I'm a Hollywood-based editor that started on Avid in the early 90s. FCPX is the future. FCP7 has a hard time managing media resulting in sometimes THOUSANDS of borked media links. That doesn't happen in FCPX? Additionally, FCPX blows away all editing systems as a storytelling device. It's near impossible to break picture-sound sync, a common mistake on Avi., The ability to "audition" replacement shots in the same timeline and better post-production sound and picture too have it pulling away.
The missing features such as multicam, dedicated audio tracks (ie SFX always on A7 and A8) and Edit Decision Lists are largely addressed.
Professionals are slow to adopt new workflows (the transition form tape to digital took more than a decade), but with Avids' ups and downs and Premiere's infuriating issues, FCPX looks like it has a bright professional future before it.
So how do you make a 4-point matte that changes shape over time in FCPX? Something I need all the time to quickly mask out parts of an image. Very basic to achieve in FCP7 and Premiere.
BTW. I'm too busy to dig out the FCP7 12000x1200px project and make a screenshot. I never said rendering was fast But it worked. For the setup a common workaround was needed. Instead of typing in the values (they only go up to ~4000x4000) you have to drop a higher resolution clip into to timeline and confirm that you would like the timeline to change its properties according to the clip. But that's now history anyways.
So how do you make a 4-point matte that changes shape over time in FCPX? Something I need all the time to quickly mask out parts of an image. Very basic to achieve in FCP7 and Premiere.
BTW. I'm too busy to dig out the FCP7 12000x1200px project and make a screenshot. I never said rendering was fast But it worked. For the setup a common workaround was needed. Instead of typing in the values (they only go up to ~4000x4000) you have to drop a higher resolution clip into to timeline and confirm that you would like the timeline to change its properties according to the clip. But that's now history anyways.
Cheers, g
Thanks, I am familiar with the technique you mention, I fudged some 4K like that before it was built into FCPX but there was little I could do with it back then. I was interested to know what codec would be used and the output format that was the result.
Re mattes. Garbage mattes are easy in Motion. You can draw a bezier or b-spline and then turn on auto-keyframe and step forward frame by frame to adjust size and position and shape. You can also feather it out to fit. It really is far more powerful this way. Perhaps the new tighter linkage between Motion and FCPX is something you need to explore, you can make your own effects plug-ins and save them for future use. It is mind blowing how simple it is once you see how.
Bottom line is at the present level I don't believe there is anything left that you could do in 7 you can't do in X better and faster. If you think there is, you just need to check out YouTube and someone will have a video to show you how.
Thx! I might just give it another chance in a Motion/FCPX setup. I haven't so far checked out the option to customize effects in Motion for FCPX.
Plugins on the other hand I'm not that fund of. I was initially trained as graphic designer and the plugin mania of Indesign and QuarkXPress became notorious in the industry. Just too much house keeping and compatibility issues when passing on documents.
Btw. the whole "they cut a feature film with software XYZ" issue is in general a bit misleading. Features are technically speaking the easiest editing jobs on the planet. Only hard cuts, scripted material that comes with comments, no need to touch any colors, effects, ... except for the odd quick test.
I've been editing full length features on reel to reel tape machines. It is not that comfortable but close enough to the classic moviola/steenbeck editing style. Feature film editing is a lot about artistic decisions and on the technical side mostly about sound editing, layering and, crucially, import/export options. On top there is usually no need on a feature project to be able to open up projects from the past. So feature editors don't have to worry too much, when a company end-of-lines an application.
Btw. the whole "they cut a feature film with software XYZ" issue is in general a bit misleading. Features are technically speaking the easiest editing jobs on the planet. Only hard cuts, scripted material that comes with comments, no need to touch any colors, effects, ... except for the odd quick test.
I've been editing full length features on reel to reel tape machines. It is not that comfortable but close enough to the classic moviola/steenbeck editing style. Feature film editing is a lot about artistic decisions and on the technical side mostly about sound editing, layering and, crucially, import/export options. On top there is usually no need on a feature project to be able to open up projects from the past. So feature editors don't have to worry too much, when a company end-of-lines an application.
I hear you on the eol situation. I lived through the Pagemaker, FreeHand and whole DTP era too and know the pain. Quark ... OMG I don't want to even think about it.
In FCP I have had to go back to 7 projects using X and used a third party app called 7toX quite successfully which uses XML although there were some manual fixes required. I always keep everything from past projects (neatly placed in labeled folders) and to be honest in some cases found it far faster to start over in FCPX on a nMP and using the FCP7 final edit as a template on one track to later discard. This was all 1080p material so on a nMP with FCPX is was blindingly fast to re-work. I was aware how long the original work had taken on the previous Mac Pro and it was just amazing the difference.
