[David Powell]

It sounds like you’re referring to fcp7. I was referring to fcpX. Yes I believe 7 did have a select edit function. Far as I know it doesn’t exist in X. You have to go to next edit then select edge. You can’t go straight to trimming. Its faster with the mouse in X.

[David Powell]

Michael do you know the name of that command off hand? I could only find a “go to next edit” command similar to Avid’s ffwd, but not one that actually puts you in a trim stance. I would love to know that it exists. So many names of features change from platform. I wish there was a common parlance. Bravo to Apple for adding Top/Tail, btw. That was a most welcome trim tool.

[David Powell]

James I should have said the shooter editors I’ve come across. Most of the ones I dealt with were primary shooters but hired others to cut. But they knew enough fcp 7 to put together a rough cut with no fuss. I believe this is a selling point for X. Producers who aren’t editors can get the basics without a steep learning curve and make selects.

X is deep. But the toolset is not yet as deep as its competitors. You can’t even consolidate a project with used media. There no tracker system. No keyframable speedramps. Bezier handles. Audio Mixer. You know the list. Its got some outstanding features but is way behind the curve on some basics. Many which are in 7.

I really meant no offense. There are plenty of shooters who know there software well. Plenty of editors who don’t. Storytelling is the sellable skill.

I will edit that out of the post.

[David Powell]

I tried cutting a project on it, but the track patching drove me crazy. Another thing I always hated about 7.
Spent time going through the tutorials and searching online but I couldn’t get answers as to whether or not there was a similar auto patch function or not. With X in the toolbox I didn’t see much that would pull me from Avid to Premiere.

I do like the fact that X is so different I can jump from both applications without losing muscle memory.

Jumping from one track based editor to another its a pain though.

[David Powell]

It wasn’t meant to be. X has a very short learning curve compared to Avid. This is great. The tradeoff is its not as deep. However there are many tasks that are streamlined in X that take extra setup in Avid that would overcomplicate the project.

I personally think the two are great to know together. I don’t mind the lack of trim tools in X. I like having magnetism for certain projects. But some features are just plain missing or unrefined especially with multicam that need fixing. I’m hopeful with this next release.

[David Powell]

There are many advantages. A lot of FCP editors complain about Avid’s modal model. IMO this is what makes it so powerful. As soon as you go into trim mode it selects the nearest edit point and you can do any number of edits using jkl. And while you’re on the edit you hit the space bar and the edit will loop while you make adjustments it updates in realtime! FCP7 had a sloppy version of this called dynamic trimming option which noone ever used because it was cumbersome.

Also “Extend Edit” sooooo much different in Avid (and now premiere) then 7 or X. Lets say you play past an edit point and realize that the timing needs to roll exactly to where you stop the playhead. With Final Cut you have to click on the edit (there is no “select nearest edit hotkey which drives me crazy”) then reposition back to that point in time, then hit extend edit. With Avid, you simply play to that point and hit either in/out then the extend hotkey (literally can be done in one stroke) and boom your edit rolls. The speed that this gives you when you make a second pass after a rough cut is incredible.

Color Correction is another example. In Final Cut you have to select each clip then choose color then correct, then choose the next clip. In Avid you simply enter CC mode and any clip that the playhead is on will automatically be selected for CC so you can just hit next clip or play and color correct shot to shot. Now of course the Avid Color tools don’t have secondaries like X which is a shame, but for camera matching and general CC it can’t be beat in an NLE. Plus it comes stock with curves and CC memory so you can add saved corrections to similar shots.

These are just a few examples. But honestly the Extend edit function alone makes trimming 10x better than in X, which is why I would always choose Avid for long form and narrative, though i can and have done it in 7 and X if I’m forced to. I doubt they could come up with any serious trim tools just because of the way magnetism is setup vs tracks. Its a nice advancement from 7 but only because 7’s trim tools were subpar to begin with.

Another problem with X’s multicam is that If you do an hour long multi clip, you can’t play through the clip in the Event side to make selections. Probably due to the fact that it doesn’t have a real viewer function. This is a HUGE problem. However I use X exclusively for these type of projects only because I cut start/stop dlsr multicam, which X handles best up front (as does 7) though it is very inflexible on the back end (w/the exception of the angle editor of course which is cool). There is a lot of functionality that was sacrificed for the sake of cool shiny features.

I’ve found that most people who shoot and edit don’t tend to use any real power function of any NLE, and I think that shooter/editors are X’s primary market. Not a knock. Some people don’t have time to really dig in the manual to unleash all the power of an NLE, they just need to know where to drag and drop and thats good enough. X is great in that regard.

[David Powell]

Marcus Moore and James. I think the auto enhancements work quite well for improving noise reduction for live events that happen outside. It would be nice if we had the Noise print function like STP but Audio enhancements gets me by. Unfortunately, you cannot use them across a multiclip or even in the angle editor, because they cause a noise at every cut.

I personally could care less about project sharing or send to motion. I only like X for short form stuff. Narrative or long form doc calls for great trimming tools (Avid/Premiere). X doesn’t even have good trim tools. And neither did 7 for that matter which is why noone coming from 7 seems to demand any.

[David Powell]

I just want colored markers that hover text like Avid. A working matchframe, a replace edit the way it’s supposed to work, multiclip flattening, and fix the problem of audio enhancements creating noise on multicam cuts! An extend edit function that rolls the edit point Avid style or any real trimming functions is wishful thinking.

[David Powell]

Never heard of it. Thanks I’ll have to look it up.

[David Powell]

In my experience, the black hole gaps always happened where there were speed changes in X to 7.