FCP7 review by a FCPX user

First off.... nothing personal against you.... just your "review".

I have so many negative things to say about your "review" but I will hold back because I will probably get censored again.

The only thing I will say is that you have shown from the opening of your "review" that you already have a strong bias against people who simply don't like or aren't really feeling the Final Cut X program and / or workflow. You have created more of an opinion page than a "review" and it is something not to be taken seriously in my opinion. Your quote below from the review...

alpi69 wrote
For those who hate FCPX and bash it wherever they can, because they are sour with Apple and never got around to learn FCPX....well, leave, because this post will hurt you and expose you as an editor stuck in an old workflow.
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I may not like Final Cut X but I will not bash people for choosing what they want.

By the way... "old workflows" should not be bashed as you may not know what benefit those "old workflows" may have to others. You might not need what the "old workflows" offer them and you seem to agree with apple they are not needed but many of us do like and need many things the "old workflow" gives us to get the job done in the manner we need.

By the way... people editing on film made great, beautiful and award winning movies before a Final Cut or Avid came along. Are you going to bash original film editing too because it is an "old workflow". Think again before what you bash what is time tested and true.

Lastly ... keywords are not a big deal to a lot of us. Bins and subclips are still something many of us like. Heck the bin structure follows what they used to use for film. You'd throw clips in a bin. You follow? If you can't stay organized and you like to spend time with keywords then cool. But many of us work differently.

I don't know if you knew this but Avid has a "keyword" type of workflow too. It's called custom sift. You type in a work in any column and then custom sift and it will find those clips to which your keyword was applied. They've had it for ...... uh more than 10 years.
 
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Draven again ;-) i hope you won't lock down another thread of mine.

Yes my review might be biased. And it is limited to FCP7 and FCPX. I don't comment on Avid, because i never used it.

As i wrote on my blog several times FCPX has several features missing for our professional workflow. I totally understand when people therefore don't use it and/or don't like it. But i put in the first sentence you quoted, necause many didn't try FCPX and then started writing about it from heresay without even knowing what it does how.

FCPX does most things one needs and it does many better. It lacks mostly on the output-end of the project, when you start fixing effects (tracking, colourgrade), audiomixing, roundtripping to Motion, AfterEffects, Color, DaVinci etc.

But in the editing process FCPX leads the way. Keywords don't mean i can stay unorganized. In my project i throw so many clips in i have to use bins to be organized. Only now these bins are keyword-collections, there is no difference on import. I put the clips into these "bins". The beauty is when FCPX collects the clips with the same keywords for me. It simply takes over the "dragging to bin" move automatically. Since it can be a hassle to find bins once you have hundred or more, this is just convenient. And the option to then combine keywords and metadata in smart collcetions is the next step and even the hardest fan of avid will realize this is a timesaver in any project.

Finally: film editing. Film editing has nothing to do how you do it technically. I have been through many NLEs from my Amigadays and up the last 20 years. And my films, commercials, documentaries always looked the way I wanted them taking into account what my skills, budgets and time schedules were. Every NLE was able to do everything needed and everyone of them had limitations that needed workarounds or in the worst case i had to startup another machine/software (e.g i still have Edius around for roughcuts of sportsevents, because FCP7 simply was not able to make a quick roughcut).
FCPX has very few limitations in the organisational and editing process, but huge holes once the project needs to get cleaned up as stated above. Classic filmediting is about brains not tools and many are now on the barricades because their hardware and Supplemental infrastructure are not supported. But IMO that has nothing to do with editing but more with system-managment. In that context you are right. Existing systems are not supported, and many of those are of a dying breed Apple won't support ever anymore (tapes as we know them). we can only hope 3rd party vendors will do that.
But storytelling will stay the same.
 
