[Jeff Markgraf]

[Oliver Peters] “I would shudder to try that sort of edit in X, but maybe I’m wrong.”

I’ve done a number of those kinds of pieces during the past year or so, all on X. No problems. This was on a MacBook Pro Retina, with external 27″ monitor (via HDMI), USB3 drives and a T-Tap driving a FS broadcast monitor.

I’ve also done several sales/sizzle reels with multiple sections of multi-layer compound clips. As in video with transitions inside an iPad, with a reflection, all inside a comp with a couple of other tablets/phones that fly around, inside another comp to move the group as a while over a looped background. Plus one or more layers of titles and/or keyable graphics. Don’t forget multiple layers of music, sfx and SOTs. Oh yeah, with a couple of short flutter cut montages. Footage was a combination of ProRes 422 and MXF (Avid DnXHD 145) files.

Needless to say, after two layers of comps, it was time to render. But those two comps contained 3 or 4 layers with motion, soft edges, gradients and various levels of opacity before having to render. Again, on the MacBook Pro. I would love to have had the MacPro trashcan for these pieces, but it came later.

I remain shocked at the different experiences people are having with X. I wish I understood the cause of such variability.

[Jeff Markgraf]

[Oliver Peters] “OK, I tested – all at 1/2 res (or best performance)”

Just to clarify – is FCPX “best performance” in fact 1/2 res? As I understand it, proxy is 1/2 res. Which suggests that best performance is something higher.

Not trying to make excuses for X. But 5k on my MacPro is mostly fine at best performance (occasional stutter on complex motion) and smooth as can be at proxy.

I don’t doubt Premiere handles various formats pretty well. But I often seem to see/hear about users defaulting to 1/2 res playback. Which seems like a bit of a cheat, compared to full res playback.

[Jeff Markgraf]

Hi Andy.

You probably can’t name your network, but I’m curious which part of the network you work in: news or entertainment or sports or “other?” Sounds like news.

I ask because I find that different divisions, at least here in LA, tend to have different needs and decidedly different points of view regarding editorial. Even with increasingly harsh cost cutting, getting network people in LA to wrap their heads around FCPX is still incredibly difficult.

[Jeff Markgraf]

Hey Ronny. Nice to see you on the COW. You should stop by more often.

Any idea when/if Peter will resume posting regularly on fop.co? Surely do miss those articles, and the forum has been really slow lately.

[Jeff Markgraf]

[Oliver Peters] “while 5K EPIC is better on PProCC.”

I can never remember my Mercury from my CL or my GL or whatever when it comes to graphics, but…

Don’t properly optimized PPro systems use a different kind of graphics card from a Mac? Can CC2014 or 2015 now use the GPU for playback decoding? And would any of this make a difference? Also, is your 5k on PPro experience with full or 1/2 or 1/4 playback resolution?

I had no luck with R3D 5k files on my MacBook Pro Retina – had to use the FCPX generated proxies, which worked great (roughly equivalent to 2.5k files, if I understand the proxy workflow correctly). My MacPro trashcan with D700s and a ton o’ ram handles the 5k files pretty well. Given the huge increase in data going from 4k to 5k, I’m not at all surprised the laptop just couldn’t handle the decoding & debayering in real time.

As a point of comparison, I wonder how Avid 8.4, with its new abilities to handle large frame sizes, handles 5k (if at all). My understanding is that the realtime proxy generation for playback requires a new and beefy computer to even hope to make this work. Would make an interesting comparison to PPro.

[Jeff Markgraf]

James –

Umm, no.

[Jeff Markgraf]

[Bill Davis] ” I haven plugged in a mouse in three years.”

Well, yes, right. I was using “mouse” as a stand in for any non-keyboard device. I use a pen & tablet to avoid the RSI that was beginning to be an issue years ago.

That said, there are a few functions in X that I’d like to see available on the keyboard. But it’s not at the top of my wish list, either.

[Jeff Markgraf]

[Bill Davis] “Just buy me lunch.”

Bill, you’re my hero!

Sorry we didn’t get to do lunch/drinks at NAB this year. Maybe the next time you’re in LA…

[Jeff Markgraf]

Well, kids, it’s late here in LA and tomorrow is a school day. But keep those cards and letters coming…

[Jeff Markgraf]

[James Ewart] “Will Bernie Sanders be the next Democratic presidential candidate?”

Lots of concern that he scares the “moderate Democrats.” So maybe not. But he certainly is helping to push Hilary away from her so-center-she’s-practically-conservative leanings. So that’s good.

[James Ewart] “Will Donald Trump be the next Republican candidate? Is that conceivable?”

Well…let’s hope not. I think he’ll eventually burn himself out. The wing nuts and low-information Republicans are currently enamored of his faux “tell it like it is” schtick. But I doubt he’ll ever be loony enough for the Tea Baggers, and the more moderate Republicans (what’s left of them) will eventually get bored with him.

Or so one hopes. And yet, the idea of his winning the Republican nomination has a certain charm, because as the general electorate always moves away from the extremes of the primaries, I suspect Hilary or even Bernie would crush him in the general election.