Michael Hancock
Forum Replies Created
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Have you selected the audio tracks you want? Select the A1, A2, A3, etc…button in your mixer/automation gain tool, then try the hamburger menu again.
Mike.
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Ok, here’s something I was hoping would work but I needed to check it first. It works, and I think it’s pretty awesome.
Example: You have a client who wants a camera flash effect between cuts. You could apply your effects directly to your source clips, copy keyframes from one to the other, etc…but then you remember that you can add effects to a blank video track, making keyframing easier and saving you valuable render time.
So, you add a blank video track, then you add an edit mark in the filler of that track 10 frames before the cut and 10 frames after. You add a blur effect, keyframe it to start at 0, go to 25 at the cut point then back down to 0. You Alt+Add (nest) a Color Effect to the Blur. You keyframe the white input to go from 235 to 16 and back to 235 while you drop the saturation down a little bit. Quick render, the client loves it and wants it on several more transitions.
“Easily done!” you say, knowing you can save the effects to the bin, then each time you need to add the camera flash you just add edit marks, apply the blur, Alt+Add the Color Effect and you’re done.
But wait! There’s a better way! After your effects have been added to your blank video track–Alt+Add a Submaster effect to them. It’s under Image. Or, Mark Clip on the effects and do a Collapse of just that layer. It will automatically nest your effects into a Submaster effect. Now, open your Effect Editor, Alt+Drag the Submaster effect to your bin and you’ll see Submaster (with Src). This means you can now load your saved effects into your source monitor, just like a clip, and cut it into your timeline where ever you want. No more adding edit marks, applying one effect, nesting the next effect, etc… Now you can make a clip from your effects!
Hope this helps someone. It’s been a huge help for me, and I thought it was a pretty neat little trick.
Michael.
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That’s exactly how it’s supposed to work. The keyframes do adjust themselves proportionally, shortening and lengthening the time between them depending on the length of clip you put them on.
To get around this (and save yourself a huge amount of render time), do this:
If you want to blur out just the last ten frames of a clip, add a blank video track above the clip. Now go 10 frames from the end of the clip and–on the blank track–add an edit mark. Go to the end of the clip and add another edit mark in the filler on the blank video track. Add your blur to this and keyframe it. Your keyframed blur is saved, and everytime you need to use it just add edit marks and drop it on a blank track above the clip you want to blur.
This will keep your keyframes consistent because you’re setting the length in the filler of a blank track instead of relying on the clip length. It will also save you a huge amount of time rendering. Consider: if a nonrealtime effect (say blur) is on a 5 second clip, but you’re only blurring the last 10 frames and the rest of the clip has the blur set to 0, your Avid will still render the first 4 seconds and 20 frames, even though the effect isn’t actually effecting anything. So add it to filler and it only has to render 10 frames!!
Mike.
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There’s some good info here:
https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/45/861780?univpostid=861767&pview=t
Don’t you love it when clients give you footage in a format not designed to be edited? Gotta love ’em!!
Michael.
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Working with numerous resolutions in FCP means you’ll need to get a capture card that will capture the different sources to one resolution/codec, or you’ll have to render your video to watch it. FCP won’t allow you to mix resolutions in the timeline like Avid will (which is one of the reasons I’m not interested in it right now).
Otherwise, FCP is a very capabable editor. From what I’ve gathered, it’s media management isn’t on par with Avid’s yet, so moving from one system to another for offline/online may be a little more difficult. It seems to lose render files easily (say you have 10 tracks, heavily effected and rendered and you decide to monitor just tracks 3 and down. In FCP, you move the monitor and you lose the render. Even if you go back to monitoring all 10 tracks you will have to rerender. Avid, on the other hand, remembers the render when you go from monitoring 3 tracks to 10).
You say you work for an independent editing facility. Does this mean you use their systems, or you have to buy your own? If you’re using theirs just use what they have. If you have buy your own definitely get some time on a FCP machine before you make a decision. You may love it or you may hate it. It’s a lot different than Avid. Many people prefer its open timeline, some don’t. The key to learning it is to not fight it by trying to make it act like an Avid.
Otherwise, be sure to consider Media Composer Software. Much cheaper than an Adrenaline, works with Mojo and Mojo SDI if you need analog inputs, and in the cases you need an Adrenaline box just rent time at an edit facility to capture then take the media home to edit.
You may also consider, if you haven’t already, posting your question in the FCP forum to find out what people are saying there. And remember, take everything said here and there with a grain of salt. People here will likely tell you Avid is better since this is an Avid forum, and people in the FCP forum will tell you FCP is better because it’s a FCP Forum and it runs on a Mac. And if it runs on a Mac that automatically makes it the best in the world (he says, ducking…) 🙂
Michael.
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Easy to overlook it. I think I was editing for a year and cursing the volume before I accidentally lowered some levels with the source monitor active instead of the record monitor. Happy accident!!
Michael.
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I use .png files. They’re small, lossless, and if you put them over a tranparent background it’s interpreted as an alpha. Makes working in photoshop a lot faster. Just be sure to choose Invert Exisiting Alpha on your import options.
Jpegs are ok, but I’ve had better results with targa (.tga) and png files.
Mike.
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Um….you’re in the Avid forum. Can we interest you in a shiny new Xpress Pro or Media Composer software version? 🙂
I’m guessing you meant to post in the Final Cut Express forum…Click here: https://creativecalf.creativecow.net/cgi-bin/new_view_posts.cgi?forumid=8
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Load the clip into your Source Monitor (Avid lingo for the one on the left), then open your Audio Mix tool and adjust the level there. This will apply that level to the source clip so you won’t have to adjust it everytime you cut it into your timeline. You can also adjust the pan.
If you’ve already cut your audio into your sequence and want to adjust the level there, open your Audio Mix tool again (if you closed it). Then you have these choices:
1) Park your playhead on the clip you want to adjust and adjust the level in the mixer tool. This will adjust only the clip you’re playhead is on.
2) Mark an In and Out around the clip/clips you want to adjust the level/pan, then highlight the corresponding Audio tracks in the Mixer Tool–for example, you want the clips between your In and Out on A1 panned left and the level brought up and the clips on A2 panned right and the level brought down. Click the A1 and A2 buttons in your mixer, set the pan and levels, then go to the hamburger menu of your Audio Mixer and select “Set Level on Tracks – In/Out” and “Set Pan on Tracks – In/Out”. This set the level and pan for all clips between your In and Outs according to what you set in your mixer.
3) Repeat step 2, but instead of marking and In and Out just select the tracks you want to adjust, set level and pan, then go to the hamburger menu in your Audio Mixer and select “Set Level on Tracks – Global” and “Set Pan on Tracks – Global”. This will adjust every clip on the tracks you selected according to the levels and pan you set in the mixer tool.
Unfortunately there’s no way to adjust the level/pan of a track while it’s in the bin, or to set the level/pan of several tracks at once unless they’re in a sequence. Hopefully Avid will give us this ability–it’s been asked for, but it hasn’t come to light (yet). I hope it does.
Michael.
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What Avid are you using? Xpress Pro, Xpress DV, Media Composer–what version? They keyboards are all a little different between versions. If it’s Xpress Pro v5.x or Media Composer 2.x or later I can email you one. Let me know what Avid you’re keyboard you’re looking for and I’ll email you a pic.
Michael.