Good review, I hope you don't get locked out again either. Your information helps me. The megatest blog was awesome for someone like me. Non pro.
 
alpi69 said:
But in the editing process FCPX leads the way. Keywords don't mean i can stay unorganized...Finally: film editing. Film editing has nothing to do how you do it technically.
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FCP old-timer here. Instead of jumping to FCPX like you I instead opted to learn Avid. I've found that while I'm still slow in other areas, the actual "editing" part of Avid is much faster than what I was able to achieve in FCP even with the huge experience gap. However, in tandem with learning Avid I have tried to keep up to date on FCPX and watched many videos, read articles, etc. I haven't found any evidence that it's faster than Avid in the editing area, but I'd like to ask your opinion on the matter since you are much more versed in FCPX than I am. I'll be honest - I have no intention of switching to FCPX since the next few years of career look very avid-centered, but I'm trying to take an honest interest without turning a blind eye due to the 'missing features' which need not be repeated for sake of sounding redundant. I know j/k/l functions are in tact, but what about "fit-to-fill","replace edit", "extend edit" or "top" and "tail" ? It would be great to hear your thoughts on that stuff...
 
I posted my answer also on my blog.
http://fcpxmegatest.blogspot.com/2011/08/questions-from-avid-user-answered.html


I have talked about some of these before in this blog, but here is a dedicated answer:
"fit-to-fill": well since you ask about the extend edit after I guess this should be a fit-to-fill retime-tool. There is a tool for it, but only half implemented yet. Select the clip, hit CMD-R (or the retime-tool-button), now you can drag the top and tail and of the clip and it adjust the speed, so the ins and outs stay, but the duration changes. Problem...this is always in ripple mode, so you don´t close the gap, but push it; half implemented, because in POSITION MODE it should overwrite the following GAP/CLIP.
Workaround in version "tendotzero" is to select clip OPT-CMD-UPARROW it so it is above the primary storyline and now retime the clip to fill to wherever you want it. Then OPT-CMD-DOWNARROW to put it back into the Primary storyline.

"replace edit": that one is very well done in FCPX. Drag a clip above the one to be replaced. You now have the options to replace (duration stays as it was in timeline), replace from start (new clips stays as In Out are set in the bin), replace from END or even replace as audition (so you have both and can watch how each one looks in the timeline)

"extend edit": SHIFT-X

"top" "tail": not sure what they are in AVID, but I guess they are "trim-start", "trim-end" and "trim-to
-selection" in FCPX. I put them to the keys 1, 2, 3 respectively and they are HUGE upgrades to FCP7.

Another "tool" that make editing faster in FCPX is (even if it is not polished yet) the magnetic timeline. I know 90% of seasoned editors hate it, but I can only understand this if someone didn´t really teach themselves in it (as you have to in every tool, also AVID) or only talk heresay. The magnetic timeline takes away a lot of problems that are existing in FCP7; I know they are not as bad in AVID and Premiere from the heresay I get, but I can only directly compare to FCP7 and Edius, the two most recent NLEs I used, and FCP7 was simply the worst in keeping sync. One is constantly asked to check down the timeline, lock tracks to be able to ripple, I was constantly cutting through clips that I didn´t want to touch etc.
I know the so called pros say if you know what you do these steps are easy, but I prefer software that simply works without those additional steps. FCP7 was flexible, but it was clumsy.

two more features:
J- and L- cuts are a blast in FCPX with a simple doubleclick on the audio.

And finally: The magnetic timeline keeps sync all the time. With the clip-connection (which can also be a compound of dozens of clips or even a secondary storyline) I can move big parts of a timeline by simply taking the "masterclip" in the primary timeline.
For example I am editing a documentary now that follows 3 people alongside the mainstory. So I drift off to one of them at a sunset-clip with her own interview (in a secondary storyline container) and added B-Roll that is also connected to the same sun-setclip. This sunset will now stay together with her story and her B-roll. No need to select many clips and beware which audio follows with it. All is connected to this sunset-cip. I can even replace the sunset with a clip from dinner, still everything stays where it was. I can now easily move her story with that clip. It is hard to understand, but the way everything stays in-sync is just easy and it works. It is truly more magic than magnetic when you take a junk of your story that is several minutes long and contains maybe 50 clips with one and simply drop it behind another chapter of your film.

