[Douglas K. dempsey]

Similar numbers. Small school, a Digital Lab with 14 iMacs, and another 10 in the Art Department. All have FCPX and CS6 (I don’t know if and when admin might switch to CC subscription model).

In the last two years, about 1/3 or my students have ended up owning FCPX on their own laptops, working on their stuff all the time. Class consists of me showing tech tips and creative techniques, and other students offering critiques.

I’ll show clips of features, docs and abstract films, a history of how “technique” evolves over time. Then I will show them FCP7 and Premiere, maybe Avid if I have it … and discuss the NLE interface as “mixed metaphor” — with Timeline tracks reflecting physical film & mag tracks running thru a sync block on a cutting table … and the Source and Record windows descended from tape deck-to-deck editing … and Browsers and Bins obviously using the computer files & folders metaphor. An unintended consequence has been that FCPX seems kind of like their generation’s app and many embrace it accordingly.

So Apple better remain serious about expanding X’s pro features, because these kids are already serious about using it!

Doug D

[Douglas K. dempsey]

Couldn’t agree more on iMovie to FCPX. I teach a video class for the art department at a private school, high school kids. Many have seen and used iMovie, they instantly get FCPX and they’re on their way! We do have CS6 on all the iMacs, and a few kids gravitate to PPro. But especially for students coming out of other art classes, photography and theatre depart, they want to dive right into to the artistic process, and find X intuitively obvious.

My only agreement with Lance is the counter-intuitive language of Events and Projects. It doesn’t affect the work, it’s just a superficial complaint.

Doug D

[Douglas K. dempsey]

Lance, I have been using X for mostly small projects, and I find its simplicity a relief from the overkill of FCP7. I spend less time moving clips, adjusting clips, enabling and un-enabling clips, fretting over sync and squinting to see what I’m doing. And I read with interest the posts from editors who are doing ambitious, well-paid work in long-form docs, TV and apparently some features.

BUT I must agree with you about the nomenclature which is embarrassing, something I almost want to hide from anyone looking over my shoulder. Those terms are perhaps the best evidence for the initial “iMovie Pro” ridicule.

Events instantly evokes the lamest form of consumer functionality: “This Event was December 10th, my daughter’s birthday. This Event is March 15th, our trip to Costa Rica.” Projects being contained WITHIN an EVENT is even more ridiculous. It’s the scrapbook aesthetic that still drives iPhoto. “Okay, it’s Saturday. I’m going to start a new Project. I’m going to make a movie from our Costa Rica trip. And I’ll even use still photos from my Costa Rica Event in iPhoto. This will be fun!”

I find the notion of Project inside an Event so confusing that I begin every new Project– er, excuse me, Library … by creating an Event called “Sequences” or “Edits” and all my “Projects” reside in that folder.

Doug D

[Douglas K. dempsey]

Charlie, that sounds ideal! We’re sending you, as Cow Forum Rep, to Cupertino to present our demands!

Doug D

[Douglas K. dempsey]

I have had constant problems with these issues, v10.1.1

For awhile the app will open with all my preferences, then suddenly onetime it will have gone to default layout.

And although it seems like a “ghost in the machine” I have at least twice experienced the change to default EVEN THOUGH I NEVER QUIT THE APP!

AppleCare techs, by the way, have blamed this on the Settings Preferences>General checkbox concerning restoring window layouts. Not that they know anything about FCPX.

I don’t know if the Mavs OS settings CAN override the FCPX preferences, but I know it DID happen with Safari. I had Safari prefs set to restore window layout, but learned that the Settings Prefs panel was overriding that. Once I un-checked the “Close windows” box, Safari prefs have been working correctly.

And since it is now un-checked, the theory that it is affecting FCPX should be moot.

Additionally, Mavs sometimes gets confused with multiple desktops when in the Dual Monitor mode.

I will have FCPX running on it’s own desktop (among as many as five desktops), with Events on the laptop and everything else on the external LCD. Usually, a swipe to another desktop and then return to FCPX works fine … but SOMETIMES I will try to swipe back and get only half the app, either the Events on the laptop but nothing on the LCD, OR the reverse – Most of the app on the LCD, but no Events on the laptop. Either way, I have to click the app in the Dock to get both monitors back in FCPX.

