[Phil Lowe]

“…the longer you *think* like an AVID editor, the less you mentally migrate to thinking like an X editor.”

Which is quite fine by me. I will be editing news in FCPX, but production-oriented pieces, especially green screen work, in Media Composer. My MC keyboard was originally created to cut news on Xpress Pro and Newscutter systems, so my muscle memory is adapted to having all my most frequently used keys under my left hand. I have the 1 & 2 keys mapped for back and forward 10 frames, the 3 & 4 keys mapped for back and forward 1 frame, the E & R keys mapped as Mark In and Mark Out, and the V & B keys mapped as Insert & Overwrite. I don’t use the JKL keys because between the mouse and left hand, I can navigate precisely to any point I want very quickly. I have maintained most of the native FCPX keyboard mapping, but only because I probably won’t use many of the features in FCPX for cutting news: straight cuts with occasional dissolves are about all I’ll ever need in this app.

That said, I’m frustrated that I have not found a way to mark takes while voiceover recording on the fly. And the lack of a quick effect (dissolve) key that works for audio as it does for video, a la Avid, is disconcerting.

Muscle memory is the key to speed in any NLE, and keeping the keyboard mapped consistently across platforms and programs is where I feel I will be most proficient. YMMV. 😉

[Phil Lowe]

I’ve spent the past 20 years using and building Avid systems (Xpress Pro, Media Composer, and Newscutter.) I continue to use Media Composer today, but am having to learn FCPX, as this is the NLE my new employer will start using in December.

I’ve read the cautionary tales about remapping the FCPX keyboard to resemble a Media Composer workflow, but – at least in my case – I’ve found remapping my most frequently used keys has made the learning curve so much easier. More importantly, it’s made me more productive sooner than I would’ve been had I tried to “tough it out” learning a purely “X” workflow. And, since I intend to continue working with Media Composer in the future, keeping the keys consistent across both systems means I can continue to be fast in both as needed.

Bottom line: do whatever makes you productive and proficient as fast as you can be. After all, that’s why they put keyboard remapping in all these NLEs in the first place. 😉

P.S. I never liked the default Avid keys either, and have always imported my own keyboard layout on every machine I use.