[James Sullivan]

Robin,

Thanks for responding to my rant. I have been waiting for some projects to clear before upgrading my OS to where I can use 10.3 as a lot of my hate was addressed in that update. (Libraries on a NAS Wahoo!) I also would like to take a moment and re humble myself as I have never claimed to know how to do everything nor would I want to consider myself superior in any way. This is why I frequent this particular forum because there is so much knowledge lurking in the wings and I am always up for something new. (Except when I have producers behind me barking orders)

[James Sullivan] “having some things live in a project while others do not.”

If that’s the case, then you told it to do that. Pretty simple. It’s not some random procedure. And you can consolidate everything into a single location, if needed, with the simple click of one little button.

On this point I want to argue that if I inherit a poorly managed project because this choice was overlooked by somebody not thinking at the time it would become a problem and has for me in the past. I have also noticed that having FCPX
manage media on a weaker computer forces content to be copied into the project, bloating the size of it, where as on a more powerful newer mac the very same media would have been left external. This just bugs me.

And have helped, amazed and empowered a lot of others. I’d even venture to say a lot more than the other way around. And that’s actually by not just looking within my own little box.

On this I completely agree. But not having every been forced to edit with tracks. And not being forced to control where things land creates some messed up looking timelines that again when I inherit a project, makes me grumpy.

[James Sullivan] “it has way more things that need to be tweaked that would make the day to day grind better.”

For example? Again, being specific is much more helpful for others to follow what it is you’re getting at.

The ability to cut from a compound clip and have it use the original media.
The ability to bake a multi clip so that when it goes external it plays well.
Way way bigger keyframes.

The ability to make very very very small proxies so that drive space can be saved. Exporting longform shows is faster to compress and export with the super powerful computers we have. I know that offiline online is dead at this point but god it is still useful.

Such is life. Though I’d really be curious what it is you think you need 128GB of RAM, 48 cores and FIVE Nvidia cards for… especially right after complaining that the MBP is “pricey”. What exactly do you figure that configuration would cost you even as a PC?

Have you seen what Octane render can do? That is why Five Nvidia cards are on the wishlist.

I used the word pricey but what I really meant was, for only 16GBs of ram. I love the size of the new laptop and I am glad that I did not buy any thunderbolt anything until they decided to go to USB C. Cost has always been relative in the sense that the systems I use make me money so I am ready to spend money on a nice system. But I am a owner operator of my business and any misstep I make on gear means I get to live on a park bench. Right now, building a bespoke PC will let me have the tower that can handle editorial, motion graphics, and really really really nice 3D renders. I just reserve the right to complain when I get a virus and all the parts I got from Newegg don’t work together nicely.

I use a lot of different software and cannot have 8 separate systems configured for each specific task. I need FCPX to be my NLE while I choose to run out to AE, Protools, Photoshop, Mocha, Cinema4D, Resolve, for all their goodness.

I should also explain that my laptop is in my bedroom hooked up via ethernet to my shared storage. My main workstations are out in my studio. When I have to money and the laptop dies I will most likely get the new laptop maxed out and use it with the fancy LG monitor they collaborated on. Again I am still on team apple I am just grumpy and have the wonderful set of tubes we know as the internet to vent a bit.

Thanks for taking the time to listen,

James

[James Sullivan]

I think you have described the state of FCPX very well. I wish they could make it more collaborative and open. One of my all time favorite things about the original final cut was the ability to render over a graphic I had created in AE and have it update in the timeline when I opened FCP Legacy back up again. I HATE how the new FCP handles tracking media and having some things live in a project while others do not. I have to recut in graphics every time I change something and just that process in itself is a chore. But if you are a single Creator posting to YouTube and all you need to do is top and tail a few takes from a canon powershot then life is peachy.

Handling multiple editors passing around Libraries on a SAN is a freaking nightmare I don’t want to ever be held accountable for.

I agree that FCPX and any other NLEs are tools and it is so great when they get out of the way and let us work but I think Apple (bless their hearts) have frustrated a lot of creative people who have been in the game since computers became a thing.

