What’s the best way to cut a music video using Final Cut Pro X?

[Steve Connor]

I have been using a black slug in the primary timeline the same length of the track, with the music track connected to it. Then you don’t need to use the P tool as all the edits above aren’t “magnetic”

If you download 10.01 update this allows you to put transitions on connected clips.

Not sure why you can’t copy your clips though.

“My Name is Steve and I’m an FCPX user”

[Simon Ubsdell]

[Kirk Zeel] “Does it make sense to put the audio track in the primary timeline since this is the only timeline that clips may be attached to?”

Yes, it makes a lot of sense and many users have had success with this method for music promos. Any other way is I think “working against the grain” of how FCPX functions – you can do it but it’s not as neat.

Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com

[Mark Morache]

I don’t produce music videos, but I try to do the same thing with narration so I think it applies.

One logic says “obey the paradigm! The primary track is the spine. It’s the content that drives the edit. Put your music there.”

Another logic says “the primary storyline is where the easiest editing happens, why put something in it that doesn’t need editing, like a finished music production?”

Personally, I like to edit my video in the primary storyline. I feel like most of the tools and functionality are geared for this.

I would attach my music to the first clip, or a bit of gap or black before the first clip, and do my primary editing in the primary storyline, being very very very careful not to lose my sync. I use a lot of replace edits, and the D, Q and P keys. I’ve also been using the lift from and overwrite to primary storyline too. Stay away from the W key, and you should be fine. You may want to place matching markers on your music and video clips occasionally to indicate that things are still in sync, and help you get back to sync if something goes wrong.

But ultimately, you need to do what works best for you.

Good luck.

———
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

[Matthew Schickler]

If FCPX allowed a hierarchy of connected clips, putting the music in the primary storyline would make perfect sense to me. Then you could add a second storyline attached to the music and tertiary story lines for titles, cut-aways, etc. that follow the video in the secondary storyline. As it stands now, I’m with Mark. I prefer not to waste the primary storyline on something that doesn’t need to be edited.

The approach I have used is to connect the music to my first clip in the primary storyline. In the rare event that you need to put that first clip somewhere else, you can use the “lift from primary storyline” function to convert the first clip to a connected clip and replace it with a gap. The music will remain connected to the gap. Then you can position a new connected clip over the gap and use the “Overwrite to primary storyline option” to push the connected clip onto the primary storyline, which replaces the gap and connects the music to the new first clip.

[Simon Ubsdell]

[Matthew Schickler] ” I prefer not to waste the primary storyline on something that doesn’t need to be edited.”

What’s hard about not editing in the primary storyline? I’m not sure I get it.

What I personally really like about Connected Clips for this kind of job is how incredibly fast and easy it is to shuffle them around, which isn’t at all the case when you’re editing in the primary storyline and you’re faffing around with the Position key and whatever.

If you want to be editing in a storyline as against using Connected Clips you could always edit in a secondary storyline (or several) with just the same result as if you were in the primary – all the editing functions being identical (although there is some hassle with having to use the Range selector). Note also that as of yesterday’s update you can now apply transitions to Connected clips which means it’s even easier to work that way.

But I think this will always be one of those situations where the “right way” of doing it will be obvious to you and make no sense to anybody else – it’s always been that way with NLE’s of whatever make in my experience!

Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com

[Kirk Zeel]

Thanks for all of the perspectives everyone.

Simon, I think I will take your suggestion to start since I will be having hundreds and hundreds of tiny clips that must be synced. Connecting them to the main storyline makes the most sense to me right now.

The only problem is getting FCP X to cooperate. What steps would I need to take to:

1) get my rough cut out of the primary timeline
2) put the music track in the primary timeline
3) attach all clips to the primary timeline

I have tried Lifting from Primary Storyline but I am not able to attach the music track into the now vacant slot under the rough cut. It slides away which tells me that FCP’s logic doesn’t want it there for some reason.

I also tried setting up a new project. I added music to the primary timeline and attempted to past the rough cut on top. No such luck again.

Remember, my ultimate goal is to be able to attach every clip to the primary storyline.

Thanks again!

[Simon Ubsdell]

[Kirk Zeel] “What steps would I need to take to:

1) get my rough cut out of the primary timeline
2) put the music track in the primary timeline
3) attach all clips to the primary timeline”

Since you’ve started where you’ve started, which makes it a bit more complicated, here’s what I’d do.

Select everything in your primary storyline and Lift it from the Primary Storyline (Cmd/Opt/Up Arrow).

In the Timeline, go to the first frame of your Connected Clip containing the music. Use Shift/F to match frame to the exact source frame of the clip in the Browser. (Make sure you are in Filmstrip view not List View for this to work properly). Use D to Overwrite the music to the Primary Storyline.

All your video edits will now be connected to the music track in the Primary Storyline.

Delete the old Connected Clip containing the music (having first checked that the new music track is perfectly in sync with it, of course!).

Do make sure you’ve got the 10.0.1 update so you can take advantage of being able to add transitions to Connected Clips.

Hope that works out for you – don’t shoot me if you don’t end up liking that way of working. As I say, it’s a personal choice and you could well find it doesn’t suit you.

Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com

[Mark Morache]

It’s even easier than that.
Once you lift from the primary storyline, just use the position tool to drag the music to the primary storyline, and everything should now be connected to it.

The trick is keeping the clip in the same position horizontally.

And the magic of adding transitions to connected clips isn’t really magic at all. Adding a transition to the connected clip promotes the clips to a secondary storyline. All it does is save you a keystroke.

Have fun.

———
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

[Simon Ubsdell]

[Mark Morache] “It’s even easier than that.
Once you lift from the primary storyline, just use the position tool to drag the music to the primary storyline, and everything should now be connected to it.”

You’re absolutely right, of course. That occurred to me as soon as I’d posted and turned off the laptop!

I think it’s because I have trained myself to think of the Position tool as the work of the devil, representing as it does an addiction to the old way of doing things that Apple don’t want us to cling on to 😉 So much so that I forget to use it when it’s the easiest way of doing things!

Incidentally, in this instance constraining the movement so it only happens vertically is achieved by holding down the Shift key.

[Mark Morache] “And the magic of adding transitions to connected clips isn’t really magic at all”

It’s also in my view a slightly imperfect solution – if for example you end up with two (or more) clips inside your storyline which dissolve into each other and then fade at either end and you subsequently want to separate them from each other, you have to break apart the storyline thereby losing all transitions not just the one you automatically made between the two clips.

PS. thanks for sharing your rollercoaster experiences of working with FCPX in real world situations – your reports from the frontline are really helpful and illuminating, both the bad experiences and the good!

Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com

[Mark Morache]

[Simon Ubsdell] “I think it’s because I have trained myself to think of the Position tool as the work of the devil, representing as it does an addiction to the old way of doing things that Apple don’t want us to cling on to 😉 So much so that I forget to use it when it’s the easiest way of doing things!”

I found myself thinking the same way.

The programmers didn’t just put it there to appease us. It’s necessary.

I figure that any keyboard shortcut with a single unmodified letter is an important primary function, so I move them up in my tool bag. I’ve also been using D a lot more. (three point editing isn’t the work of the devil either)

I’m pushing myself to use F and U more, and even [].

———
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