the event browser

[David Lawrence]

[Andrew Richards] “A two-up view is only functionally necessary when you are comparing two abutting clips, the out frame of the first and the in frame of the second. “

This assumes you’ve already selected your source and have cut it into the timeline. But what if you’re looking for what source to use?

For example, when I search for B-Roll, I always want to see what I’m cutting into AND what I’m cutting from at the same time. I can find the perfect cut point just by looking at both as I select from source. It’s incredibly efficient. There’s no way to do that now. The new layout is not an improvement.

[Andrew Richards]

Apple’s own product page!

Scroll down to “Powerful Media Organization”. You can even see the screen grabs of each monitor if you click on them! I still can’t make out what that two-up is doing there. I need to go hook up a second display and try and replicate it…

Best,
Andy

[Aindreas Gallagher]

yes, there are quit a few examples like that I can come up with – apple cut too deep into the bone getting rid of the source monitor. they threw out something you’re not supposed to throw out.

http://www.ogallchoir.net
promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics

[David Lawrence]

[Aindreas Gallagher] “(and seriously why, when I delete a clip – does it do a dissolve off? Its better to delete than to fade away apple. Give us a stripped chrome option too. that should be a priority – like graphite in OSX – this thing needs not to be quite so GUI sluggish on recent hardware and anyway The GUI is just too much. there are bloody animations everywhere I look for gods sake. Just turn off the glows, the dissolves, and the bevels, you can hide the option in a preference we need to use a shift key to access.)”

Spot on. Why does this modern application with all this horsepower feel more sluggish than FCP4 HD on OS9 on a PowerPC?

Why when I arrow-key to next edit do I need to see the time indicator animate to the next edit? Why the chrome and curved corners on objects? Details like this give the application an overall feeling of sluggishness and imprecision.

And keep in mind that all these details are intentional. Someone needed to write the code to make the time indictor do that animated swoosh. Who were they coding that for? The answer to that question tells you everything you need to know about Apple’s priorities and who this application is designed for.

[Aindreas Gallagher]

perfect – I am going to take that image into a court of law and demand that apple make it corporeal.

[edit]

I found this one at the bottom of the tech specs page.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3421180/grassy%20knoll.jpg

boom.

http://www.ogallchoir.net
promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics

[Andrew Richards]

[David Lawrence] “This assumes you’ve already selected your source and have cut it into the timeline. But what if you’re looking for what source to use?

For example, when I search for B-Roll, I always want to see what I’m cutting into AND what I’m cutting from at the same time. I can find the perfect cut point just by looking at both as I select from source. It’s incredibly efficient. There’s no way to do that now. The new layout is not an improvement.”

That is exactly what FCPX is assuming. FCPX is designed to fine tune your edit in the timeline, not to get it frame-perfect right out of the bin. You still have access to a two-up viewer, but it is only active when you are manipulating an edit in the timeline.

That cuts against the grain of how you like to work, but that is how FCPX was designed to be used. You can rightly argue that your way is akin to the old discipline necessary for an edit when the editor was physically cutting celluloid, but the flexibility of non-destructive non-linear editing permits an alternative method that Apple is clearly embracing.

We could debate “sloppy” vs “flexible” as the way to describe playing with an edit in the timeline rather than getting it just so prior to committing an edit to the timeline, but Apple has designed the whole GUI around the idea of editing in the timeline, so they biased the design decisions accordingly.

Best,
Andy

[Aindreas Gallagher]

yeah I know – this thing has “GO away, I’m not for YOU” in big red neon, but I figure one should at least indicate the stuff that is particularly off for one, and the responsiveness of that jam laden GUI is really not on. For a company obsessed with the functionality of the object, and ruthlessness in paring to meet function, they appear to have no problem making a black forest gateaux with fairy lights out of, and then squeezing two tubs of chocolate sauce onto, what is meant to be lean responsive software. – (long, lonnnnnnng sigh)

http://www.ogallchoir.net
promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics

[Andrew Richards]

I will agree that they need to be more liberal with the application of their two-up viewer, but I don’t think that requires a dedicated Viewer a la FCP7.

Best,
Andy

[Andrew Richards]

Nice chawp.

Your filename brings to mind that scene in “JFK” with the Exacto knife and the composite photo of Oswald and another man holding the rifle…

Best,
Andy

[Aindreas Gallagher]

man, but god I love getting my intended edit selection just so – It’s really important for me.
You’re right tho – they are shifting emphasis to the timeline – and the inline tools do rock rather a bit. But here’s my second problem – having kind of slopped my stuff on to the timeline, I don’t actually feel precise there either – that timeline is not sharp. I feel like it’s sludgy, it feels like I’m moving psd illustrations around with layer effects on everything – this goes to my chrome gripe – the degree of chrome on the application is inappropriate in my mind. Apple have been going completely insane with chrome lately, and that timeline just doesn’t feel like its operating correctly to me. there’s too much gunk on it.

http://www.ogallchoir.net
promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics