Tony Sarafoski
Forum Replies Created
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[Daniel Bethe] “You can make one A-roll clip, and then make several B-roll clips out of that A-roll clip. Then, I type a description in the ‘notes’ column. I do all of that for each subclip.”
I now have a question for you. If you tag a clip with a keyword A-Roll, then you make a second keyword out of that keyword as B-Roll, adding a note to the A-Roll keyword doesn’t then allow you to add a separate note to the B-Roll keyword. That’s a lot of keywording going on in my question LOL, but does that make sense?
[Daniel Bethe] “I have no idea how Smart Collections”
I’m probably not the most experienced answer this question, but from what I understand smart collections are used to somewhat combine keywords, or favorites, or text, or really any combination of those.So for example, if you have an interview and you keyword it Daniel, and you then add another keyword to daniel and called it answers (which will be the answers to the questions asked), then you would use a smart collection as a “folder” to combine any material that has the keyword Daniel & Answers.
Actually here’s a better example. I do a lot of video/audio synchronising. I create a smart collection and give it an action to only search for sync. If at any stage I need to sync video with audio, as your probably aware, FCPX creates synchronised clips in a compound clip and always tags it with synchronised at the end of the clip name. this way instead of looking for newly created synchronised clips in the event, I simply click on my smart collection folder, which only shows these compound clips.
From what I’ve learnt the past few weeks, smart collection are very powerful.
[Daniel Bethe] “I need them to stay in the Event browser. I’m logging keywords, and camera #1 gave me an hour’s worth of footage across 50 mpeg4 master clip files, and then camera #2 gave me two one-hour DV files full of potential subclips.”
I perfectly understand your situation and can see what your trying to do. Honestly I think favorites is your better option, but that’s just my opinion. If you need to make multiple selects that overlap, why not just give that clip 2x keywords, A-Roll & B-Roll or more if need be, then use favorites to “sub clip”. This way you will see your favorites in the event browser.
The only other option I can think of, is you use 1x keyword to make you range selections, which in return will show all those clips within that keyword, and the event browser.
To be honest I’ve been jumping around from forum to forum, searching and nudging out other people’s workflow, however I’m yet to find a solution that I can easily pass on.
I’ve been in a few debates about this same topic, and it always seems to end in a vague explanation. I keep getting told I need to “embrace the new way”, and when I ask what is this new way…. I get no reply!
I’m more than willing to embrace metadata or this new way of organising media. I too would like to see someone put together a video tutorial showing exactly how you “should” be using the metadata in FCPX. Not just for home videos, but real life situations like long formed documentaries or films. Till then I’ll have to keep on searching 🙁
[Daniel Bethe] “That’s what happens when your camera operators have no idea what’s happening at the event, and they just keep pointing and shooting! Welcome to the community! ;)”
Exactly the point I’ve been trying to get across to many editors. You’r not always going to have “perfect material” given to you. At times you might face a situation like yours, how exactly do you handle it in FCPX?
[Daniel Bethe] “Oh and btw, yeah, I have two monitors, and I’ve set it to “show events on second display”.”
I envy you dude…. At times I find it hard to deal with the event browser, but every day I’m learning, and just quietly, loving it too 😉
[Daniel Bethe] “I can’t create folders in the Event browser, but I guess somehow I am supposed to make a Smart Collection instead?”
That’s correct, you can’t make folders within the event browser, and I can understand your reasons for it, but you’ll have to dig further in smart collection which will solve this for you 😉
[Daniel Bethe] “You see how many purple shirts and survivors there are in there? And that’s mostly just from Camera #1. Then with the file ‘tape1’, then the action starts over, concurrently, with Camera #2.”
Oh yes I see. If I were you, I’d be getting my head around smart collection, it’s your answer for sure..
[Daniel Bethe] “Should I create a keyword called “purple shirt folder” so that I can organize it into a folder-like Smart Collection called “purple shirt folder”? lol”
LOL… I’m told you must be old if you can’t let go of sub clipping..! Didn’t realise 39 was old these days.
[Daniel Bethe] “Often, I don’t even know how to think about organizing my footage until I’m half done with the attempt! A-roll, B-roll, sound effects, images, soundtrack, dialog, aren’t enough!”
Daniel I know there are a few guys on this forum that have gotten there head around the organisational partrt of FCPX. I just which someone come pout with a tut. I’m more than happy to pay for it 😉
over and out T.
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Daniel, some of the suggestions I’ll make are not the way FCPX was intended to be used, however rules are made to be broken 😉
You have 3 options in selecting and marking ranges to achieve what you want :
Option 1 – List View:
I find list view works best with JKL, then to mark your range, either press F, or apply a keyword.
