[Mark Dobson]

Excuse me if I’m describing a method you have already know but you need to sort your clips out in the event browser.

A couple of pointers:

If you want you can rename the clips either directly in the event browser by double clicking the file name or change it in the in the info section in the inspector.

With each clip you can select sections as favorites ( or reject them ) – In list view these show up sequentially under the clip. You can retitle these favorites, this information does not show up in a project timeline, alternatively you can add Notes in the notes field, this information does show up in the timeline index.

If you were to retitle the favorites with a description and as good bad or indifferent takes, for example you could then then set up a more refined set of keyword collections and simply assign all the good takes to the ‘good take’s keyword collection etc etc

That way when you are ready to edit you can simply open up the specific keyword collection: For example ‘Good Takes’ and have immediate access to the best clips or sections of clips.

Hope that’s of some help.

[Mark Dobson]

[Oliver Peters] “My intent was not with the mindset of “look how bad X is”. Rather, I was trying to point out areas where FCP7/FCS continues to be a good toolkit and why. Less a “better than” and more and “also used”.”

I really don’t have a problem with having to use components of Final Cut Studio to tie in with my work with FCPX. It was always part of the FCPX design philosophy that external programmes would compliment the the core FCPX editing functions.

And the range of support software for FCPX is pretty impressive now.

I still use Final Cut Studio for importing files and I still use DVD Studio Pro to create DVD’s with complex menu structures. Having said that the majority of the work we produce is now delivered electronically, a quick click and it’s gone.

The problem will occur in a few years time, when Mavericks is a distant memory and Final Cut Studio is no longer supported, but I might have retired by then and be living by a loch on the West Coast of Scotland or maybe somewhere warmer.

[Mark Dobson]

Since the Adobe Creative Cloud: The Debate Forum was set up there is far less Adobe discussion on the Apple FCPX or Not: The Debate forum.

The Creative Cloud subscription model seems to have set Adobe aside of the normal pros and cons debate as it is now seems ring-fenced into it’s own world.

They’ve stepped out of the boxing ring.

Be interesting to see where things are in a couple of years time, whether Adobe maintains its subscription model, and whether FCPX reaches the same position in the industry as previously occupied by FCP7.

[Mark Dobson]

[Howie Young] “How much RAM does your iMac have? What kind of projects do you edit? Are you using a G-Tech RAID or single hard drive for your media / scratch? What kind of plug-ins do you use? Are the plug-ins kept on the fusion drive or your external drive? Do you plug-ins all run at the same time?”

I put 32Gb in, the max amount, and the 8GB memory the iMac came with are sitting on a shelf by my desk as the memory I bought came as 2 x 16GB. The specs for my iMac are: Processor 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7: Memory 32 GB 1600 MHz DDR3: Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX 2048 MB: Software OS X 10.8.4

I edit documentary style programmes shot with a Canon C300. I use FCP7’s Log and transfer to transfer the files onto my scratch drive. I transfer them as native files rather than turning them into Pro-Res 422.

I don’t then import them into FCPX, but simply refer to them. In fact apart from graphics and music I don’t import anything into my Events.

I bought the Gtech 8GB unit. It is not a raid and I have read that one can get much faster speeds using a raid. I also use my older Gtech esata drives via a relatively cheap LaCie eSata Hub. These older Gteceh drives work really well and I will still be buying them for archival / back up purposes.

The other connecter I brought was the Matrox MXO2 Thunderbolt Adapter so that I can use an 32″external monitor. I have to say though that I’ve hardly used this at all as the screen on the iMac is so good. I have an additional 27″ samsung computer monitor for the iMac so that when I am editing I can display my Event library on it’s own screen.

I’ve got too many plugins to list them all. A lot of them came from this forum in the early days. But the main Plugins I use regularly are Core Melts Slice X and Lock & Load. I bought Magic Bullet Looks for FCPX but have hardly touched it as it is a pretty awkward program to use and not key frameable.

