Writting Plugins

[Steven Gonzales]

Maybe you can write them yourself:

https://www.fxscriptreference.org/

[Andy Mees]

how easy or difficult do you want it to be?

although it relies on installation of a third party product for deployment of your plugin you can build a plugin without ever touching a line of code using Noise Industries amazing Fx Factory
https://www.noiseindustries.com/products/fxfactory/index.html

the same principles apply with CHV’s QC Integration FX
https://www.chv-plugins.com/cms/FxPlug/QC-Integration/QC-Integration.php

along the same lines, if you need or want to roll your own effect but don’t need access to controls to interact with the effect directly in FCP, then FCP can read Quartz Composer (qtx) files natively … you just drop them in your timeline. check out this video tutorial at dvcreators.net
https://www.dvcreators.net/rayz-o-lite/

moving on, if you have some understanding of coding principles then the basic built-in FCP plugin language is called FxScript, and its relatively easy to learn:

just select one of the plugs from the existing built-in plugins, right (ctrl) click on it and choose “Open in Editor” .. the plugin script will open in an FxBuilder window. poke around with the existing code, check out the FxBuilder menu options, download the Using FxScript documentation https://developer.apple.com/documentation/AppleApplications/Conceptual/Using_FXScript/UsingFXScript.pdf, check out Joe Maller’s various websites especially this first one https://www.joemaller.com/fcp/fxscript_reference.shtml print out every page and eat every word of it, then check this one when you get goinghttps://www.fxscriptreference.org/ … you’ll be turning out plugs in no time.

and last, but far from least, if you’re planning on hiring someone then you need someone who knows a bit about Cocoa, Objective-C, OpenGL and the like ( or is willing to learn )
install Apple’s (free) developer tools (on your OS X installer disc) then download and install the FxPlug SDK from the developer website … with that you’re fully suited an booted to give it some serious XCode action 🙂

hope it helps
Andy

[Paul Escandon]

Andy,

This goes down as the greatest post of the year so far. Okay, it’s early January so you might not think that means that much. But you just linked so many cool things some of which I had no idea one could do (that Quartz Composer light rays tutorial is wicked).

Thanks!

* * *
Paul Escandon
Producer | Director | Editor
Apple Certified Trainer – Final Cut Pro
Oremus Productions
http://www.oremusproductions.com
– –
Adjunct Professor of Media
John Paul the Great Catholic University

[Pete]

OH MY GOD ANDY!, freakig fantastic post man, WOW, i really appreciate it man, thanks soooooo much, great resources, and finally someone has broken it down for me, PERFECT!

You have no idea man how helpful this post has been, thanks man, thanks sooooooo much.

I’m gona give it a stab myself, but if i can’t, at least now i know what kind of programmer can understand how to code my idea, thanks again.