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Yearly Archives: 2012

Final Cut Pro X: Apple’s bet against track-based editing

24 July, 2012
Apple, final cut pro x
85 Comments

Many editors don’t understand why Apple have abandoned the track-based editing metaphor.

Tracks have been in Mac applications since Macromind VideoWorks in 1985:

videoworks

 Image source: Jamie Fenton

VideoWorks (which evolved into Macromedia Director in the 90s) was an animation application that imported graphic images (into a ‘cast’ window), these images are then placed on a stage in layers. The ‘Score’ showed these numbered layers listed vertically, with animation frames shown horizontally. In the example above, there is nothing shown in layer 3 until frame 8. The current frame is 13, with the graphic in layer 2 selected.

When Avid and Adobe Premiere came along, they had timelines that represented video clips overlaying each other in layers, and this metaphor survives to this day. Here’s an example of how tracks are used in editing today:

The modern rule is that the lowest numbered track is in the background, and video clips in higher numbered layers obscure the layers below. In the example if all the clips were full screen, the final edit would start with the wide shot, followed by Actor A, then B, A, the wide, B, A and back to the wide.

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Apple’s new patent: Final Cut Pro X is a platform

20 July, 2012
Apple, final cut pro x, Ideas
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FCP.co has reported in detail on Apple’s new Methods, systems, and apparatus for collaborative media editing patent:

Methods, systems, and apparatus for collaborative media editing. In one aspect, a method includes presenting, to an originator, an originator interface including multiple media panes; establishing a connection with a collaborator; receiving from the originator a selection indicating an item of media content associated with at least one of the multiple media panes; transmitting to the collaborator the selected item of media content; and enabling inter-user communication relating to the selected item of media content in the originator interface with the collaborator. Further, a connection can be established with a second collaborator, the item of media content can be transmitted to the second collaborator, and communication can occur in the originator interface with the second collaborator.

The ‘method’ (patent parlance) they use as a example in the abstract is shows an editor sending media clips to collaborator A and having a window-based chat session about prospective changes. Collaborator A then goes on to share the task with a new collaborator, B, who gets the footage and who can appear in the chat window of the original editor.

Here’s the picture FCP.co used to illustrate the news:

They pointed out a possible code name for a collaborative media application is included in Apple’s mockup: ‘Light Table.’ In this case the role of the user on the project is ‘Assistant Director,’ the tasks listed are Storyboarding, Acquisition, Organising, Placing Media, Effects, Collaboration and Delivery.

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Free Final Cut Pro plugin: Alex4D Extrude effect

19 July, 2012
final cut pro x
5 Comments

Included with Motion 5 is an effect that extrudes a clip so that it has a 3-D treatment. Alex4D Extrude makes this effect available in Final Cut Pro X.

Here are the controls:

As Extrude can only draw in the transparent parts of a clip, if the footage fills the clip, you must first apply an effect that adds areas of transparency. In the example above, I added my Alex4D Curve Scale effect that scaled down the clip to 80% of its original size around a control point, adding an area of transparency around the footage:

Alex4D Extrude takes the output of the scaled clip and simulates the effect of many copies of the clip are stacked on top of each other, with the back copy being offset by a distance and angle. You can enter numbers for Extrude Angle and Extrude Distance directly, or drag the on-screen control to set the values:

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Motion tip: Description of undos in Final Cut Pro X effect templates

19 July, 2012
Apple Motion
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If you create effects in Motion 5 for people to use in Final Cut Pro X, there is a gotcha when it comes to the text that appears in the Undo menu command.

Many effects use on-screen-controls. Sometimes these controls are implemented using Motion effects that are applied to layers that are set to have an opacity of zero before being published to Final Cut Pro.

For example, in my Mask+ set of effects, I wanted an on-screen control that set values for position, angle, width and height of my mask. In Motion, the Kaleidotile effect has an on-screen control that sets all these values. My technique is then to apply the Kaleidotile effect to a dummy layer and use Link Parameter behaviours to change the position, angle, width and height of my mask:

You can see from the thumbnail that the ‘Transform controls group’ has an opacity of 0%. It has the Kaleidotile effect applied to it. The ‘Effect Mask’ group has Link Parameter behaviours that link the Kaleidotile parameter values to that of the Scale, Rotation and Position of the group as a whole.

