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The interface is still annoying
I’ve been banging on this beast since the beginning and in the last 1/2 year done most of my client-involved sessions with it. But the more I work with it, the more I find that the way things have to be manipulated in the timeline are increasingly annoying to me. Pure and simple, the software is designed for fast turnaround, news and simple (in editing style) broadcast work and starts to fall down when you get really complex with it.
I am in the middle of finishing up a Media Composer job started by another editor and I am struck at how much faster and easier it is to manipulate clips in the timeline in MC than it is in X. Simply because the interface is not trying to “help you”.
I realize lots of folks here will vehemently disagree, but here are my central issues:
1. Connected clips do not hold their vertical position. I’ve tried Jim’s fake track template and still run into situations where connected clips and secondary timelines pop around vertically.
2. Every UI action is accompanied with a graphic animation. It really slows things down with a complex project. I am constantly waiting on the software to catch up to what I’m doing.
3. Timeline functions are very contextual. To grab the edge of a dissolve takes very precise positioning to select between dragging the edge of the dissolve or trimming the clips. You sometimes have to readjust the clip appearance height simply to get the cursor to react correctly.
4. Mouse position is contextual, especially if you are skimming. The app frequently hangs on something and then you have to go through a few steps, like click on a few different clips to wake it up. This happens most when going between event clips and the project timeline.
5. The app chews up available RAM far too quickly and start to create anomalies, like corrupt renders. You frequently have to close and relaunch to flush the RAM out.
6. You cannot load a lot of projects into the timeline window. It seems to hold about 4 or 5 and then drops older ones. I frequently have to reload sequences from the Project Library, because they were loaded a minute ago and now they are gone. There’s no way to load up a row of tabbed sequences like you could in FCP 7 or PPro. X only holds the last few loaded.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
53 Replies
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So, you are finally exiting the debate I take it?
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[Oliver Peters] “Pure and simple, the software is designed for fast turnaround, news and simple (in editing style) broadcast work and starts to fall down when you get really complex with it.”
Well you are right about FCPX failing the more complex the edit is.
I have to really question why I still use it for professional work because, like you, I spend a lot of time waiting for it to catch up with itself and I’m sorry to say that 10.0.6 has not improved the core functionality, by that I mean reliability, of the software.
I know that every user encounters their own set of problems, or I hope for some lack of problems, dependent on the Mac set up they are using. But for me, the spinning ball, force quit, trash preferences and relaunch is very much part of my work pattern.
It always starts off well and the Event Library side of things is pretty smart. But I have learnt to create my work in short sections and then bring it together towards the end because as soon as one gets a couple of minutes into an edit everything gets very awkward and slow. ( and I’ve got 22Gbs ram)
I think that 10.0.6 is 2 steps forward and one step back. To have to relearn core editing activities after almost a year and a half is really annoying.
I really don’t see the advantage of the new import and export windows, If it ain’t broke why fix it, and where has the share monitor gone? The only way to see if an export has finished is to watch my CPU activity monitor.
And for me whilst having an Event Viewer can be useful for certain jobs I keep on trying to use the skimmer within it?
For me the most useful addition is the copy clip attributes feature.
What I’m waiting for is the new MacPro. I’ve got the idea that that will resolve all my day to day problems with FCPX although through reading some of the posts on this forum even those with the latest MBPro machines have issues.
But when the software is working well well I think it’s superb although I would agree with you that It’s probably been designed for quick turnaround news type jobs.
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[Jeremy Garchow] “So, you are finally exiting the debate I take it?”
LOL. Not in the least. FCP X makes a great “plug in”. 😉
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
[Mark Dobson] “I really don’t see the advantage of the new import and export windows, If it ain’t broke why fix it, and where has the share monitor gone? The only way to see if an export has finished is to watch my CPU activity monitor.”
I guess I just see things differently.
If you import from a large variety of cameras that aren’t mov based, the new import window is very welcome. This way you don’t have to decide or remember if I need to import from an “archive” or just a straight import, or what. The unified interface is good.
The new export options I also find welcome. The bundle options are great as are the custom additions along with range exporting and being able to export right from a Project instead of having to backup to the Library. It’s much easier, faster, more professional, and logical. The export progress is now unified in the background render HUD (just click the percentage dial next to the tc window in the middle of the interface).
