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The Position Tool Does Not Disable Ripple Mode – Here’s Why
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[Jeremy Garchow] “And completely unnecessary in X. You don’t have to select the entire right side of the timeline, you simply insert space, then define it’s length. Everything else moves along with it. Easy.”
I’d have to agree about this – compared to the track tool (which was the one huge thing missing from Media Composer until very recently), inserting a gap to shift events down the timeline is a far more elegant and controllable solution than anything yet devised for this purpose.
This is where you really see the beauty (as against the hideousness) of connected clips – everything moves exactly as you woul want it to with complete precision. Every other method of approaching this task involves a lot more complicated and time-consuming finessing of the edit.
Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com -
[David Lawrence] “Agreed. but in MC, they’re basically invisible unless you decide you need to use them for something.”
Maybe it’s because my cutting days actually go back to film, but I can’t help feeling that gaps (“slug” as they used to be known!) are a useful tool, rather than something to be fought against 😉
Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com -
[David Lawrence] “Why? Because the timeline is rippling under the lifted gap. If the Position Tool automatically creates gaps when you move a clip object, why wouldn’t it also create gaps when you move a gap object? To my mind, this is inconsistent behavior.”
Kinda? FCPX is assuming that you are using the position tool to create a gap, but if you are grabbing a gap, it assumes you want to ripple timeline the length of that gap. There’s better ways to move a gap around. Copy/paste being the easiest. I would suggest to rename the position tool the gap tool, but that would undermine it’s flexibility.
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David,
Thanks for this.
To me this illustrates the limiting paradigm that FCPX is built on.
It seems to assume that a timeline is something similar to a videotape (or film strip) – ie something that is intended to be watched from beginning to end, and therefore all frames must be “accounted for” in terms of black or silence, etc.
An “open timeline” paradigm is looser. It allows that while the above (videotape or filmstrip) will be the desired result (at the end of an edit), timelines can also operate as scratchpads or work areas – ie not all frames have to be “accounted for”. (The software even helpfully just plays black and silence if you happen to press play over one of these areas bereft of media or instruction – it’s a helpful interpretation).
Interesting. Not sure why FCPX would limit timelines in such a way. (Further exemplified by the one timeline per project thinking).
Franz.
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[David Lawrence] “Notice what happens to the clips to the right of the gap. They ripple. And the clip to the immediate right of the gap gets eaten. That’s the bug.”
Interesting, but I don’t think it’s a bug, but rather an interesting anomaly. I think it was pointed out that with the Position tool, you can select a gap and move it left and right, and it will move predictably, except that moving the gap doesn’t leave a gap. It sort of makes sense. If you wanted the gap there, why would you move it?
Lifting the gap with the Position tool would make sense if you want to move the gap above the primary storyline, but that’s not logical. You can have gap in a secondary storyline to leave space between clips, but you can’t have a gap clip connected directly above another clip.
Wanting to move the gap with the position tool, to move a gap and leave gap, might be as useful as wanting to divide by zero. If you want to make new gap somewhere, it’s quite easy to do, without moving a different gap.
Is nothing actually something? If nothing was nothing, why would there be a word to describe it? Nothing must be something, and if it’s actually something, why call it nothing?
Using space for organization. Like you, I use space for organizing. In FCP7 I group things on my timeline separated by space. It’s like a clothing designer laying pieces of fabric out on a large table. They don’t need the pieces to stick together until they’re ready to sew.
I don’t mind the gap in FCX. I’m glad that I can move it around as I need to. I can extend it with a ripple trim. I can change the duration of it with a few keystrokes. I can cut it, and replace it.
What I don’t like is, well, just about everything.
I believe that tracks in FCP7 are very easy to understand. You place a clip on V2, and it will cover up anything on V1. Place a dissolve between two clips on V2, and you will get a dissolve. It doesn’t take a master’s degree in editing to understand this.
FCX however has many more options, and not in a good way. When do I connect a clip? When do I place the connected clips in a secondary storyline? When do I place my b-roll in the primary storyline by overwriting to the primary storyline? Why can’t I use composite modes in a secondary storyline? When do I nest things inside a compound clip?
To make trims in complicated, layered timeline takes some skill. It’s really not easier in FCX when you have L cuts and many layers.
It is a whole lot easier to “unpack” the layers to make the trims in FCP7, because they are all visible. If I want to trim a soundbite to remove “ums” and “ahs” I can easily remove the unwanted bits of audio and remove the space between bits. I think this takes more thinking in FCX, because the audio doesn’t live on a timeline by itself, it’s connected to other things.
I’m not sure I’m being entirely clear, but I don’t think the magnetic timeline is useful. I’ve been using it almost exclusively since June 21, and I can make my way through it alright, but it’s still awkward.