I guarantee once you master the new Motion>FCPX process you will break out in a wide grin. I don't or rarely use Motion itself per se, it is simply a tool to create my own plug-ins. In fact all those third party plug-ins you are shy of using are almost all made by clever guys and gals creating them in Motion and selling them. Most you can disassemble yourself in Motion. So there is no eol to worry about since they are not the usual third party app, they are no different to the ones you can make yourself. Indeed I have bought a few simply to pull apart and learn from.
Comments
The missing features such as multicam, dedicated audio tracks (ie SFX always on A7 and A8) and Edit Decision Lists are largely addressed.
Professionals are slow to adopt new workflows (the transition form tape to digital took more than a decade), but with Avids' ups and downs and Premiere's infuriating issues, FCPX looks like it has a bright professional future before it.
So how do you make a 4-point matte that changes shape over time in FCPX? Something I need all the time to quickly mask out parts of an image. Very basic to achieve in FCP7 and Premiere.
BTW. I'm too busy to dig out the FCP7 12000x1200px project and make a screenshot. I never said rendering was fast
But it worked. For the setup a common workaround was needed. Instead of typing in the values (they only go up to ~4000x4000) you have to drop a higher resolution clip into to timeline and confirm that you would like the timeline to change its properties according to the clip. But that's now history anyways.
Cheers, g
Thanks, I am familiar with the technique you mention, I fudged some 4K like that before it was built into FCPX but there was little I could do with it back then. I was interested to know what codec would be used and the output format that was the result.
Re mattes. Garbage mattes are easy in Motion. You can draw a bezier or b-spline and then turn on auto-keyframe and step forward frame by frame to adjust size and position and shape. You can also feather it out to fit. It really is far more powerful this way. Perhaps the new tighter linkage between Motion and FCPX is something you need to explore, you can make your own effects plug-ins and save them for future use. It is mind blowing how simple it is once you see how.
https://help.apple.com/motion/mac/5.0/en/motion/usermanual/index.html#chapter=11§ion=2&tasks=true
Plus ready made third party goodies proliferate. http://www.fcpeffects.com/products/advanced-masking-tools-2
Bottom line is at the present level I don't believe there is anything left that you could do in 7 you can't do in X better and faster. If you think there is, you just need to check out YouTube and someone will have a video to show you how.
Thx! I might just give it another chance in a Motion/FCPX setup. I haven't so far checked out the option to customize effects in Motion for FCPX.
Plugins on the other hand I'm not that fund of. I was initially trained as graphic designer and the plugin mania of Indesign and QuarkXPress became notorious in the industry. Just too much house keeping and compatibility issues when passing on documents.
Btw. the whole "they cut a feature film with software XYZ" issue is in general a bit misleading. Features are technically speaking the easiest editing jobs on the planet. Only hard cuts, scripted material that comes with comments, no need to touch any colors, effects, ... except for the odd quick test.
I've been editing full length features on reel to reel tape machines. It is not that comfortable but close enough to the classic moviola/steenbeck editing style. Feature film editing is a lot about artistic decisions and on the technical side mostly about sound editing, layering and, crucially, import/export options. On top there is usually no need on a feature project to be able to open up projects from the past. So feature editors don't have to worry too much, when a company end-of-lines an application.
I hear you on the eol situation. I lived through the Pagemaker, FreeHand and whole DTP era too and know the pain. Quark ... OMG I don't want to even think about it.
In FCP I have had to go back to 7 projects using X and used a third party app called 7toX quite successfully which uses XML although there were some manual fixes required. I always keep everything from past projects (neatly placed in labeled folders) and to be honest in some cases found it far faster to start over in FCPX on a nMP and using the FCP7 final edit as a template on one track to later discard. This was all 1080p material so on a nMP with FCPX is was blindingly fast to re-work. I was aware how long the original work had taken on the previous Mac Pro and it was just amazing the difference.
I guarantee once you master the new Motion>FCPX process you will break out in a wide grin. I don't or rarely use Motion itself per se, it is simply a tool to create my own plug-ins. In fact all those third party plug-ins you are shy of using are almost all made by clever guys and gals creating them in Motion and selling them. Most you can disassemble yourself in Motion. So there is no eol to worry about since they are not the usual third party app, they are no different to the ones you can make yourself. Indeed I have bought a few simply to pull apart and learn from.