[Oliver Peters]

The RED files show up as if audio-only, but basically empty. Blue, not red, like media offline. This has only happened with my mid-2014 MBP, which was one of the last ones with in internal Nvidia card.

My guess is that it has to do with how RED is implementing Metal acceleration, which is part of the August RED Apple Workflow installer that you also have to install to use RED files with 10.4.9 and higher. So yes, it changed with the update to 10.4.9, but probably related to card support with this RED plug-in. All other recent AMD GPUs *should* be fine.

Apple is aware of the issue.

If your client did the 10.4.9 (or now 10.4.10) update and didn’t install the RED update as well, then he won’t see any RED files regardless of the GPU inside of FCPX.

[Oliver Peters]

Just to confirm that RED files are fine on the office machines. These are newer iMacs and iMac Pros, which don’t have Nvidia cards.

– Oliver

[Oliver Peters]

I’ve lost the ability to work with RED files on the home machine with 10.4.10. Anyone else see this? I have the latest RED Apple workflow software installed, but that was from August. So maybe the update or ProApps codec update broke that again.

EDIT: Disregard. I forgot I had this issue before on this machine. It has an Nvidia card and I’m pretty sure that’s the issue.

[Oliver Peters]

RED footage is fine once you install the latest Apple Workflow Installer from RED. In general Catalina nags you more about permissions than previous macOS versions. The Vega cards (like on iMac Pros) seem to be susceptible to UI artifacts. For example, some plug-in windows flicker, and even the App Store window causes big patches on the displays. Move the windows around and they go away. Other than these nuisances, most apps seem to be OK, if you updated everything to 64-bit and the latest versions. FCPX 10.4.9 has some additional issues.

[Oliver Peters]

True. I’m sure there are some things that simply aren’t architecturally possible within FCPX. That’s what I keep hearing from those who know. There are others that Apple won’t do because it’s a messy design. We’ll see.

[Oliver Peters]

PS: I’m not quite sure what you are calling “stamp” view. But this article might be helpful in regards to using FCPX for a feature.

https://www.fcp.co/final-cut-pro/articles/1895-organising-and-managing-480-hours-of-footage-in-fcpx-editing-one-of-europe-s-major-feature-films-of-2017

[Oliver Peters]

While MC doesn’t have a filmstrip view, you can scrub through the thumbnails and use JKL playback within the frame. Same as Premiere’s “hover scrubbing.” But to get a better sense of how and why Avid editors use this view, check out some of the many interviews with feature film editors who cut with Avid.

Since it’s freeform, each editor has their own way of making the bin layout work best for them. Check out these links about Eddie Hamilton. Note the image in the first link that shows the bin layout on the left display.

http://www.avidblogs.com/kingsman/

http://www.avidblogs.com/eddie-hamilton-editor-mission-impossible-rogue-nation/

But an FCPX mixer? Don’t hold your breath

[Oliver Peters]

It’s a pretty common way for Media Composer editors to work. There are no constraints to clip organization within the bin in the frame view. Media Composer has 3 bin views as well as ScriptSync (an option). So in the frame view you have freeform control over clip position. Premiere also added this a few versions back. So it’s a visual method of organizing, which many editors like.

If you want to sort using something like Favorites, Keywords, or Smart Collections in Media Composer, then you can enter custom info in a column with the bin in list view. Then sort by that column. MC actually allows for a two-level sort.

There’s also Custom Sift, which is a mode to show/hide clips based on custom criteria. Let’s say you have a ratings column with an X for a circle take. Then Sift by any clip with an X in that column and all other clips in the bin are hidden – much like show/hide favorites.

The biggest advantage that FCPX has with Keywords is the ability to have the same clip show up in more than just one Keyword collection. As well as to have clip ranges appear. You could do something similar in Media Composer, but that would require creating subclips.

I absolutely agree with the benefits of seeing the filmstrip.

[Oliver Peters]

I work in FCPX, MC, PPro, and Resolve and there’s pretty much something in each that I miss when I’m in one of the others. Since I tend to work with other editors, Premiere Pro is generally the common language for us and I tend to find it the closest to the style in which I like to work. But then I miss fluid skimming and especially skimming on clips in the bin.

I also like the customizability of the MC and PPro UI. And I miss actual track mixers when I’m in FCPX. As far as Avid MC, the biggest thing is when I have to work in a true team collaboration on the same project. Nothing still matches what Avid does, even with PPro Productions. As far as specific features, though, there are more things in PPro that I would bring to FCPX than there are things in Avid MC.

But there’s plenty about FCPX that I like and I use it as often as the project situation warrants. I just know that I will not be able to hand off something I’ve started in FCPX to any of my colleagues. That might be different in other markets and/or other shops.

However, I also know FCPX is what it is. I know Apple has a different approach, so I’ve long given up on seeing a real track mixer in some version of FCPX down the road. Those that think a 10.5 is going to be some revolutionary new version with all of the features they think they want just haven’t been paying attention. So I try to appreciate it for what it is and work around what it isn’t

[Oliver Peters]

To my knowledge the RX8 plug-ins work. It’s the RX Connect plug-in that doesn’t. This would normally provide a method to send a track or clip from the timeline directly to the RX8 application and then back. iZotope’s instructions are to do it manually.