Option 2 – Filmstrip View:
I’ve found filmstrip view works best for “shorter clips”, however if you have a second monitor and your able to project your event browser to that monitor, I think you’ll find filmstrip mode very handy, especially being able to visually see the changes in your filmstrip. If you don’t, then again I’ve found JKL to be the better option, and again f to add a favorite, or use keywords. to mark that range.
With both options mentioned above, once you have tagged your range as favorites, to view only the favorites you simply change the event browser filter option to favorites, or you can also create a smart collection.
Option 3 – Using the timeline:
Oh how I love breaking rules. Like you, I at times feel the event browser (be it list or filmstrip view) find it a little “small”, especially when you work off a MacBook Pro with no second monitor.Therefore at times I choose to use this option. I append the “long” clip to the primary storyline, with my skimmer on, I skim, blade in/outs, select or hover over the clip and hit c, then press shift+f, and f to mark the range. Like I said before, you might have a few people say DO NOT DO THAT!, however I’ve become very fast at using this technique, and regularly use it.
Unfortunately Apple have not given us the ability to drag/drop clips from the timeline back into the event, I’ve been told it has something to do with the way metadata handles the media. I have had many posters disagree that this is a good workflow, I say what works for you is best 😉
Other than that, to my knowledge I don’t believe there are any other options.
Hope that help 😉
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- Click on the Timeline Index tab (bottom left of the timeline)
- In the search bar type in cross
- Select all and delete
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Yep absolutely, you can treat projects as individual “sequences”, and yes you can certainly copy/paste between projects.
In other words if your program goes for 28:30, you can build 3x separate segments (projects), then when ready, combine these projects in a final project.
Example:
Project 1 = Segment 1
Project 2 = Segment 2
Project 3 = Segment 3
Project 4 = Final ( all above segments copied & pasted in this project). -
Chuck, Jeremy’s method is certainly one solution, however I’ve found it to eventualy choke up your project.
What I do now is build my sequences (or segments in your case) as individual projects, when ready to build the final project, depending on the complexity I either copy and past between projects, or I place the project in a compound (on the timeline), then copy/paste the compound in the final project. I know it probably sounds a little contradicting, but I’ve found FCPX to be a lot more stable working it this way.
If the above is hard to follow, let me know and I’ll try putting a few screen grabs up.
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[Michael Garber] “I’ve been doing some tests with footage I shot the other day and I’ll be doing some off-the-cuff tutorials that I’ll put on Vimeo.”
Michael, that’s something I’ve been investigating as well, and had plans in recording different workflow scenarios. Would you be interested in iChating and shearing ideas and information?
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and I second that Jeremy…. very annoying indeed..!
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[Loren Risker] “That way in the Rick bin will be EVERYTHING related to Rick, not just interviews. And in the interviews there will be everything that’s an interview, not just Rick interviews.”
Ok now I understand Loren.
With my project (being the testimonials), each interview was a separate project.
This means B-Rolls from Alex, Joe or Michael are not mixed or used in Rick’s project, therefore I separated Rick’s material, only in a Rick folder.
In other words Rick’s folder will only hold the 30min interview (which is uncut), The Answers, Bites, B-rolls, Music, and Graphics. Hope that make sense…?
I do however understand your workflow, especially the use of smart keyword collections, which is a great tool that I’ve been avoiding 🙁 and not sure why either..!
I guess what Michael and I would like to be able to do (which is working against the way Apple or Bill advise), is to be able to make smaller clips from a “main clip”.
Let me try simplify this. Rather than using keywords or favorites to break up a 30min interview into smaller selects, I instead would like to be able to separate the 30min interview into “clips”. This in return allows me to add custom notes, and also gives me the ability to search within that keyword.
I understand the only way to achieve this right now is to tag selects as favourites, then add your custom notes, which in return become searchable. However as Michael has mentioned, the problem is every time you click on a new keyword in the Event Library, then click back again, you need to re-toggle down to see your favorites, in other words it just doesn’t stick..!
I guess favourites is the new “create new clip” feature, I would just like to be given more flexibility as per my screen grab below.
The other thing I’d like to add to this is, not every job I work on gives me the time to detail my material in the Event Browser prior building the story on the timeline, which means I have to be able to quickly drop clips and trim to build a story in a linear fashion. Though I’ve been able to do that now, and even faster in X than I was able to in 7, I still feel there are only a “minor” few missing features that I hope be brought back in a future version.
Having said that, keyword collection is a MASSIVE plus and could never see myself cutting the way I did 7.
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Ok I see what your trying to do.
Just to confirm, your 3hr timeline (which is a project), is that a completed edit, or have you just placed “all” your media from the event on that timeline, which is 3hrs long?
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Am I right to say, your trying to use compound clips as timelines, and copy paste clips between them?
