic timeline you’ll find that it is brilliantly thought out, efficient and allows your work to be done much faster than a track based NLE. But really it is a matter of preference, I can totally understand why someone wouldn’t like it and think it is messy. But I find that it changes the editing process and frees your mind to focus on the edits themselves rather than how to wield all those clips. I feel that it makes me a better editor because of it.

Now there are times when the relationships can drive you crazy (specifically in doing multilayer composting ) in the timeline and you want to just place items. You do need a workaround for this such as secondary story lines and other tricks, but those workarounds are nothing compared to the typical workarounds that are needed in track based NLEs.

You might have seen this videos before from Apple, but you might want to give them another viewing. They are quick and a little marketing heavy but they are very true.

https://support.apple.com/kb/VI288

https://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/includes/videos/overview-faster.html#video-faster

——
T. Payton
OneCreative, Albuquerque