Primary Storyline Placeholder?

KyleProhaska

KyleProhaska

Veteran
One of the frustrations I found on a recent edit I did in FCPX for a client was how everything connects to the primary storyline. There isn't a way to disconnect that kind of connection, and the kind of edit I was doing required that I moved the video clip in the primary storyline without moving the others...something that isn't possible.

I was thinking today, why not just throw a placeholder in the primary storyline that you'll never ever touch or move? That way you can slip/move whatever you want above it and treat the first track above the placeholder as the symbolic first track and edit up from there? I just did a little edit using a basic black solid letting everything attach as it pleases to that, then placed the main video I want to use as my primary or hero content above that...which is now free of any connections.

Has anybody else tried this out as a workaround? It's really not a big deal, just figured it might be useful to someone who's been confused or frustrated by the clip connections at times. I've built some edits the wrong way in FCPX and it's turned into an absolute nightmare. How you build the edit is just as important as the edit itself.
 
KyleProhaska said:
One of the frustrations I found on a recent edit I did in FCPX for a client was how everything connects to the primary storyline. There isn't a way to disconnect that kind of connection, and the kind of edit I was doing required that I moved the video clip in the primary storyline without moving the others...something that isn't possible...
Click to expand...

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding you. Why not just hit "P" and move things around to your heart's content?
 
The Position tool doesn't override clip connections, that's the issue here not the Magnetic Timeline. Since everything ultimately connects to the primary storyline in one way or another, using the placeholder that you'll never touch and building your first track of edits above it and any other tracks above that ensures you can clip slide anything you want without ANY clip connections getting in the way moving things above that you don't want. I realize it gets rid of the benefit of clip connections but I find them to be more of a problem then a help.

Make sense?
 
stoneinapond said:
Yes. I've been trying to find out if there is a disable clip connection command, but there does't appear to be one.
Click to expand...

Yep there's no way to disable clip connections. If there was, there's be no need for this little work around I'm doing. Actually if you could turn it off OR assign clip connections to any clip you want whether it's the primary storyline or not, it would be more powerful.
 
Kyle your placeholder idea is a good one. We are dealing with this issue with a client project right now as the client wanted what should be some simple changes (move some video around etc). We were dealing with video with multiple layers etc. and came up with a workaround but I think your idea makes sense. It's a shame we need a work around for what should be a simple editing function. We'll give it a try here. Thanks!
 
Option+Command+UP arrow , remove the clip from storyline and if there was something connected to that clip it will be connected to a gap now. helps ?
 
Yep, ulisses, that´s exactly what I wanted to suggest. Lift it up, create compound and move it. The Gap will be your placeholder.
 
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Echoing this - if you need to be able to move things around like in the old days, just have a project-length gap in the primary storyline and everything else can be connected to the gap.
 
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