My take is that the magnetic timeline is someone’s intellectual theory about an alternative way of editing, and not really the next big thing. Now comes all the add-ons and workarounds to try to make this albatross work, when there really was nothing wrong with the original editing paradigm.
Give me the keywords, the metadata, the ability to edit native h264 files, the skimmer, the motion effects, the logic effects in the timeline, the color tools, the timeline index, the ability to filter bins by typing in a search field, and all the other cool things about FCX, but for God’s sake, give me back my tracks.
Was that clear?
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FCX. She tempts me, abuses me, beats me up, makes me feel worthless, then in the end she comes around, helps me get my work done, gives me hope and I can’t stop thinking about her.Mark Morache
Avid/Xpri/FCP7/FCX
Evening Magazine,Seattle, WA
https://fcpx.wordpress.com -
[Mark Morache] “Was that clear?”
Great post, Mark and crystal clear. I’ll answer you and everyone else after a short break. Stay tuned…
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David Lawrence
art~media~design~research
propaganda.com
publicmattersgroup.com
facebook.com/dlawrence
twitter.com/dhl -
[Jeremy Garchow] “FCPX is assuming that you are using the position tool to create a gap”
Is it assuming I want to create a gap or is it assuming I want to position whatever I’ve selected anywhere I want on the timeline? Those are two different things, right? I’m using it to position objects on the timeline. Gaps and clips are both objects so shouldn’t it treat them the same?
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David Lawrence
art~media~design~research
propaganda.com
publicmattersgroup.com
facebook.com/dlawrence
twitter.com/dhl -
[Jeremy Garchow] “You move it just a little bit, and it will ripple the timeline to the amount of the space you are trying to move. But if you move the gap completely out of the way, the timeline ripples correctly.”
So, getting back to the title of this topic, can we agree that that particular issue is settled? 😉
[Jeremy Garchow] “I think FCPX is assuming that this is a goofy way to do things, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t do it (why not just copy and paste that gap? Something you CAN”T do in FCP7, you cannot copy and place empty space. This is why I like gaps, they are way more flexible and allow much more control than space, including exactly how long that space is in time). This is an interface choice that could easily be fixed, but I’m not sure it should be if you know how to use the tool “correctly”. I think they would need to fix it to protect people from using it incorrectly, which happens, just look at clip collisions.”
I’ve done more tests and agree with your analysis. As you move a gap with the position tool, the timeline assumes you intend to remove it and immediately ripples the length of the gap. This is a dangerous behavior and should absolutely be changed. I’ll post a new video in the next day or so to clearly demonstrate why.
[Jeremy Garchow] “The position tool is not a script action, but actually is a tool of intent. “
Right, isn’t the intent to position objects in time without rippling? Why treat gap objects differently from clip objects?
[Jeremy Garchow] “Make it 24 minutes if you want to. That space will always the same distance between your work area and your sketch area until you don’t want it to be.”
Until you accidentally bump it while working with the position tool and your sketch area outside your window view disappears. 😉
[Jeremy Garchow] “I do think it forces you to think about what you’re doing, not such a bad thing.”
I don’t mind thinking, but I do like my tools to make sense.
[Jeremy Garchow] “Yeah, the position tool is essential to the tracklessness as it does override the ripple when used as intended.”
Yes, but needs to gracefully default to non-destructive behavior when used creatively.
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David Lawrence
art~media~design~research
propaganda.com
publicmattersgroup.com
facebook.com/dlawrence
twitter.com/dhl -
[David Lawrence] “So, getting back to the title of this topic, can we agree that that particular issue is settled? ;)”
Mmm. It’s a grey area. I do think that FCPX would have to protect the users from themselves. That’s entirely fine. As it stands now, the user needs to be aware of what happens when you use the position tool on a gap.
[David Lawrence] “Right, isn’t the intent to position objects in time without rippling? Why treat gap objects differently from clip objects?”
Because the position tools usually leaves gaps when working with video clips. I agree with you, the behavior should be changed to protect the innocent.
[David Lawrence] “Yes, but needs to gracefully default to non-destructive behavior when used creatively.”
That’s not the job of the position tool. That’s the job of the magnetic timeline. The position tools overwrites. It is a tool of intent. -
Regarding your video David:
What Mark said is correct. You can’t have a gap as a connected clip, and so, using the position tool on one acts precisely the same as it does when moving a regular clip horizontally in the timeline: it overwrites whatever it’s placed over. However, if you find you’ve accidentally grabbed a gap you can hold down the Option key and it will double the gap (create a duplicate) instead of overwriting your timeline.
Andy
https://www.timesavertutorials.com
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