Douglas K. dempsey
Forum Replies Created
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I also see interface bugs, such as: When in Colorboard, the headings for Color, Saturation, Exposure will suddenly go blank on the unchosen tab, then when I click on a “blank” tab, that one appears and the others go blank.
It’s of no consequence to work, of course, but along with various other items mentioned here, which I also see, makes me nervous as UI oddities usually point to some underlying instability.
A couple of times, working with stock titles and effects, when I applied an effect (“Underwater”) to a stock title effect (“Pixie Dust”?) … the effect worked, played back once or twice … then hung up, necessitating a force quick. When I re-opened and tried to play the effect, same result … had to delete the effect.
Again, not profound … and I can understand that applying an animated effect to an already animated title might be asking too much, as the math fights itself. Still, instability here and there lately.
Doug D
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Haha, April Fools we are.
Doug D
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I know we’re done with this silly thread, and thanks to Shane – it was a lot of fun.
I want to say … SOME interface metaphors are delightful, and I am thinking of the FCPX “head” and “tail” icons of a clip, to indicate first frame and last frame, when seen in the Viewer. I love the FCPX “film sprocket holes” graphic, running down the left (head) or the right (tail) side of the window. It makes no literal sense — “Oh, I’ve gone over as far over as I can, there’s the edge of my piece of film” — something an old optical house operator might say, while enlarging or “blowing up” a frame. It’s the adoption of an anachronistic image for a different purpose … but it just looks cool. Absolutely as silly as a blade, but to younger users, maybe it’s an welcome call-out to analog: Celluloid film, vinyl records, tube amps … neat!
Doug D
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I took Shane’s observation as a bemused observation that, in the 21st century, we still have no better way of describing an edit than the original silent film action of physically slicing or scissoring the celluloid!
For sure, Apple was right to stick with Blade as a progression from FCP7. And as I said earlier, it’s better than “add edit” for the consumer, all of whom understand the idea of a “cut” in a movie.
Doug D
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Haha, yes, Simon I was going to point that out to Robin as well – working with multiple projects in FCP7 was similar to multiple libraries in FCPX.
But more interesting than that, Robin, is how you fell immediately into the language problem that was the point of this thread! “But then having multiple “libraries” (i.e. projects) open at the same time …”
We are forced to refer to the common-sense concept of “project” as a “library” now because Apple has usurped the universal meaning of “project” in order to mis-use it to mean “timeline” or “sequence.”
I fully understand that the FCPX Event is not a bin, not even a super-bin or a smart folder or a collection. It is something else. But it is most assuredly not an Event. That was the (nonsensical) discussion at hand.
The thread began with Shane Ross bemusedly noting the quaint use of “blade” and a razor icon. I tried to one-up him by saying that at least a blade makes a cut. How do Library, Project and Event make any sense at all?
I guess FCPX was such a leap into a different paradigm, that the poets at Apple struggled with what to call things. I think they punted with Library, Project and Event. There is no parallel structure or relationship between the three words/concepts. All you have to do is Google this issue, to see the public-at-large struggling to wrap their mind around these ill-named concepts. By comparison, “blade” is genius!
Doug D
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Bill, I acknowledge that once you use events as intended, with keywords, smart collections etc … it really is a different way of thinking. So calling it merely a folder is inaccurate. Sorry.
I am just weighing in on this discussion of odd names in NLEs, as designers struggle with what metaphor they should use. And ion my argument, I stripped away most of an Event’s function, to look at the base function that IS similar to a “bin.” When you first encounter an Event in FCPX, it is a “location” where you are asked to “store” media that you import. Later, you find that you can take an item out of “Event A” and drag it in to “Event B.” It is no longer in A. It now reside in B. THAT basic function is similar to a bin. And I do not believe that, event though this aspect of the FCPX database organizational power does more than a mere bin … that “Event” is an appropriate name. Again, Event started as a folder in iPhoto and is silly in FCPX.
Doug D
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I described some time ago, an Avid video I saw about the editor of feature (“Gravity?”). The editor worked with a 21″ or 24″ touch screen, and a high-end game controller. I don’t recall seeing a mouse and the keyboard was set aside for data entry only.