I see many good things there that are nice improvements over FCP7. But I also see problems. As nice as the magnetic timeline is, it still has its bugs and is far from usable for everyone. I don´t blame anyone for waiting on it. But keep your eyes open to what happens there and what direction Apple and the 3rd party vendors go, before you sell yourself totally away from FCP.
 
I really enjoyed your original posts regarding the megatest; its a shame that thread was locked because it was the most constructive and helpful post on how to use FCPX. Interesting to read your take on FCP now after using FCPX.

I have a new gig starting where I will be on the move in wilderness areas, filming during the day, logging and editing during the evening. I need to be able to assemble quick but short movies (for viewing on vimeo) every couple of days, and then combine them at the end of the expeditions to create a larger dvd.

I figured FCPX would be my best bet as I need something that I can cut with quickly; I dont need any special effects, and minimal color correction. Strictly prosumer work. So I bought a MacBookPro and a couple of external drives.

Do you think this system will work:

MacBook Pro, 2.3ghz I7, 8GB Ram, 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200.

I also bought a Lacie Rugged FW4/FW8 1TB external harddrive for backing up footage in the field http://store.apple.com/ie/product/H2222ZM/A?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY

plus a G Tech high performance drive http://store.apple.com/ie/product/TX118ZM/A?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY as a scratch disk for editing on.

Will this get the job done in your opinion? I would be mainly using nanoflash footage, captured at 50mbs MOV format.

Thanks,

Simon
 
Simon, system sounds good to me. Pretty much what I would bring.
Remember...your "scatch disk" now is the "event disk" haha

I tried the "Share to Vimeo..." option also in our megatest and it worked fine. So you can just share the project and leave the machine do the rest (encode, upload, fill in textfields in vimeo).

Good luck.
 
I think I might be mistaken about which original thread was locked out in the past. There was a thread on DVXuser.com called "10 day Bicycle challenge" that got locked out due to too many people placing voicing their Final Cut X negative opinions. (rightfully so if they feel)


What exactly got locked out? Just curious.
 
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draven4 said:
I think I might be mistaken about which original thread was locked out in the past. There was a thread on DVXuser.com called "10 day Bicycle challenge" that got locked out due to too many people placing voicing their Final Cut X negative opinions. (rightfully so if they feel)


What exactly got locked out? Just curious.
Click to expand...

That whole thread got locked (so no one could post on it anymore). It was a shame that it became derailed with negative FCPX posts (because there are literally hundreds on anti-fcpx threads to choose from).

That thread was one of the few examples of someone highlighting an early real-world example of FCPX in use, and offering various insights and solutions to its workflows. Damn shame it was locked, but the blogs are still there of course.
 
Ok guys, just a heads up threads usually get locked when the thread itself is causing disruption by becoming personal. What usually happens is

"Ive got NLE A"
"Well Ive got NLE B and its better because...."
Well NLE A has this and this and this"

"Your stupid if you think thats better"

LOCK! For two reasons; personal attacks and whilst debate is one thing these little back and forths dont actually help anyone when people are only trying to discredit the other persons argument. Keep it clean and no lock.

I also want to make a final point. DVXUser is actually a Privately owned forum, the mods job is to try and make the experience comfortable for the majority of people most of the time. If a mod doesnt feel this is the case in a particular thread ....
 
Thanks Noel for summarizing the reasons why a thread gets locked.

It would be prudent for everyone to read the Forum Guidelines for posting:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/announcement.php?f=37

The most salient post is:

8. No Pi$$ing In The Pool
Trolling, Baiting, Complaining and beating dead horses is like urinating in the pool -- it may make you feel good, but it kind of ruins it for everyone else. This includes complaints about things which happen on other message boards/websites -- it has nothing to do with DVXuser and we have no reason to air it here.

There are a bunch of "what I don't like about FCP X" threads here. The last thread was closed because it became a series of exchanges similar to what Noel indicated.
 
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