Scott Sheriff
Forum Replies Created
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[Ladislav Zamba] “So, I believe that FCPX developers can avoid some unnecessary disk activity and make editing on slow drives and machines faster.”
Sure, they could. But why?
Isn’t the whole concept of X to be a “new paradigm in editing”? Isn’t it about moving into the future? Once you sign on to a deal like X, it is not a smorgasbord. You have to take it all, including frequent hardware upgrades to the latest and greatest in order to keep up.
When you (FCP X users) start saying developers need to write code in order to accommodate your (FCP X users) hardware deficiencies, or even that the app isn’t getting everything out of the hardware that it can, well this sounds like the previous FCS/FCP7 users complaints.
need to upgrade and move into the future.
Oh, BTW apple will be happy to supply you with a faster machine and drives.Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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Food for thought on Shake
If you don’t have any other use for a compositing program except for a CK, Shake is going to be complete overkill.
The last version of Shake for mac was meant to run on Leopard. It may, or may not run well on your system. Snow Leopard is doable, and some have even reported getting it to run on Lion. The farther you get from Leopard, the better the chance it won’t run, or that an OS update might break it. To have the best odds of a successful Shake installation, you should do a clean install and Shake should be loaded before FCS. If you are at a point of freezing your system at a particular level, it might be something to consider. But if you need to keep your OS up to date to support other apps, it might not be that great for you.
Also the UI, and workflow is quite different. Similar to Color with a node based UI. Even just doing a simple CK might prove to be a challenge for some new users. I’m not saying it can’t be done. Just that it’s a lot more work than installing a FCP plugin.
On the plus side, it can be had for bargain prices.
Another option is to farm out the shots that are giving you trouble to someone that has Shake or other compositing software.Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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Hi,
I have used a modified version of Marks suggestion. The modification is to do some pre logging and cull whats obviously not useable. Sort and bin the footage into major categories, and then throw the contents of each bin into a timeline and make a TC window burn DVDs from those.BTW, whatever work you do prepping a TC burn for client logging is on the clock, and billable.
Mark mentioned that some clients will fold under the workload. Another thing that happens is a lot of clients don’t know enough to judge when shots with minor tech problems that can be fixed should be used. Or not.
Also most don’t know how to add time, and usually over/under log when there is a fixed duration for the show.Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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[Bill Davis] “PortaBrace.”
I’d second that. I have used a lot of PB, and it holds up well. They will repair their stuff when it needs it. I like that too.
Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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[Shane Ross] “Unless you are using FCX…in which case it and iMovie are best of friends!”
LMFAO!
Next time warn me your going to say something that funny. Damn near had coffee come out my nose!Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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[Jerry Hofmann] “There’s more to scrubbing than just drive speeds. GPU’s matter too”
Good point about the GPU.
Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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OK, the subject of this thread is “Thoughts from the departed?”, so is that you? Have you departed, or moved on?
Or are you here just to cheerlead for apple? If so, start a new thread.[alban egger] “I can’t believe there are so many still using FCP7”
It’s not that hard to understand.
Most editors don’t have a compelling need to constantly dump something that is working well, just because something new comes out. The operative term here is “new”.
Now if something better comes out, or what you have doesn’t do what you need, that’s a different story.
I’d rather edit, than be an unpaid beta tester. And I’m not interested in learning a “new editing paradigm”. The one I’m using works fine for me, and apples new editing paradigm isn’t going to make me, or anyone else a better editor. But I understand that there are those out that are more into the ‘geek factor’ of bragging about having every new app under the sun, and not so much about the editing part. Whatever floats your boat. I’d rather spend my time editing rather than loading and tweaking new software.[alban egger] “After a year of FCPX it is such a huge step backwards to 32-bit, tracks, unusable binstructure.”
I doubt that the audience cares about your NLE, much less if it’s a 32, or 64 bit app. 64 bit apps may be faster, but IMO the bottleneck in most systems is the editor, not whether its a 32 or 64 bit app. Reading the forums for any length of time will confirm that.
And what is better, a 32 bit app that is completely stable and proven, with a large pool of available editors with years of experience or a 64 bit app that is not stable, missing key features, that no one has more than a year experience using?Tracks are a step backwards?
