[Andy Neil]

I would use a duplicate of the shot instead of a jpeg and mask like Michael suggested slipping the coverage shot earlier so it will cover the person you want to cover. This has the benefit of showing moving footage instead of a still because moving footage looks different from a still even if the camera is locked off and nothing is “moving” in the shot.

However, to answer your question, you can trim and crop photos in a number of ways and using the sliders is the least precise (read: worst) way to do it. The easiest is to just select the crop tool in the viewer, choose Trim (should be default) and drag the edge you’re trimming until you’re happy. Conversely, if you want to do it in inspector, scrub in the number value beside the slider, don’t use the slider at all.

Andy

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107277729326633563425/videos

[Andy Neil]

[Chris Alaimo] “Run it through compressor and have it output a file with a constant framerate?
“

That’s exactly what I would do. I know it’s an extra step, but it saves headaches all along the rest of your pipeline. You can set up a Droplet or Watch Folder (if you know how to do that) to batch convert all your footage to usable files. If you’re recording off your computer monitor, then the software you’re using is probably using the refresh rate of your monitor (60 Hz) as the frame rate and that’s why it’s not standard.

I’d set up a custom Compressor setting for Pro Res at a progressive frame rate like 30p (if it’s screen capture) and then import and work in a 30p sequence inside FCPX. If you’re not sure 30p is the right frame rate (there’s 29.97p or 60p), you can run a test on like 30 seconds to see what looks best.

Good luck,

Andy

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107277729326633563425/videos

[Andy Neil]

What is your original source media and how is it being recorded? This problem you’re having looks similar to an issue I’d seen on FCP Legacy where footage was recorded with software that didn’t lock the frame rate or else FCP was confused about the frame rate and was showing a non-standard frame rate which created all sorts of edit point issues.

In particular, I was getting it with a low cost screen capture tool and it didn’t go away until I upgraded to Screenflow.

Andy

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107277729326633563425/videos

[Andy Neil]

Hey Bon.

This can be done fairly easily as a text effect but to get it so it’s usable in different situations might take a little work. Here’s a render of the effect as I built it:

Text transition test

Here’s how I did it:

Create a new text effect project.
Pull the text layer into it’s own group. Call the group, Text Move.
Rename the text layer, Text Mask. Trim it to the length of your transition.
Clone the text layer. Rename the clone, Text Color.
Create a new group above all the other groups. Call it, BKG.
Inside BKG, create a black solid. Trim it to the same length as your text layer.
Add an image mask to the color solid and invert the mask in the inspector. Drag the Text Mask layer onto it.
Add a Move behavior to the Text Move group. Trim to the length of your transition and adjust until the text is completely covering the frame. If the text looks rasterized, change the render quality to Best.
Add a fade in/out behavior to the Text Color clone layer and adjust so the color fades away (leaving only the mask) before the transition has completed.

To get this to work with different lines of text and to be flexible, requires knowing how to rig and is much more difficult. Basically, you need to create a text effect where the transition is at the end of the effect protected by a build out mandatory marker. You need to create adjustable parameters for the Move behavior at the least.

Hope this helps.

Andy

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107277729326633563425/videos

View post on imgur.com

[Andy Neil]

So, just to be clear, only one project (sequence) is greyed out? You have other versions of this sequence that are blue and playing normally?

Is everything greyed out? Video and audio or just audio? It’s a little hard to tell from the screen shot. Also, I see a little blue in your screen shot. Are there a few clips that are visible?

OK. After trying to recreate your screenshot, it looks like you deselected the checkbox for your Dialogue role maybe? Open your Index (CMD+SHIFT+2), click on the Roles button and make sure all the roles are checked on.

Andy

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107277729326633563425/videos

[Andy Neil]

So, just to be clear, only one project (sequence) is greyed out? You have other versions of this sequence that are blue and playing normally?

Is everything greyed out? Video and audio or just audio? It’s a little hard to tell from the screen shot. Also, I see a little blue in your screen shot. Are there a few clips that are visible?

Andy

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107277729326633563425/videos

[Andy Neil]

Can you post a screenshot? And provide any more info? Like, was it playing correctly before, or this happened after a restart?

Andy

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107277729326633563425/videos

[Andy Neil]

[Neil Goodman] “which Trailer houses? “

I had a friend who said they were using it over at Trailer Park. I can’t remember the name of the 2nd place because I was just doing a tour there, but they did a lot of Disney work.

Andy

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107277729326633563425/videos

[Andy Neil]

[Oliver Peters] “Ironically the handful of X users I know fall into the older, curmudgeonly class.”

Interesting. That certainly hasn’t been my experience. But I also wasn’t suggesting that FCPX was the top choice for smaller operations. Only that it can make a lot of sense for those companies that don’t want to rent seats at $50 a pop. I see a lot of premiere in smaller places too. It gained a lot of ground in H-wood in the space vacated by FCP7 once people moved on from it (some places are still clinging to FCP7).

The places I know of that currently use FCPX are: small to med sized post houses, 2 trailer houses, facilities that specialize in studio commercials, EPKs and such.

I wonder if the young editors you work with aren’t interested in FCPX because they don’t see it as a space they can advance in? I mean, I learned FCP and Media 100 in school back in the day, and I was VERY keen to learn Avid when I was starting out. Premiere Pro (another upstart) wouldn’t have interested me because I knew Avid was king.

Andy

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107277729326633563425/videos

[Andy Neil]

[Simon Ubsdell] “But can we really, at this very late stage, attribute all the blame exclusively to intransigent editors who refuse to see the light?
“

This is the same group of people that broke out the Holy Hand Grenade when Avid added the smart tool, a relatively minor UI adjustment.

Andy

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107277729326633563425/videos