[Nick Meyers]

Within fcp you can nest the shot after you crop it,
Or use digital heaven’s Box plugin,
Or crop with the motion controls and zoom with the Basic 3D filter

Nick

[Nick Meyers]

that’s a great way to organise!

i do the same thing, but lucky for me i’m not working on so many projects at the one time.
still, render files do tend to wind up in the wrong place.

If you really are on one raid, you could live with the renders all going to one place.

There might be a 3rd party tool that can help. I (vaguely) remember one that forced you to re-set scratch disks every time you opened a project.
Don’t remember the details, sorry. Might have been edit mule who no longer operate.

Nivk

[Nick Meyers]

Fcp preferences, including capture scratch, are NOT project based, they are system based.

If you need different capture scratch and render locations for each project then you have to remember to re-set them manually.

Nick

[Nick Meyers]

when things get weird in FCP, it’s time to trash your preferences.

https://www.lafcpug.org/Tutorials/basic_trash_prefs5.html

a preference manager such as Digital rebellion’s can be useful
https://www.digitalrebellion.com/prefman/

nick

[Nick Meyers]

i would also look at the “Stylise” filters in the effects tab of the browser.

nick

[Nick Meyers]

[Oliver Parker] ” If I cut with just the stereo tracks, when I lock the cut and export the omf will the original full number tracks be there for the Sound post?”

no automatically, no.

you can try cutting with just the mix,
and at the end of the edit, you can do a pass where you match frame the audio (which SHOULD bring back all tracks into the viewer)
and re-edit the full set of tracks back into the timeline.

problem is this can go wrong. FCP can lose the lnk back to the original master clip.
there was a long-ish thread about it a while back.

2 other approaches to editing w the mix-down:

1. you fix the problem:
edit with the mix-down,
use Sync n Link to re-conform a multitrack version in FCP prior to making the OMF or AAF

2. sound fixes the problem:
edit with the mix-down,
give sound dept AAF
sound dept uses Synchro Arts Titan to re-conform in ProTools

but you could (probably should) just edit with all the tracks,
in which case you might not need a mix-down on A1+2

nik

[Nick Meyers]

export as is, using the default “same settings”

nick

[Nick Meyers]

i suspect Yoshiko has exported a 29.97 timeline as 25fps.

and this displayed as 24.97 in QT for whatever reason,
and it is this same file that was conformed to 25.

so the playback speed should be pretty accurate, BUT there will be a missing frame every 6 frames,
making for very jerky motion.

who knows… if the piece is all still images, no one will notice!

but the correct approach is to export a QT movie, same settings.
then convert that in COmpressor, oR bring it back into FCP, and use Nattress Standards Converter

nick

[Nick Meyers]

there is definitely all-round feathering with a garbage matte.

you cant even drag the points outside of the range of the canvas.
well you can, and it works for describing a shape, but the feathering stops at the canvas edges.

nick

[Nick Meyers]

are you sure, Michael?
Most of the built-in feather and matte effects can only do the same feather all the way around.
well, i’d say ALL of them actually, but it’s a long time since i needed something like this.
it’d be good to be wrong on this.

i think there might be an Alex4D or Andy Mees plug-in that can do one side.

another approach is to create a gradient in Photoshop or similar and use it either in an image mask filter,
or as a compositing layer,

your best and most immediate bet could be to look at what MOTION has to offer.

nick