I actually think that the FCPX color adjustment tools are really good once you have got used to them and the lack of color wheels. Other Plugins I have got are White Balancer by Cineflare, Hawaiki Autograde, all of the excellent idustrial plugins and transitions. I’ve also got Irudis and Mflare and quite a few from Ripple.

Since shifting over to FCPX when it was launched I think I have probably spent well over $2,500 on various plugins etc. Some you can only use once because they are so identifiable.

But to be honest, having played around with a lot of plugins I often strip them out for the final edit and just do the best grade possible. Plugins are one way to enjoyably waste a lot of time!

All the plugins are kept on the Fusion drive in the Movies folder under Motion Templates apart from a couple which are actually installed as software programmes in the applications folder.

It’s certainly possible to stack up a load of plugins and run them at the same time. The computer can easily cope with that although I tend to render as I go to actually see the finished result running smoothly at full resolution.

I bought my iMac because I was having such a miserable time with my 2008 MacPro which despite installing extra memory and a new Graphics card just didn’t cope with full HD FCPX editing. I plan to buy the new MacPro when it is released this Autumn (maybe next month?) and there are also rumors of a new iMac coming out soon.

But I would highly recommend the current 27″ IMac.

[Mark Dobson]

[Howie Young] “For those editors using a 2012-2013 iMac with a fusion drive, have you had any issues or problems with the fusion drive while editing with FCP X?”

I’ve got the 1TB Fusion Drive and have had absolutely no problems since I bought it 9 months ago. I predominately use my iMac for editing with FCPX and the combination of the 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 with it’s fusion drive running in conjunction with with a GTech 8TB Thunderbolt Drive has given me a superb editing platform.

I’m editing full 1080P and rendering as I go with no major problems. Whilst I still have the occasional spinning ball crashe and use preference manager on a regular basis I put this down to the large number of Plug-ins I’ve got installed on the system.

It’s hard to separate out what is giving me his great performance, the processor, the thunderbolt drive or the fusion drive?

My only concern is the size of the Fusion Drive, does one really need such a large Boot drive? I’ve been used to 320GB core drive and to keeping all my media on external drives.

After 9 months I’m up to almost 400 GBs on the drive. I’ve found that the more space I have , the less efficient I am at housekeeping.

[Mark Dobson]

One large brand turnaround that almost matches the Skoda turnaround is Premiere Pro.

It’s gone from prosumer to pro over the last four years or so and especially the last 2 years following the EOL of FCP7.

But getting back to the MacPro ad. I simply think that Apple are immensely proud of this new computer. I don’t think it will persuade anybody who doesn’t already know about it to buy it, or anybody who knows about it to make that final decision.

I think they are going to sell busloads of the new Mac Pro, there is nothing like it on the market and if you use Apple Pro Apps it’s a no-brainer.

Unlike Abode Apple hold a full hand of cards, use their software and you’ll buy their computers.

[Mark Dobson]

Quite a price at $99 compared to Event ManagerX at $4.99.

But if it allows me to print off lists of favourites I might be interested.

[Mark Dobson]

Sorry Paty,

Well I suppose you could have a corrupted font. If you were to make a copy of the entire folder, delete the fonts and then add them back one at a time you might be able to islolate your problem – but this all seems very longwinded and hopefully someone else will give some more focussed advice. Also post your problem on the FCPX forum in Apple support.

Good luck

[Mark Dobson]

I’m not sure – you seem to have done all the standard problem solving activities.

Did you empty the trash as well ?

Does this problem occur in all your projects, sometimes projects can get corrupted.

Another more serious option is to trash the FCPX application, delete trash and then re-download it, which is not a big problem if you have a good internet connection.

Just trash the application, not any of your project or event folders.

[Mark Dobson]

I really recommend downloading Preference Manager by Digital Rebellion.

It’s free and I use it daily, if not more often whenever things don’t work properly. ( Quite frequently still but not a real problem with Preference Manager )

Quit FCPX – run Preference Manager – then quit preference manager and empty your trash and re-open FCPX.

https://www.digitalrebellion.com/prefman/

Good luck!