And it was during one of these “swipes” that FCPX returned me NOT to my dual monitor setup but to the default single screen layout!

FCPX definitely too twitchy about layouts!

And while we’re at it, Apple, please allow me to move ANYTHING anywhere, a la PhotoShop.

Sure, you can start with the default, integrated-looking app that is so easy for the novice to understand. BUT allow a Drag (or Option-Drag) to pull “palettes” or modules OUT of the default container, and onto another screen.

Sometimes I want a FULLSCREEN Timeline, as I used to do in FCP7, when working on a a lot of audio waveform cutting and mixing. I would also like to pull the audio meters off the Timeline, and even the Inspector or Scopes into their own location.

I am sure Apple is afraid the average consumer won’t be able to find their way back. But even the crazy-confusing PhotoShop has a simple pull-down that allows resetting the workspace.

Put a big red button that says “Clean Up My App” for all I care. Just allow some control across screens.

Doug D

[Douglas K. dempsey]

It seems clear. Whatever works for you; I read all kinds of specific comments about the app on this forum that I’ve never encountered because I don’t happen to work that way.

I guess the best advice is to submit feedback to Apple. If they hear about “locking” items they may include in a future update.

I especially like the idea of locking a secondary storyline, so that you can work on clips INSIDE that storyline, but the “container” itself is impervious to cuts, trims etc.

—–

I just tried your method, three videos, reduced to 40% and stacked in the Viewer, detached audio. The work-around indeed is to drag-select the three videos after each cut is made, and continue to play. When you get to a cut point and cmd-b, you cut only the vids, not the audio.

A pain I agree.
🙂

Doug D

[Douglas K. dempsey]

I see the audio waveform issue you describe, from time to time. The wave form eventually comes back, upon resizing or some other activity — so I just assumed it was a render-RAM-redraw issue, and the CPU had not caught up on rendering new audio thumbnails.

As for the “tracks” issue, I think many on this forum would simply state “there are no tracks in X” so you’re already using the app in an odd way.

Multicam works fine, but your work-around sounds okay, as well. I really like the fact that X lets you take your cursor and skim it over ONLY the clip you want to see, and it will show THAT clip in the Viewer. I assume this is how you are working: three videos stacked, in sync … you skim over each clip to decide where you want to cut. After you cut, do you disable the other three shots (using “V” key), so you “see” only the desired clip? Or do you delete unwanted clips while in “P” cursor mode, leaving behind gap clips in their place?

Anyway, the simple way to work, IMHO, is to park the cursor at your desired cut point, drag-select ALL the video tracks and then “cmd-B” — which will razor blade ONLY the selected videos, NOT your detached (and un-selected) Master Audio.

——

There are probably other work-around. Have you tried putting all four shots in Auditions, and switching between shots?

Or maybe you could use Compound Clips: Lay out the Timeline as described, with three stacked videos, in sync, and a Detached Audio below (your Master Audio). Then select ONLY the videos and make a Compound Clip. Double click into the new CC, and do your cutting there.

In this scenario you would obviously use the scratch audio on each video as a reference to make your cuts within the Compound Clip.

Then back out of the CC, into your master Timeline, and see how you cuts play against the un-touched Master Audio.

Anyone else have other ideas?

BTW, the only downside I have found to Multicam mode is that when I cut on my little 13″ MBPr, I must make Proxy files, or I run into dropped frames.

D

Doug D

[Douglas K. dempsey]

Oops, sorry, Oliver. “FCPX is fun to use” … I should say, “Unless you’re using WAV files and OSX 10.9.2

Doug D

[Douglas K. dempsey]

Best Supporting Actress actually thanked her editor, Joe Walker. Cool!

Doug D

[Douglas K. dempsey]

Features, serial TV, Longtime editors with years of experience in drama — Avid is still the gold standard, in part do to sheer inertia. But FCP 7 won a few years ago, “No Country for Old Men.” In a few years, it may all be different. As for this forum, FCPX or not … Why not? It should be in your toolkit. It’s easy to learn and it’s fun to use.

Doug D