LOL! That sounds very much like these new 5D shooters that think lights and tripods are outdated, or a step backwards.
Unusable bin structure?
Seems like others have used bins successfully for decades.
These are strictly opinion, stated as if it they were a fact. Which they are not. If you have any facts to back up these assertions, please share them.[alban egger] “because FCP7 is outdated soon.”
I noticed you hedged you bet with the word “soon”. Either FCP is, or isn’t out of date. Once again, another opinion stated as if it were fact. While some shops and the big gun freelancers feel the need to have other NLE’s on their system, this is not direct evidence the FCP7 is outdated, now or anytime “soon”.
Tomorrow, and many days after that, editors all over the world will wake up and start cutting on “outdated” software, including FCP7.Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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IMO, bags are not the best choice.
I like hard cases. The old Oconnor style with the spring loaded bottom that kept the tripod from moving around was great. Many of these are 30 years old and still going.
The one problem is that most of the sticks people are using are a lot smaller, and don’t fit well in these older cases.
Building a hard case out of irrigation pipe wouldn’t be very hard.On the issue of dead zippers and tears. Try going to auto upholstery shops to get them repaired. Jeep soft tops are full of these big zippers, and most of these shops can fix these no problem. They could probably fix tripod bags too.
Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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Moved on…
My FCS system is stable, and X just isn’t all that, and a bag of chips.
Since X doesn’t really offer anything new or worthwhile for me, I took that money and bought a NOS copy of Shake 4.1. So for less than the cost of X, I was able to greatly enhance my capabilities, and add a new range of services. Much more so than buying a redundant prosumer NLE like X. In a way, apple abandoning the pro market has produced some real bargains.Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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Not to sound like some smug, beret wearing ‘artist’, but the whole pacing, shot length thing is really what the art of editing is about. It’s complex, deep, influenced by trends and somewhat subjective. Not really the type of thing you can sum up in a couple of posts, so my answers might seem a bit vague.
There are ‘styles’ used by big name editors, and it’s good to know about them, and their work. And sure there are some basic rules and concepts. But people follow the rules all day long and turn out crap. And at the same time others break rules left and right, and turn out award winning work. Every situation is somewhat unique, so you have to adapt. Unless there is a scripted requirement, or some broadcast constraint that has to be followed, just use your instinct to tell you when a shot is up to long, not long enough, etc. Develop a style. Use that same instinct to decide when you should/or shouldn’t follow any particular rule. Part of why I suggest cutting your footage down in stages. As you progress thru the stages, don’t be afraid of making changes to elements that bother you in previous versions. As you get closer to the final cut, start becoming more selective of your changes, and avoid the trap of ‘never being done’.[kat hayes] ”
1. Is there some guideline for going from shorter/faster clips to longer/slower ones? Is this just up to the discretion of the editor? I guess I’m just looking to see if there are underlying guidelines for determining pacing or not.”I’m assuming there isn’t a VO, or other scripted elements that would drive the pacing, so what about music? A well chosen music bed will provide cues for editing. Also the content and action of the shots, will partially determine pacing. If your telling a story, where you are in the story will often determine the pacing. Music often works the same way.
Another factor would be the type of story. A drama has a much different pacing, than a comedy.[kat hayes] ”
2. Should I approach this project so it has a beginning/middle/end, and if so, does this influence how pacing should be?”Most likely, yes. Unless it is some type of abstract, or maybe a demo reel or something of that nature.
Your 5 minute piece is essentially a mini movie, or short story, so the pacing should be variable depending on where you’re at in the story. And when you’re deciding on what gets cut, you just have to keep asking yourself questions like, “do I need this shot”, or “is this shot advancing my story”.
If the footage is something you shot, you must also learn (it’s hard) to detach yourself from shots you really love as a cinematographer. Resist keeping shots that don’t help the story, or the pressure of keeping something because it was a lot of work to shoot. Use the same discretion on not only the yes/no decision, but the length of shots you decide to keep. If the footage isn’t yours, it’s often a tad easier to remain objective when making selects.Hopefully some other editors will chime in on this, since everyone approaches this from a slightly different perspective.
Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?