Workflow question

[Tony Sarafoski]

Jim, it’s not the intended way apple want you to use FCPX, but I certainly feel your pain, especially when wanting to cut long winded clips. We can only hope more options are implemented in future versions, but I wouldn’t go holding my breath.

I’m guessing you come from legacy and used this workflow a lot. What Apple now want you to do is use the event browser to mark favorites or keywords, and leave the timeline (project) for the story building.

I totally understand what your trying to do, as I find myself at times using the timeline to skim, blade & then reveal that clip in my event, so that i can mark it as a favorite, or add a keyword.

it’s taken me three versions before I started forcing myself to use FCPX the intended way. Though there has been advantages, there are times I have that little gremlin saying “I want my sequences back”.

[Jim Waterwash]

Thanks for your response.

So what IS the intended workflow in the situation where you have created 6 hours of time-coded footage that needs to be extracted via time-code instructions? I’m all for changing my ways and even embracing new workflows with clients. Having the client buy and use FCPX is out though.

On a related note, I bought CutNotes for the iPad in hopes that the client could use their iPad to document their desired edits. The benefit is that the list of timecodes can be imported into FCPX via a duplicate project with the markers already present. But then I have the same situation, where I have easy access to the time codes, but no easy way to turn those marker titles into sub-clip titles within the event browser.

[Eric Santiago]

Im not sure if this is what your trying to do but are you wanting to place keywords on Event Browser clips? Doesnt this create Keyword events within the parent Event?
I use that all the time as a faux sub-clip.
Works like a charm 🙂
And yes you can make as many keywords as you wish.

[Jim Waterwash]

Yes, it’s my understanding that the intended way to reuse and organize clips in FCPX is by key-wording them in the event browser. Doing so does create sub-clips in the event browser.

My questions revolve around the easiest ways to select and keyword regions, when most of the edit info is coming from within a project timeline (eg. descriptive CutNote markers).

The issue here is that I am bound to working from the project timeline (vs the event browser), because it is there that the client referenced time-code exists.

It appears that FCPX is geared to more easily have the client use the event browser to make their own selects. Unfortunately, it’s not easier to do from within the Event browser and expecting a client to do it this way is unrealistic for me. (Besides the fact that Events cannot be collaboratively shared across computers, but I won’t go there)

I’m just making sure I’m not missing some obvious workflow that should exist for such a common scenario.

I’m starting to think there is no easier workflow. In that case, I am also suggesting that apple allow a region to be selected within the project timeline, and allow that region to be “Reveal in Event Browser”

[Michael Garber]

Hey Jim,

Couple questions – how long is the timecoded clip you are trying to edit? Is the timecode that you are trying to use the same code that is on the clip? I can think of some workarounds for both of these scenarios, but just need some confirmation on your issue, first.

Agreed that very long clips are difficult to log and skim in the event browser – it really seems to be meant for shorter clips. But, it’s not impossible and, again, there are some small workarounds to get things a little easier to scrub around. It is, for now, the only way you can keyword.

One quick note – The way to get subclips to work (in the FCPX sense, you’re really just filtering out things): add a keyword and then favorite that keyword. Next, in the event browser, choose Favorites (^F). The browser will show your clips as “subclips” in your keyword collections or main event. If you don’t add the favorite, then the entire clip shows up in the collection where you can find all the keywords. Note that if you rename the filtered out favorites, any changes you make to the clip name occurs to all the filtered subclips, since they are really just pointing to one master clip.

Sometimes, you can forget that you have a filter on and it can get in the way. In this case, I spend the time creating smart collections. For the smart collection, my properties would be to add the keyword and then select the “favorites” state as your search selections. This will do the same thing as above (filter out all but favorites) but you don’t have to have favorites selected from the filter menu.

That was a mouthful, well, a fingerful, I guess!

Good luck with your project.

Michael Garber
5th Wall – a post production company

[Jim Waterwash]

Thanks Michael.

Yes my 4 clips are each over an hour long and it is very difficult to navigate long clips within the event browser.

I’ll try out your method of smart collections. I’ve always been a bit confused by the overlap in the role that Favorites play. Nice to see another use for them.

[Michael Garber]

Since you have timecodes logged already, you can also just go to those timecodes by hitting ^P and then typing in the TC. Set your in. ^P enter your out. Set your out. Add Keyword, Add Favorite.

If skimming is difficult given the length, and depending on the size of your monitor, here are some tips:

You could break the clip into smaller sections using keywords and favorites (1st Quarter, 2nd, etc..). Then add keywords to the broken down clips (via selecting favorites per my suggestion before). It’s been discussed here before, that we tend to log in FCPX in passes. This seems like a good time to work in that manner.

When in filmstrip view, you can zoom in and out just like you can on the timeline. It’s a little funky, because the clips start breaking up by lines when it hits the edge of the window.

I would probably prefer to log in List View, since you can see and edit your keywords/notes in a more logical, timecode-based manner. In this situation, you want to maximize the horizontal space, since the clip is on top of the list. I use a second monitor at work which helps immensely. On my laptop at home, I make sure that the info tab (cmd-4) is turned off. My vid is set to the minimum size I can endure. And I hide the event library (eeks out juuuust a little more horizontal space).

Note, once you set your Keyword in and out point and you log it, you are pretty much set with that range. I’ve had crashes when trying to edit the in and out points after the fact. If you have to edit them, your best bet is to create a new keyword range, copy paste, delete old one.

I find myself constantly turning on and off modes and windows in X. Just part of the ‘flow.

Michael Garber
5th Wall – a post production company

[Jim Waterwash]

One thing that I’ve noticed in managing my key-worded clips, is that the only way that I can see the listing of my keywords sorted by time-code, is if I select the parent clip within the event browser, using “All clips”.

That in itself, might often disable the use of your technique of smart collections. I’ve run into this many times already, where I am forced to use numbers at the beginning of a keyword, just to retain the ordering. I just simply trying to manage pointers into the video of each line of a poem.

[Michael Garber]

Just tried it using the favorites method to subclip and it sorts by tc in point no problem.

I know of people adding 1., 2. etc… to keywords to keep them in a specific order in the event browser. I see no problem with this method if it helps keep things visually organized for you.

Every thing I work on in X tends to have a slightly different workflow. So what works for me on one project might not work as well on the next.

And, as always, if you are hitting a wall with a certain feature in X or a bug, you should write them feedback. They are listening.

Michael Garber
5th Wall – a post production company

[Tony Sarafoski]

Jim, I recently tackled a similar project where the client requested to view the raw footage with timecode. This is what I did.

I started by adding all the raw footage in a project, in the primary storyline, then connected a timecode generator above.

I then exported my project timeline as a private YouTube clip using the built in YouTube uploader. I also found choosing SD as the output was more than sufficient and had no complains from the client.

After receiving their timecodes, I then used Michaels method (Control+P) to type in the timecodes, and used Command+B to blade my in/out points.

The only downside to this method is you then need to select the clip, press Shift+F, and F to add a favorite, or Shift+F, and Command+K to add a keyword, which in return marks your selects i your event.

As a test I tried placing the clips from the project in a compound in the event, however I found a bug.

Here what I did:

Selected all the clips + connected timecode from the project, and added the in a compound in the event. This then allows you to use the event browser to skim, mark in/outs, add favorites or keyword, but then when you append a favorite to your timeline, the timecode get overwritten.

Must be a bug?