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Putting the "Pro" Back in Final Cut Pro X
Welcome to the EditingArts Final Cut Pro X blog, offering workarounds, tip and tricks for underdeveloped or missing features in Apple's Professional Editing software. Enjoy!
Final Cut Pro X: Should I Upgrade My Computer Hardware?
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- Created on Tuesday, 05 July 2011 02:53
Updated 02/12/12
Before discussing what hardware you need in order to take advantage of Final Cut Pro X, if you're interested in a deeper discussion of the relevant technologies, the folks at Silverado prepared a white paper on the subject that you can download here. Their white paper was written in 2011, before FCP X was released, but the explanations of the technologies that they offered continue to be valid.
Overall, there are four technological advances of the past few years that affect our ability to use Final Cut X to full advantage and should affect our choices in terms of hardware upgrades. First is 64-bit computing, which permits full access to a system’s RAM. Next is hyper-threading, which enables a computer’s processors to do double duty. Third is Turbo Boost, which, according to Apple, allows a computer processor to "run above its base operating frequency via dynamic control of the CPU's clock rate. Okay. Sounds Good.
Both hyper-threading and Turbo Boost together are used together as part of Apple's Grand Central Dispatch technology. Any post-2009 Mac Pro or a MacBook Pro bought in 2011 has this technology. As of 2012, iMacs all have Turbo Boost, but the i5 does not support hyper-threading. The iMac i7 does support hyper-threading.
How to Organize Footage in Final Cut Pro X
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- Created on Wednesday, 27 July 2011 02:49
Without a doubt, where Final Cut Pro X shines is in the organization and management of your footage. The importance of this can not be understated. I contend that 80% of editing takes place during this part of the process; while watching, organizing, and marking clips. This is the period where you learn what you have, decide what's good, what's bad, and what will work when the right situation presents itself. You hear a line of dialogue you love, see a beautiful camera move, catch someone in an emotional moment. You start to think of ways you might want to use these moments in the story you will create for the audience you want to reach. This is as true for a documentary as it is for a narrative piece or a corporate video. Our organization of the material reflects the needs we think we may have for these moments. During this process a nascent story has begun to take shape before a single cut has been made.
Importing Footage & Media Management in Final Cut Pro X
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- Created on Monday, 25 July 2011 02:50
Importing and media management in FCP X is a good example of an area in which the new version of Final Cut is much better than previous versions. I'm not going to explain in this posthow to import footage (you can find that information in the Help menu and many places online), but rather how media is managed on import and afterwards, why the way FCP X manages your media is great, and what it means for best practices in organizing your projects both inside the program and on the hard drive.
What do the Recent Changes in Final Cut Pro Mean?
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- Created on Thursday, 22 September 2011 08:38
The new features announced by Apple just days ago were a direct and very fast response to vociferous criticism of key missing features high-end professional editors would need to even consider making a move to the new version of Final Cut. This type of response from Apple is highly uncharacteristic, as is the new promise to add other key features early in 2012.
How to Learn Final Cut Pro X
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- Created on Tuesday, 19 July 2011 02:49
It's been a crazy two weeks since the release of Final Cut Pro X, with people continuing to divide over its value as a professional editing program, many excited about Final Cut Pro X's new paradigm and those who mourn the loss of Final Cut Pro 7 and its approach to editing.
When I first began to immerse myself, I facilitated between both camps, making a long list of pros and cons, with the cons side growing rather long. But the more I have come to know FCP X, and understand its unique ways, the more the cons have dropped away or moved to the pros column. Most of what I had listed on the con side were features I thought were lost, broken or implemented poorly. But I simply hadn't yet learned how to do it the FCP X way.
Don't get me wrong, I still have my list of pet peeves, but for the serious hobbyist or the professional working with digital files from start to finish, Apple is right: Final Cut Pro X is the future and the future is now. Those who say FCP X is just a step up from iMovie are wrong. Final Cut Pro X is very deep software, with an extensive and fully developed feature set. It's not easy to learn its secrets, especially when you're coming from a whole different paradigm, but once you do do, then despite the weakness and blind spots of a 1.0 version you'll never want to go back.
In my next post, the first on what I have learned, I will cover great news about media management in Final Cut Pro X.
How Will the Final Cut Pro X Controversy Be Resolved?
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- Created on Monday, 11 July 2011 02:49
The Final Cut Pro X controversy continues to rage and I find it difficult to resist commenting, so I won't. But I will keep it short.
Professional Editing houses are going to have to make a move. Whether to Final Cut X or to Adobe's Premiere or to Avid, it will happen because Final Cut will no longer be developed along the lines it has been and the business demands of those who have relied on Final Cut, and have been waiting for an NLE that can take advantage of the new technologies in modern computer architecture, require it. Time is money and we each need to be as fast and limber as the next guy to meet the same kinds of deadlines -- and on similar budgets.
Is FCP X Pro Really Pro? Yes it is.
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- Created on Tuesday, 19 July 2011 02:51
What an amazing few days. Since the release of Final Cut X there's been a tremendous reaction from video editors of every stripe, some of it positive and a whole heck of a lot of it negative. When I started working with the program three days ago my own initial reaction fell on the negative side, but the more I've used it the more those feelings have swung strongly to the other side of the spectrum. The list of cons I was making have (almost) all been moved to the neutral or positive column. I will get into the details in my next post, but first I feel the need to weigh in, like the rest of the world, on "Is FCP X a Pro Application?"
Is Final Cut Pro X for Both Professionals and Beginners?
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- Created on Friday, 15 July 2011 02:51
As an experienced video editor and Final Cut Pro trainer I’ve had a love/dislike relationship with FCP for years. I’ve loved its power and disliked its limitations and often clunky and too-complex interface.
Ever since Final Cut X was announced there has been rampant speculation about what Apple’s from-the-ground-up redesign would mean for both professionals and lay editors, most speculators aggregating around two camps: those who believe Apple will simply be catering to the masses with this new release, essentially creating a step up from iMovie, and those who believe Apple will be maintaining its commitment to professionals with a powerful and professional NLE.
Ever since the sneak peek at NAB in April, I have been of the opinion that Final Cut X will do both. I’ll skip the details of my rationale and simply share my prediction that Apple has threaded a fascinating needle by creating a program as powerful as any NLE currently on the market, while at the same time making it more intuitive and easy to use for everyone.
A program for the professional and for the beginner.
The purpose of this blog will be to test out that idea, and to share my journey learning the ins and outs of the program in the hope that it may prove useful to others, whether they be professionals or just entering the wonderful world of editing.
At the same time, I will attempt to evaluate its worth as a tool for creative expression. It’s not just about whether Final Cut Pro X will be easier to use or if it can do everything prior versions could. Knowing how to use a software tool like Final Cut Pro is just the first step on a path to effective and creative editing. A diamond cutter can learn to cut with expertise in months. It takes a lot longer to learn to look inside an uncut diamond and see the shape it wants to become, the shape of the beauty within waiting to be freed.
Will Final Cut X make it easier to see the shape within?
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