Bill Davis
Forum Replies Created
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[Oliver Peters] “Since I can’t access those source-applied color board settings in the timeline inspector, then I’m forced to add a grade on top, which might not be the best approach. I”
But that’s precisely why I like the X approach.
The base grade arrives with the clip. Anything I add in my storyline just effects that unique use. So starting from “problems corrected” seems smart.
If the base grade wasn’t smart – or I just want to “grade now from ground zero” – it’s simple to strip the upstream grade off and work from scratch.
It’s conceptual, I suppose. I think of Browser grading as “correcting to normal” and storyline grading as the stage where shot matching, looks application and creative grades happen. Two different things.
But whatever. As long as the editor can get where they want to go – It’s all good.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
Ah, Watchtower.
Probably was the inspiration. The similarities are certainly there.
Leonardo Dalessandri did some nice chats on FCP.co around the release.
FCP X year 3 iirc?
Back when huge swaths of the industry considered it “amature” software that nobody serious would ever think to use.
How far we’ve come…????
????
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Oliver Peters] “Unfortunately, when you cut that clip into your sequence, you don’t see the clip-based correction within the color board any longer, since it’s a separate correction from sequence-based correction.”
Not quite sure why’d you’d want to. .
Fixing issues to get to “correct” is the goal. Correct lands, and you do your timeline grading from there.
It’s consistent with the X convention of metadata always flowing downstream and gaining adjustments along the way.
You can open the clip again and re-adjust it if necessary – and you can strip the “flowed in”correction entirely if desired and start over if you really want to.
Makes sense to me.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
Yep, but it’s been re-named “Open Clip” in the latest version of X.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Oliver Peters] “Bill, would you describe a bit more what you are doing here? “
Sure.
Let’s say I have 5 “start and stop” shots from Camera A – all shot sequentially at one time and place.
On import, I’d take shot 1, and in the browser, invoke “Open Clip.”
Typically I’d take a glance at the audio tracks first to see what was recorded. If I see unused tracks, I’d kill them right there. Hopefully they’re fine and I can ignore audio till later!)
Next I’d open the scopes and color board and do my quick base grade. Mostly just exposure – pushing the highlight spikes to just under 100 – lifting the mids a touch, and getting the blacks near zero. Really just balancing things. If something obvious is wrong, I might crop to a face and Vectorscope a skin tone correction, but I just want a pleasing picture without major flaws.
Finally. I’ll take a second to set the clip’s Roles.
With that exemplar clip done, I’ll select the clip and Command C to copy the changes.
Then batch paste them onto the other clips. (This presumes it’s not exterior shifting light, obviously. More something like interior interviews.)
My “Reject pass” follows this, so from that point on, my expectation is that all the footage from that shoot will be useable in all my projects without additional adjustment needed.
That’s my typical “post field shoot” process.
Hope that helps.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
It’s more that Tom was presenting (and live editing) essentially two projects in 20 min so he didn’t have more time than to brush across lots of things.
If you search out his IBC demo from 2015 or 2016 (can’t remember which) he delves into some of his keyword strategies in more depth.
For example on his auto spots, he aggregates stuff like the overcranked camera shots via smart collections, etc.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Andrew Kimery] “Maybe there are other examples that you didn’t mention, but in the above example it sounds like you made adjustments to the clips prior to editing them into a timeline and that’s something that’s been doable in NLEs for a long time. Or am I misunderstanding the example you gave?”
Let me be clearer.
Adjusting the color of my clips – means that when I TAG them for re-call, that TAGGED range arrives with that correction. The correction is “general” to all NLEs – but how it integrates WITH range-based tagging to enhance the FCP X workflow is specific.
I both “correct” AND “trim” far less in the final – because I’ve often done BOTH simultaneously upstream.
And that saves me time.
Does that help?
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Walter Soyka] “It sounds like most folks are putting a close-to-final level of polish on WIPs. Do you find this leads to a lot of re-work? Is there any work you actually save for that mythical state of Picture Lock?”
Using X has very much changed my approach to the entire video production process.
I’ve become much more “front loaded” in creating my videos. When I have time – I typically spend a bunch more of it in prep than I ever did before.
I really enjoy that – since it seem far more “strategic” than my prep used to. The nature of the project, determines the nature of the preparation I have to do. But if I do it well – what I’ll call my “asset polish” is largely done – so I don’t have to waste as much time on polishing assets in the edit. I expect all my import assets to be “good” already when they arrive. That saves me time.
In the context of this specific discussion, it also now seems far, far EASIER for me to version and revise work.
So “polish” isn’t something I do as much to the many client versions I’m typically required to spit out.
The “asset polish” was already done upstream.Timeline polish has also changed for me a good bit.
Because of the magnetic timeline. I tend to build my X timeline a good bit more on a Y and Z axis as the traditional X axis.Let me explain that.
If X is your time flow downstream – think of the Y axis as my vertical build. Magnetism makes those Y constructions persistent – so once I build a vertical stack – I can move it so easily that versioning seems to me to have less friction. A snapshot, then move a block, trim a block, re-time the elements of the block – all easy and quick.
The Z axis is my Auditions. more than one optional candidates to fill a position in my program.
Because of how X works – “depth” choices on my storyline are possible. So I get to play with multiple clip options in a single storyline.All this means I feel really free and efficient in versioning and optional edits – so when nearing the “end game” of presentation to clients. I can “play” more and feel like I’m “working” less.
Just me, I’m sure.
And I totally agree with “picture lock” needing to be in quotes. I’m not actually sure what “picture lock” is anymore. I totally get it for a movie workflow where departments critically need to “Lock” a project so other stakeholders can do their work and know things aren’t changing anymore. But nothing I do remotely resembles that. Revisions, versions, alts, and even narration/script changes happen literally up to the moment the CEO or primary stakeholder shows the work. And often AFTER the work is sent out to the troops – changes and corrections and tweaks typically continue.
Preliminary financial estimates get replaced with audited finals. One of the three departments featured in the video want “their” piece recut into a standalone. The last :03 of the commercials need rotating tags against 100 stores…
The new normal.
YMMV.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Walter Soyka] “Source-side correction exists across all four “A” NLEs. The “B” NLE has somewhat similar functionality, too, via groups.”
I’m sure they do.
Stripiing timecode onto analog tapes was also a form of “source side correction” – so I know the concept has been around forever.
I’ve watched more and more of the Apple style of this showing up in the Adobe tools over the past six years.
And not surprised B is writing them into Resolve.
It’s been quite nice to have such robust ones for so long in X.
Which is WHY I enjoy them so much.
In some cases, enhanced source side preparation was something I could use instantly. In other cases (range based keyword tagging a prime example among others) it’s taken my years to evolve an efficient strategy for applying them to the many conditional uses I seem to face more and more.
And so it goes.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Jeremy Garchow] “I believe we are now talking about totally separate things. You want this forum to be FCPX Evangelism & Praise.
OK – got it.
You do NOT want this forum to be about FCP X Evangelism and Praise.
And I am the central problem.
Duly noted.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery.