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Author Archives: halfmac

Final Cut Pro X Works!

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With all the hoopla about Final Cut Pro X, I thought it would be a good idea to try out it with an actual project. FCPX may be missing features from the last version but you still can cut a professional video. I have been doing these real estate videos for some time. All before using Final Cut Pro 7. This is the first video that I did only with Final Cut Pro X. It was shot, edited and uploaded in one day, last Saturday. The editing went fairly quickly. Most things were faster. There are some good new tools in FCPX.

The video was shot with a Canon 60D and Sennheiser G2 wireless recorded in camera for on camera the talent. I then imported the raw video from the SD card into a folder where I keep all the other raw video from doing these real estate videos. I opened FCPX and imported the Canon's native h264 QuickTime’s footage into a new event. I did no conversion on .m4a voice over audio as well. In FCP7 I would render both the video and the audio to ProRes LT and .aiff. I brought in .png, .jpeg and Photoshop .psd's for graphics into the Event Library. Some have complained that .psd’s don’t come in as layers in a sequence. I have never liked that. I would always convert .psd’s as .png’s so they would be one layer. If you wanted to turn off a layer it could be done in Photoshop. I do like having multi-layer .psd’s in Motion.

After creating a new project, I laid in the first shot and added a fade in by doing a dissolve from black on the video. I like to emphasize the audio so I added Voice Enhance in the Inspector panel and turn off one of the audio channels of the two that the camera shoots.

Also I went to the Open in a Timeline command and added AU Peak Limiter from the Effects panel for the voice. A lot of the same keyboard short cuts still work like Command + to zoom the Project Timeline. (S now turns on and off the Skimming)

The next thing I did was that I went to Crop button in the Viewer and added the Ken Burns Effect to do a slow zoom on the shot.

Next I laid in the next shot and added a bunch of stills to the timeline. I put a transparent graphic over the stills and stretched it to fit. The “magic timeline” where it adjusts worked very well. I add more stills and video. When I put in the music for the video, I liked that I could add a fade in or fade out by pulling a little diamond near the edge if the clip. When I was editing in the “magic timeline” the music stayed in place as long as I was not at the beginning of it. Nice Touch.

The rest of the narration was added next. I voice enhanced the audio. Then I had to adjust the stills to fit the narration. There are rubber bands for the audio in the Timeline view. I had to learn how to use the new Titler. It behaves quite a bit differently that FCP7. There are many more options for titles.

Once I added the video tag on the end I was ready for making a movie. I selected Export Movie under the Share menu. The video rendered to ProRes in 18 seconds. That was very impressive because any rendering is done as I edit. I then converted the video to h264 for YouTube in QuickTime Player like I do on a regular basis. That was at it's usual pokey self. Then to YouTube.

Promise and Apple Ship First Thunderbolt™ Devices

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Quietly among the hoopla of Final Cut Pro X is new Thunderbolt™ hard drives at the Apple Store. These are the first Thunderbolt hard drives available. The Pegasus R4 and R6 are the First 4-bay and 6-bay High Performance Hardware RAID Solutions designed to unleash the raw power of Thunderbolt™ technology. Thunderbolt technology is a new, high-speed, dual-protocol I/O technology designed for performance, simplicity, and flexibility. This high-speed I/O technology is capable of delivering a blistering two channels of 10 Gb/s (1.25GB/s) per port of performance.

Pegasus R4 is ideal for creative pro workstations, small servers, power users, and consumers who desire stylish high-capacity external storage with high performance and enterprise level data protection. Pegasus R4 is capable of delivering over 500 MB/s of bandwidth that is 10 times faster than USB 2.0.

With over 500 MB/s of performance Pegasus R4 with Thunderbolt delivers a massive and unprecedented leap in raw power and performance for amateur professionals, audio engineers, photographers, and video post production engineers. Final Cut professionals can ingest, edit, and playback multiple streams of uncompressed HD 10-bit and 12-bit video while protecting valuable workflows, audio sessions, and other creative media content with Promise's award-winning enterprise level RAID 6 engine featuring mature error-handling schemes for the ultimate in data protection. Graphic artists using Adobe Photoshop and Maya 3D animation software can manipulate and archive high-resolution graphics on Pegasus with lightning-fast responsiveness and relative ease.

Apple’s answers to Final Cut Pro X questions

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A response from Apple to Final Cut Pro X is on their website.

“Final Cut Pro X is a breakthrough in nonlinear video editing. The application has impressed many pro editors, and it has also generated a lot of discussion in the pro video community. We know people have questions about the new features in Final Cut Pro X and how it compares with previous versions of Final Cut Pro. Here are the answers to the most common questions we’ve heard.