I hope they continue to improve FCPX, it has way more things that need to be tweaked that would make the day to day grind better. I wish we could talk to the team creating it more openly and for them to communicate when updates are coming. (submitting bug reports does not count as two way communication)

Apple is still the only game in town who can create an NLE from the silicon on up and I would love to see a return to some kind of modular hardware system that could let us control what we need when, and when we can afford it. A tiny screen on very pricey when maxed out laptop with ten thousand things daisychained together makes me grumpy and I hope to avoid that particular situation for as long as possible. (I.e. when my 17inch finally dies and funds are available)

I had a crazy thought the other day when I thought about what life would be like if Running MacOS on non apple blessed hardware. I want to do away with hackentoshing and just have MacOS compete with Windows head to head. Why can’t I have 128gbs of ram, 48cores of Intelness and five Nvidia cards and MacOS. My next computer is going to be a Windows machine at this point which forces me off of FCP and MacOS too things I am still in love with.

I feel like trying to be a cheerleader for America when the people running the country are no longer on my side. I still believe in Apple, I am just disappointed on how things are moving at the moment and fully recognize I represent a small minority of fussy post people that could break the will of any chipper genius bar newbie in seconds as they look around for their managers in panic.

On the flip side I think it is great that more people are becoming literate in producing videos and that is Apple’s fault as well.

onwards,
James

[James Sullivan]

The bombshell in the latest 10.3 update is that they finally support libraries living on a NAS. Just not over AFP….

But your right the sparse disk image was the original answer if not complete cluster$€?? at the same time.

James

[James Sullivan]

No worries! I had a heart attack the other day as I thought I had saved some stuff but had to pull up the auto save version. There is some voodoo I don’t understand between where that project file is allowed to live and Yosemite or newer.

My next research project is to figure out how to get FCP X projects to live on my NAS. I have to change the way I mount my storage to SAMBA but god knows what that will break in the process.

Hope the crunch does not beat you up too much.

James

[James Sullivan]

Could be a permissions issue with where he was saving it? was it a network drive? the new versions of Mac OS do wierd things with network drives. You think your ok until your not.

James

[James Sullivan]

I was waiting for this and am so glad they included it in this update. Now that we can do it, what is the best way to do it?

IE, Is it still a good idea to have the actual cache and everything pointed to the NAS or keep projects on a local SSD and media on the NAS? Before this release, the FCPX brain trust was recommending setting up complicated folder syncing of libraries. WAY TOO Breakable for not much gain in my opinion.

It would be great if this, or a new thread would help illuminate proper, workflow. I have already read the FCP.co links and apple actually typed up a document that outlines some of this but it is still murky to my befuddled brain. Thanks to those diligent advocates who assembled that set of information, all in one place, on the day, no less.

i am off to see how much Sierra will break my small empire and wait for proper Smalltree 10GBs ethernet drivers in the meantime.

T’would be nice to have some video lanes while we’re at it….(The first person to suggest compound clips will be dismissed outright) I just want to have graphics and subtitles sit above everything out of the fracking way. I know that patching is frowned upon but having stuff land where I want it too, and not have to move it later keeps my type A in check and is faster in the long run, isn’t it?

let’s keep this party going,

James

[James Sullivan]

I used Xtopro for a feature doc and it worked great. I just wish FCP X would do it natively.

James

[James Sullivan]

I have had similar behavior. I tend to blade things a lot and leave little single frames here and there. You cannot see them when you are zoomed out at all. I really do not like the default timeline look and all the alternates suck. The round edges and selecting edit points just suck. I am just out of words today I apologize.

James

[James Sullivan]

When you send the event over to premiere can you have it point at FCPX transcoded material?

I like that with one click I have prores of everything. I just hate cutting in X.

James

[James Sullivan]

Xtopro is the answer. I have used it on a long form doc and low and behold had great success. If you sequence uses rolls you will have a better time of unpacking everything on the protools/DAW side of things. Also if channels are unchecked for clips that is reflected in what gets transferred in the subsequent AAF.

You will need extra time to sift everything. Because you cannot organize the timeline inside of Final cut your audio editor will have to make sense of things. It is not nearly as fast as having everything in tracks unless you meticulously assign roles to help X to Pro make a more organized transfer.

Tracks, and ugly black waveforms are wonderful things to behold. Look it room tone!

James