[Craig Alan]

Solutions and products built to Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 specifications will work with Thunderbolt 3 via an adapter.

https://thunderbolttechnology.net/blog/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-does-it-all

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Canon 5D Mark III/70D, Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV40, Sony Z7U/VX2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; FCP X write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

Yes if you’re an upper percentage student it is possible.

I don’t think that stressing and cramming for a test is the best way to learn. You need to develop a workflow using the different functions.

When you really start to master a tool, it becomes an extension of your mind. It becomes fluid.

I think the exam should be an actual edit. Here’s your media. Ingest what you think you’ll need to tell your story. Make sure to use media that will allow u to use a defined set of FC operations. Set up your library/event/project.

Organize the browser. Edit using operations on the list. Finally export. Doing not test questions.

Then I could see it being worth the kind of prices they are charging. The instructors should be helping people when they get stuck not coaching them to read the chapters and feeding them the steps that are clearly presented in the book.

If you know you are a slow learner then go through the book first. The book should be augmented with video clips showing the operations. That’s all the instructors really do. They demo a bit and then talk you through the steps in the book. Fall behind feel frustrated. Know it already. Feel bored.

I think you should pass a test to get into the class. Again doing not testing. Show me how to do these three kinds of edits. Show me how to add a keyword. Show me how to add gain. Show me how to adjust opacity etc.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Canon 5D Mark III/70D, Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV40, Sony Z7U/VX2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; FCP X write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

They say it will support 2 4K monitors and fast transfer of data. Will it also have speed advantages for editing 4K media, less latency and faster renders?

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Canon 5D Mark III/70D, Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV40, Sony Z7U/VX2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; FCP X write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

All the facilities that offer training have these 3 day options. These need to be blessed by Apple. They are based on the books that are blessed by Apple. There are hour amount estimates to complete each chapter. These marathon 3 day sessions are designed around these figures. There are people that can work that long and absorb that much and spit it out on a test. There is always a low percentage of people who pass the exam following the 3 day session unless they went in knowing most of it already.

Passing the test does not make you an editor. It means you know the interface. Pretty well. If you continue to use it. Other wise, unless you have exceptional longer term memory, it will fade.

Apple now charges $250 to take the exam at an approved training facility. There are only 11 people listed in the LA area on Apple’s FC pro listing site. Which just shows you, it has little to do with getting gigs. Passing a test does not make you a pro.

That said the book covers the interface with a lot of detail. It’s very tedious to learn that way because you are not editing something you are invested in. And the book uses pictures based on specific media. You can use it as a reminder but other tutorials will teach a feature as an example – not quite as specific. If you are not good at test taking and following very very detailed instructions you will not do well.

If you want to pass the test and want help from a training site, I suggest you go through the book by yourself. Take notes. And list stuff you don’t get. The class will be a review and the instructors tend to be very good. That said, you will now be surrounded by other students who have no idea how to use the program.

I think you’d be better served going through the book yourself, Take notes and find someone in your area who is experienced and pay them for a private session to cover stuff you don’t get. Or do a google search or try ripple training on line.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Canon 5D Mark III/70D, Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV40, Sony Z7U/VX2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; FCP X write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

What happens when you try to manually reconnect the media?

One thing you could try is to go to the home library which is working and consolidate the media into the library itself. Dupe that and all should be connected. You could always consolidate the media out of the library after making the transfer. My guess is that the original library that you are coming looks for the media on the first drive and therefore does;t recognize the media as being from the back up.

this is exactly my understanding:

https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/344/37132

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Canon 5D Mark III/70D, Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV40, Sony Z7U/VX2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; FCP X write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

Isn’t it a tad useful when you want to make sure that an import was successful? You can scrub through all the shots and make sure they came through clean.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Canon 5D Mark III/70D, Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV40, Sony Z7U/VX2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; FCP X write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

What happens when you try to manually reconnect the media?

One thing you could try is to go to the home library which is working and consolidate the media into the library itself. Dupe that and all should be connected. You could always consolidate the media out of the library after making the transfer. My guess is that the original library that you are copying references the media on the home media drive and therefore doesn’t recognize the media on the back up.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Canon 5D Mark III/70D, Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV40, Sony Z7U/VX2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; FCP X write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

Little confused myself.

right click on the newly created library on your external to see contents.
command-i to see size.

If you have 6 projects you still need the media that the project’s reference, correct?

Doesn’t take a lot of media to get up to 5 gigs.

I assume the back up drive has the media?

Why do you need to create a “transfer library” before making a library on a different drive?

https://support.apple.com/kb/PH12766?locale=en_US

Open up the new library, select the library, and in the inspector consolidate the media in the location you want it stored.
Then in the original media folder in the library in the finder it should show alias files.

Personally I like to have only one “project” per library. Sometimes I have more than one FC project (timeline) in that library if it’s for same “project”.

This makes backing up and transferring each project pretty easy. And if the library gets corrupted I only corrupt one project not all. CCC does a great job of cloning libraries. Treats them like any other folder – just updates the changes made. Very fast. Easy way to go back and forth on a project that is housed on different drives.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Canon 5D Mark III/70D, Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV40, Sony Z7U/VX2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; FCP X write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

Just get Apple’s pro training series for the latest version of FCP X. That’s the course. Learn at your own speed.

Yes they advertise these marathon 3 day crash courses with completely false expectations. Plus you will be in class with folks at all different levels. Much like all classes in any subject. There are 10 chapters. Take a day for each chapter plus a day to practice those lessons on your own media.

I would say maybe 2 hours a day and give your brain a rest.

At this rate, it would take at least 40 days to absorb all this. At which point, you’re a certifiable beginner. But a much better educated beginner than 99% of people using the program.

I passed the FCP 6 certification exam on my first attempt and still considered myself an advanced beginner on a non-professional level. Just as a test of the test, I listed myself as a certified FCP 6 Pro in the Burbank area. I think there were only 5 other editors listed on Apple’s PRO site in that region. I got 0 responses based on the listing. The only people that care about FCP certification are educational institutions. And as Bill pointed out some personal pride that you passed the test.

I think it would be a lot more educational to require people to pass the test in order to get into a class with a FCP X PRO to discuss editing technique.

For beginners I think they need to combine ripple training style with a numbered list of steps to reproduce the use of a feature that was demoed. That way you can watch to get the feel of its purpose and application but not have to remember each step.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Canon 5D Mark III/70D, Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV40, Sony Z7U/VX2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; FCP X write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Craig Alan]

I like Tom Wolsky for books (FCP X beyond the basics). And ripple training for video demos. They are both detailed and clear and professional backgrounds show. They discuss why you would do something not just the step by step.

FCP X has some features which if you accidentally engaged can shock you. But usually there is some hint in the interface as to what you triggered. Knowing the vocab helps. You can always grab a screenshot and post it and say hey what is this called. Once you know that its easy to do a search to use it or get back home. Very little is destructive and command Z undoes everything in the order you applied it.

The first thing you might try that will get rid of the panic: go through the help document built into FCP X. It covers all the basics and features. From there you know what to search for if you want more depth. You can also download it onto an iPad and that way you can leave it open as you work in FC.

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Canon 5D Mark III/70D, Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV40, Sony Z7U/VX2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; FCP X write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.