Import

Can I import projects from Final Cut Pro 7 into Final Cut Pro X?
Final Cut Pro X includes an all-new project architecture structured around a trackless timeline and connected clips. In addition, Final Cut Pro X features new and redesigned audio effects, video effects, and color grading tools. Because of these changes, there is no way to “translate” or bring in old projects without changing or losing data. But if you’re already working with Final Cut Pro 7, you can continue to do so after installing Final Cut Pro X, and Final Cut Pro 7 will work with Mac OS X Lion. You can also import your media files from previous versions into Final Cut Pro X.

Can I import my video directly into Final Cut Pro X as I could in Final Cut Pro 7?
Yes. Final Cut Pro X allows you to import video from a wide range of devices, including many AVCHD-based cameras and DSLR cameras. You can find a list of supported cameras here:http://help.apple.com/finalcutpro/cameras/en/. The list will grow as we continue to test and qualify new cameras.

Some camera manufacturers will need to update their import plug-ins to work with the new 64-bit architecture of Final Cut Pro, and we are working with them to provide these updates as quickly as possible. Until then, you can use your camera manufacturer’s import software to convert video for Final Cut Pro X.

For example, Sony offers an XDCAM Transfer application that allows you to convert XDCAM video without transcoding so it can be imported into Final Cut Pro X. You can find more information here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4724. If you are working with RED cameras, you can use the free RED software REDCINE-X, designed to transcode RED RAW video to ProRes for use in Final Cut Pro X: https://www.red.com/support/all/downloads.

Editing

Can I edit my tape-based workflow with Final Cut Pro X?
Yes, in a limited manner. Final Cut Pro X is designed for modern file-based workflows and does not include all the tape capture and output features that were built into Final Cut Pro 7. Final Cut Pro X does support FireWire import for DV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO 50, DVCPRO HD, and HDV. In addition, companies like AJA and Blackmagic offer free deck control software that allows you to capture from tape and output to tape.

Does Final Cut Pro X support multicam editing?
Not yet, but it will. Multicam editing is an important and popular feature, and we will provide great multicam support in the next major release. Until then, Final Cut Pro X offers some basic support with automatic clip synchronization, which allows you to sync multiple video and audio clips using audio waveforms, creating a Compound Clip that can be used for simple multicam workflows.

Does Final Cut Pro X support external monitors?
Yes. If you have a second computer monitor connected to your Mac, Final Cut Pro X gives you options to display the interface across multiple monitors. For example, you can place a single window — such as the Viewer or the Event Browser — on the second monitor, while leaving the other windows on your primary monitor. Like previous versions, Final Cut Pro X relies on third-party devices to support external video monitoring. We’ve been working with third-party developers in our beta program to create drivers for Final Cut Pro X, and AJA has already posted beta drivers for its popular Kona card: http://www.aja.com/support/konaNEW/kona-3g.php.

Can I save different versions of my project?
Yes. Final Cut Pro X automatically saves your project during the editing process, so you never lose your work. If you want to save a version of your project, with or without duplicate media, select it in the Project Library and choose File > Duplicate Project.

Are keyboard shortcuts in Final Cut Pro X different from those in Final Cut Pro 7?
Many keyboard shortcuts for navigation, start/end marking, and tools are the same in Final Cut Pro X and Final Cut Pro 7. Some keyboard shortcuts have changed to support new features. Final Cut Pro X offers powerful keyboard customization, and you can view and modify keyboard shortcuts at any time by choosing Final Cut Pro > Commands > Customize.

Can I use my third-party plug-ins in Final Cut Pro X?
You’ll be able to use them as soon as they are updated. Because Final Cut Pro X has a modern 64-bit architecture, third-party plug-ins must be 64-bit too. Final Cut Pro X already supports 64-bit Audio Units plug-ins. For motion graphics, third-party developers can build effects, titles, transitions, and generators as templates in Motion 5 for use directly in Final Cut Pro X. Developers can also build 64-bit FxPlug 2 plug-ins for Motion 5, and integrate those plug-ins into templates that can be used in Final Cut Pro X. These templates, together with any associated FxPlug 2 plug-ins, will work in Final Cut Pro X even if Motion is not installed on the computer.

Media Management

Can I specify a scratch disk location?
Yes. When you import media, you can specify the Event and the drive where you’d like to put it. You can also specify where you’d like to put your project. In Final Cut Pro X, a project and its rendered media always travel together in the same folder, so it’s easy to move projects between different hard drives and computers.

Can I share projects with other editors?
Yes. You have several options for sharing projects. You can hand over just the project file, and the recipient can reconnect the project to his or her own copies of the Event. Or you can send the complete project and Event as a package to another editor. Final Cut Pro X includes options for duplicating, moving, and consolidating projects and associated media to streamline sharing between editors.

Can I store media in locations other than my system drive?
Yes. Turning off the “Copy files to Final Cut Events folder” option leaves the imported files where they are currently located. You can also move the project and associated media at any point during the editing process by dragging the project to another mounted hard drive within the Project Library.