So if Surface is eventually optimized for that kind of work, it could be fast, effective and a lot of fun.
I have noticed that people work differently according to the way their brains organize and visualize. Some people who have everything they own in clear plastic, labeled bins seem to like a workflow whereby they go to a “Source” in a browser, find and mark material, cut it in … and keep lots of well-labeled timelines at hand. Keywords in FCPX also works well for this way or organizing.
My wife accuses me of not being able to do anything, unless virtually EVERYTHING is laid out horizontally on every surface, where I can see it. And my FCPX timeline functions like that, as a “workbench” – with cut sequences, clips and audio, compound clips and alt scenes spread around at different parts of the timeline. The magnetic timeline is ideal for this approach, and I toss things around with no fear of error.
Having a large touch-screen on which I could do this even more “manually” would be a thrill!
Doug D
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It’s called blade because to this day, people who make and watch movies still refer to the silent film mechanism of the “cut.” “That superhero movie had too many cuts!” “That art movie had a really long shot with no cuts!” In fact, people use the movie metaphor in everyday life: “So I get my money from the ATM. CUT TO, I’m home … and I suddenly realize I don’t have my card!”
They could use a scissor icon instead of blade. It’s still a cut. What is the quick read, obvious consumer icon for “add edit?” And anyway, “add edit” is two words instead of one. Avid was a pro tool from day one, and the GUI looks it.
“Splice” DOES apply to both film and tape (back when cut tape with a razor blade!) But it hasn’t entered the vernacular as a term for “transition to” or “jump to.” It has largely remained a tech term, as in gene-splicing or wire-splicing or tree-splicing.
BTW in FCPX you don’t have to leave/enter a “mode” to make a cut. You can use the basic “Selection” tool cursor, hovering over a clip, and hold down “b” then click … and you have made an “add edit.” You then release the “b” and the cursor is still in the “a” or Selection tool mode.
My language complaint is with Library, Event and Project. You can explain “Library” to people, sort of: “Okay, everything is in there; media, output, edit decisions. It’s like a Library – everything you need to know.” Fine.
But then there is “Event” which is really just a bin or a folder. This is clearly a holdover from iPhoto and iMovie, where Apple presumed a consumer would shoot an “event” such as a wedding, a birthday, a wild day of skateboarding or a vacation. Silly, and a bit demeaning to the serious hobbyist, much less to a pro. After all, they didn’t call the app Final Cut Family!
But far worse is “Project.” Why eliminate “sequence,” which has always made sense in movies, video, slide shows, stories? They could have used “Timeline,” which may sound technical to a consumer, but at least contains the logic of what a sequence IS. “Let me make a shorter version of the birthday video. I’ll start a new Timeline.”
But when does anyone, in the middle of work, say, “Let me start a new project?” “What, you’re bored with editing the birthday? So let’s go out to the garage and build a canoe!” Project is just stupid IMO.
Still, I don’t let Avid off the hook. They were the original abuser of mixed metaphors, with their “Source” and “Record” windows coming from tape editing, while their timeline & tracks have NOTHING to do with tape and are in fact a visual depiction of strips of film (picture and audio track) running in sync, under a “playhead” through a ganged synchronizer. Except the timeline is governed by “timecode” – back to tape again! And “Bin” also comes from film … although “trim bins” in film editing only held smaller numbers of short clips and sequences. Where are the “cores” and “reels” that hold larger collections of outtakes, assemblies and such? As I said, nobody gets off the hook.
Doug D
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What is your workflow/delivery specs for a final product on Vimeo and sometimes YouTube? For HD, not 4K.
Doug D
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I have run FCPX on a 2014 MBP Retina 13″ with 16GB Ram, and it runs reasonably well when using native files from a Canon 70D and a Sony A7sii, and works beautifully with ProRes HQ files.
EVERYTHING runs like gangbusters on my 2016 iMac 5K Retina w/32GB, and Sharing directly or Send to Compressor are both very speedy outputs.
Interestingly, I have a friend with a 2015 MacPro, and he claims he has such slow output through Compressor that he avoids using multi-pass and opts for single pass compression.
I’m sure something is wrong with his setup, but I noticed the anecdotal comment here about MacPro out-performed by the iMac.
Doug D