A small problem arises when you publish effects like these in Final Cut Pro X. If you change these values in an instance of your template applied to a clip and go to the Edit menu to undo what you’ve done, Final Cut reports name of the action most recently performed. In this case if you change the on-screen transform controls of the mask, the Undo menu item looks like this:

This also applies if you change on-screen controls in Apple’s Mask effect and go on to undo:

In this case the on-screen control for the Poke effect in Motion 5 has been linked to the co-ordinates that define the top-right position of the four-point mask.

Luckily there is a way of fixing this.

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Free Final Cut Pro plugin: Alex4D XYZ Rotate effect

17 July, 2012
final cut pro x
5 Comments

The current version of Final Cut Pro can only rotate clips and other content in one dimension. If you imagine the Z axis as a line that points out of the screen towards the viewer, that is the axis around which objects can be rotated. Alex4D XYZ rotate adds controls for the other two axes.

You can also choose the centre point around which the clip rotates:

In this example, the origin has been moved to line up with the first title character by dragging the centre on-screen control.


Rotated around the Z axis.

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Free Final Cut Pro plugin: Alex4D Luma Include effect

6 July, 2012
final cut pro x
3 Comments

As I’m updating my HDR effect I wanted to create my own luma key effect.

Luma Include makes areas of your clips transparent based the luminance values of the footage. Although you can produce similar effects using the Luma Key effect, the parameters of Luma Include can be keyframed.

The effect defaults to showing all luminance levels: the Upper Limit is 1 and the Lower Limit is 0. Each limit also has a smoothness value.

Here are some two examples of different looks using the effect:

In this case the value of the Upper Limit parameter has been reduced, so the brighter areas of the image have been made transparent (also known as having been ‘keyed out’). Here are the controls:

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Final Cut Pro X features: catching up and superseding

25 June, 2012
Apple, final cut pro x, Ideas, iPhone
4 Comments

In which I explore the kinds of features that might be coming to Final Cut Pro X that competitors will find very hard to compete with.

Although some people think that Final Cut Pro X was released before it was ready, the features that have been introduced in updates have made it more appealing to experienced editors.

As editors look forward to updates, the features that appear can be divided into two categories: those that help Final Cut Pro X catch up with competitors and those that clearly supersede the rest of the market. At the moment the main competitor seems to be Final Cut Pro 7, or perhaps the imaginary ‘improved and more stable plus a few more features’ update to 7.

Apple have dealt with strong competitors during technology transitions before: in the case of MacOS X, Mac users wanted to stay with OS 9. In the case of iOS, Apple were competing initially with cheap non-smartphones and Blackberries.

The fact that the iPhone and its OS (which was eventually branded iOS) wasn’t quite ready at launch followed on from MacOS X. MacOS X 10.0 and the iPhone 1 were for pure Apple fans and developers. As the years went by, features were added to both platforms that caught up with and superseded competitors.

This post compares the major releases of iOS and Final Cut Pro X, and shows that the first few versions were more about the promise of a new platform and later versions started to deliver on that promise.

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Free Final Cut Pro plugin: Aged Film a4d effect

24 June, 2012
FCP X plugin, final cut pro x
7 Comments

There is a version of Aged Film in Final Cut Pro X, but the version available in Motion has more controls. I’ve used that as the basis of Aged Film a4d:

Here are some two examples of different looks using the effect:

Here are the controls:

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Final Cut Pro X: Create timelines at any resolution and frame rate

13 June, 2012
editing, final cut pro x
18 Comments

The current version of Final Cut Pro X provides a limited range of resolutions and frame rates for projects.

This post shows how to edit timelines at any frame size and frame rate. Frame rates that Final Cut Pro X can edit and export range from less than 1fps to at least 1200fps:

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Two possible MacPros: two futures for Apple

7 June, 2012
Apple, final cut pro x, Ideas, Multitouch
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Over the last few days there have been a couple of pieces of evidence that point to Apple launching a new version of the MacPro very soon – in time for their Worldwide Developer’s Conference next week.

What does this mean for Final Cut Pro X users, and users of other post-production software?

Many in the industry have accused Apple of giving up on professionals in order to go after the consumer dollar. The basis of this accusation is fact that the MacPro hasn’t been updated in almost two years and that Final Cut Pro X was launched without many features found in Final Cut Pro 7 and that it seemed to be designed for novice consumers.

My guesses as to why Final Cut Pro X was launched the way it was are for another time. My question is: What will it mean if Apple announces a new MacPro next week?

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