Can I hide Events that I am not working on?
Yes. You can hide Events in Final Cut Pro X by moving them out of the Final Cut Events folder. In the Finder, navigate to the /Users/username/Movies folder and create a new folder. Then move the Events you are not using out of the Final Cut Events folder and into your new folder. The moved Events will no longer appear in Final Cut Pro X. If your Events are located on an external drive, you can move the Events to a new folder on that drive, or you can simply unmount the drive.

Export

Can Final Cut Pro X export XML?
Not yet, but we know how important XML export is to our developers and our users, and we expect to add this functionality to Final Cut Pro X. We will release a set of APIs in the next few weeks so that third-party developers can access the next-generation XML in Final Cut Pro X.

Does Final Cut Pro X support OMF, AAF, and EDLs?
Not yet. When the APIs for XML export are available, third-party developers will be able to create tools to support OMF, AAF, EDL, and other exchange formats. We have already worked with Automatic Duck to allow you to export OMF and AAF from Final Cut Pro X using Automatic Duck Pro Export FCP 5.0. More information is available on the Automatic Duck website: http://automaticduck.com/products/pefcp/.

Can I send my project to a sound editing application such as Pro Tools?
Yes; you can export your project in OMF or AAF format using Automatic Duck Pro Export FCP 5.0. More information is available on the Automatic Duck website: http://automaticduck.com/products/pefcp/

Does Final Cut Pro X allow you to assign audio tracks for export?
Not yet. An update this summer will allow you to use metadata tags to categorize your audio clips by type and export them directly from Final Cut Pro X.

Can I customize my export settings?
Yes. Compressor 4, available from the Mac App Store for $49.99, allows you to create a wide variety of custom export settings that you can use in Final Cut Pro X. The most popular export options and formats, including ProRes and H.264, are already built into Final Cut Pro X.

Purchase

Can I purchase a volume license?
Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, and Compressor 4 Commercial and Education Volume Licensing will be available soon via the Apple Online Store for quantities of 20 or more. After purchasing, customers will receive redemption codes they can use to download the applications from the Mac App Store.”

Final Cut Pro X – The Beginning of the End for Apple?

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Here is an article from the 95ers.com

“Within hours of the release of FCP X, all of the producers where I work were ready to go Adobe, and one was even pondering a return to Avid. My tech-prophesying mind tells me that this advent will lead Apple to its downfall.Huh? One little program? One little market segment causing the downfall of today’s tech kingpin? Yes indeed, says I. (There’s no proof of this and nobody believes me… but LONG AGO I did actually predict things like Netflix and the iPhone itself (as a pocket-sized mobile phone, computer, and media center the entire face of which would be a touch-screen piece of glass, etc. But never mind all that.)

The summary is this. FCP X is a great program, but not a pro tool. This is a major shift and is the final nail in the coffin of Apple’s old business strategy. In the opinion of this opinion-holder, Apple is officially steering away from it’s core customers: creative professionals who have been Apple’s gold mines and ambassadors for decades, through thick and thin. But, you say, Apple’s frolicking in greener pastures making money hand over fist selling iPhones. Yes, but today’s customers don’t love Apple, they love what Apple gives them. And when a better deal comes along, and it will, they will bolt.”

Apple is refunding pros for Final Cut Pro X

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That's right, Apple is doing something unusual – refund for software from the App Store. I applied for one and got. Most Pros are very unhappy with Final Cut Pro X. The Pro community has been suspect of Apple for sometime now that they have been mostly a consumer company. This release has sealed the deal on that. It is not PRO. Apple has added insult to injury by discontinuing Final Cut Pro 7 and the other apps. FCP has the largest user base in the world for video editing on a computer. By not supporting the previous release of the product in FCP X, they have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

FCP X is missing so many professional features it should be called iMovie Pro. I can see Adobe and Avid clapping as they will be getting a lot of whole new customers. I have never seen Apple handle a software release so badly.

RABERCO: The Destruction of Final Cut Studio from Raber Umphenour on Vimeo.

It’s Out – Final Cut Pro X – No Import Of Previous FCP Projects?

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Supermeet-2

From Apple Press Release:

“CUPERTINO, California—June 21, 2011—Apple® today announced Final Cut Pro® X, a revolutionary new version of the world’s most popular Pro video editing software which completely reinvents video editing with a Magnetic Timeline that lets you edit on a flexible, trackless canvas; Content Auto-Analysis that categorizes your content upon import by shot type, media and people; and background rendering that allows you to work without interruption. Built on a modern 64-bit architecture, Final Cut Pro X is available from the Mac® App Store™ for $299.99.”

The big problem I have found already is there seems to be No Import Of Previous FCP Projects!