As far as performance, there’s no question at least in my optimistic mind, that Apple is building an application that will need a really fast and powerful machine to run it to its potential. When you start experimenting with the background export feature and see the capabilities and possibilities, fcpx will need as many fast processors you can pack in to a suitcase to keep it running smoothly.
All that being said, the compound clip performance is much improved, the multichannel audio options are much better than previous versions, third party MXF support is working well, Red support is great, the Event viewer helps out a lot but gets out of the way when you don’t need it, there are more assignable kb shortcuts and there could be yet a few more, the flexible clip connections work well and are a welcome addition, people love the multiple persistent ranges (I don’t like them), and I find the interface animations are being paired down (although they are still some hanging around). My guess is new hardware will help here. Apple has given a target time of 2013 for a MacPro-ish type of machine, that gives them a while to polish up FCPX as my guess is that FCPX will be the Apple supplied “killer app” for whatever that new machine turns out to be.
X still needs work, but Apple seems to be working hard on it. There’s a lot of fit and finish left to complete, but the biggest outstanding interface design left that I’d like to see is more “visual organization” tools; that is, different ways to display clips in Projects and timelines in a visually organized manner, akin to what tracks provide, but keeping the fcpx flexibility and speed. A combination of Roles and the index would be really cool.
Also, I find the really unsexy things like media management and control as well as user and camera assignable metadata to be a step above some other well established NLEs, but that’s my opinion and fits my “way of thinking” I guess. FCPXML also got a lot of work, it appears, which is also a background type of feature and not necessarily something every user would see or even use, but its a professional feature.
I do find that older/updated Evers and projects have more lag. When starting new, thing seem to run better. It is still a moving target of reliability, but it’s a young application.
I wrote this on my phone, sorry for errors.
Jeremy
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I’ve heard this before, plug in to what, exactly?
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[Jeremy Garchow] “I’ve heard this before, plug in to what, exactly?”
An offhanded comment for sure. I mean in the sense that FCP X (and also Motion) is an application you might go to for some tasks. Also because of some of the flash-and-trash effects (no disrespect intended to the developers) available. Basically, you want it in your toolkit, but not the item you’d use for heavy lifting.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
So yesterday I committed to doing a job start to finish in X. I did go to After Effects for titles but other than that I stayed in FCPX the whole time. Things went alright though the Color Board is hit and miss for me. Sometimes it does just what I need and other times it just can’t deliver.
Well, I finished the spot and output a 720p approval clip and sent it off. Then I noticed a color correction that I missed (and would surely be pointed out) and re-opened the application and the project I had exported and closed just 5 minutes earlier. Lo and behold the first :03 of the spot/project/timeline were MISSING. Yep. Just cut off. Total length of the piece was now :03 shorter and the front of it was just gone.
And that’s why I can’t take this mess seriously. I don’t have time for junk like that.
So I used the edit as a rough cut and re-did the whole thing in PPro and all is good.
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[Oliver Peters] “An offhanded comment for sure. I mean in the sense that FCP X (and also Motion) is an application you might go to for some tasks. Also because of some of the flash-and-trash effects (no disrespect intended to the developers) available. Basically, you want it in your toolkit, but not the item you’d use for heavy lifting.
“Got ya. I guess that makes sense.
I think that there’s been extensive work to the “backend”, or whatever you want to call it, on fcpx.
When new reviews pop up about fcpx, people seem to herald the organizational capabilities and clown the timeline. To me, the front end is “easier” to fix, but the backend is harder to fix and get right.
So while the mechanics of editing in fcpx need the most work, the background database has a really solid start, at least in my user opinion, but its also the hardest to show exactly how much work has gone in to it.
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[Paul Neumann] “And that’s why I can’t take this mess seriously. I don’t have time for junk like that.”
You must have opened it wrong… :-p
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[Jeremy Garchow] “So while the mechanics of editing in fcpx need the most work, “
I’m not trying to be snarky here Jeremy, but stop and consider that statement in the context of this being editing software.
As you say – like a lot of people I like a lot of what is in FCPX – but the timeline is beyond problematic, and the timeline is where I do my job.
i don’t know if Apple could swallow that much intellectual humble pie, but they need to throw out that timeline.
https://vimeo.com/user1590967/videos http://www.ogallchoir.net promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics
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