Top 10 Things Missing in Final Cut Pro X
In “Under 5 Minutes” Steve Martin from goes over 10 things that FCPX is missing. Let us know what you think!
#10 – Quick Cross-Fades
#9 – Opacity Bar
#8 – Remove Attributes
#7 – Drag & Drop Effects
#6 – Batch Sharing of Projects
#5 – Timeline Markers
#4 – Floating Timecode HUD
#3 – Custom Layouts
#2 – Global Title Replacement
#1 – Motion Round Tripping
Welcome to Final Cut Pro X in Under 5 minutes, I’m Steve from RippleTraining.com. As you know, I love editing with Final Cut Pro X and with each new version Apple keeps making it better, and I want to start a discussion about what changes would most improve editor efficiency.
Because this is our 10th episode I wanted to play off that number and present 10 things I’d like to see in a future version of Final Cut Pro 10.
Ok, let’s start with audio. During editing it’s often necessary to perform cross fades to smooth out an edit. Currently the only way to do this is to add a video transition at the edit point. Double-clicking the transition reveals the cross fade on the audio but when you delete the video transition the cross fade goes with it. The only way around this is to select both clips, detach the audio, then select the edit point and add the transition to the audio. Not very elegant.
Here is how I would like the cross fades to work. If you have two adjacent audio clips, you can simply drag one one over the other and the cross fade is automatically created, just like it does here in Screenflow.
I miss the opacity bar we had in legacy Final Cut Pro. Changing opacity of a clip currently involves too many steps. First you must open the video animation editor on a clip, double-click to reveal the opacity controls, then make your opacity changes with this rubber band. Since changing opacity is something I do often, a band like this one at the top of each clip would save hundreds of clicks over the course of an edit.
Here’s a clip with a bunch of filters applied to it. If I want to remove all of them, I need to open the Inspector, select each one individually, then press Delete. In the Edit menu we have Paste Attributes. It would be great to right-click on a clip and choose Remove Attributes.
And speaking of effects, another feature I miss from legacy Final Cut Pro is the ability to drag and drop effects from one clip to another. These effect bars in the inspector seem “droppable” until you try to drop them onto a clip.
Final Cut Pro X is much faster at exporting then Compressor for the reason’s I’ve stated in our MacBreak episode 282. However, we still don’t have a way to select multiple projects, then send them all out at once for sharing. And a related feature would be the ability to export an entire project as individual clips with handle frames that include source timecode. Imagine if the export also included a project XML with it.
We need our timeline markers back. Placing markers in clips that are constantly being moved around during the edit is not optimal. Markers should be draggable and include a palette of color options. And since we’re on the subject of color, it would be great to tag projects and clips in the Browser with specific colors.
I love big timecode windows. The dashboard in the center of the toolbar should be “floatable” similar to the Control Bar in Logic X. The window should also by scalable and display both video and audio timecode.
I create custom layouts for color correcting, effects work and sound editing. There is currently no way to save and recall a layout.
Here’s a timeline with 5 lower thirds that were created from the same title. My client comes to me and says, “can you change the text background color?” Sure, no problem – I open the title in Motion, save the title with the new color, then jump back into Final Cut Pro. In order to update each title in the project, I have to replace each title with the updated one manually, by dragging it onto the clip then choosing Replace from Start. What I’d like to see is Final Cut Pro prompt me if I want to update all the titles in the currently open project with the updated version.
In legacy Final Cut Studio, we could right-click on a clip and send it to Motion. The clip in the timeline would be replaced with a Motion project. Any saved changes in Motion would appear in Final Cut Pro’s timeline. We understand Rigging and Publishing is a unique workflow, but having to export a clip, then re-import it back into Final Cut Pro and then replace the clip in the timeline is, well, cumbersome.
Click the Subscribe button below.
If you have an idea comment or suggestions, leave those below as well. Go to RippleTraining.com for fast professional training in Final Cut Pro X, Motion, and DaVinci Resolve from industry professionals.
Because this is our 10th episode I wanted to play off that number and present 10 things I’d like to see in a future version of Final Cut Pro 10.
Ok, let’s start with audio. During editing it’s often necessary to perform cross fades to smooth out an edit. Currently the only way to do this is to add a video transition at the edit point. Double-clicking the transition reveals the cross fade on the audio but when you delete the video transition the cross fade goes with it. The only way around this is to select both clips, detach the audio, then select the edit point and add the transition to the audio. Not very elegant.
Here is how I would like the cross fades to work. If you have two adjacent audio clips, you can simply drag one one over the other and the cross fade is automatically created, just like it does here in Screenflow.
I miss the opacity bar we had in legacy Final Cut Pro. Changing opacity of a clip currently involves too many steps. First you must open the video animation editor on a clip, double-click to reveal the opacity controls, then make your opacity changes with this rubber band. Since changing opacity is something I do often, a band like this one at the top of each clip would save hundreds of clicks over the course of an edit.
Here’s a clip with a bunch of filters applied to it. If I want to remove all of them, I need to open the Inspector, select each one individually, then press Delete. In the Edit menu we have Paste Attributes. It would be great to right-click on a clip and choose Remove Attributes.
And speaking of effects, another feature I miss from legacy Final Cut Pro is the ability to drag and drop effects from one clip to another. These effect bars in the inspector seem “droppable” until you try to drop them onto a clip.
Final Cut Pro X is much faster at exporting then Compressor for the reason’s I’ve stated in our MacBreak episode 282. However, we still don’t have a way to select multiple projects, then send them all out at once for sharing. And a related feature would be the ability to export an entire project as individual clips with handle frames that include source timecode. Imagine if the export also included a project XML with it.
We need our timeline markers back. Placing markers in clips that are constantly being moved around during the edit is not optimal. Markers should be draggable and include a palette of color options. And since we’re on the subject of color, it would be great to tag projects and clips in the Browser with specific colors.
I love big timecode windows. The dashboard in the center of the toolbar should be “floatable” similar to the Control Bar in Logic X. The window should also by scalable and display both video and audio timecode.
I create custom layouts for color correcting, effects work and sound editing. There is currently no way to save and recall a layout.
Here’s a timeline with 5 lower thirds that were created from the same title. My client comes to me and says, “can you change the text background color?” Sure, no problem – I open the title in Motion, save the title with the new color, then jump back into Final Cut Pro. In order to update each title in the project, I have to replace each title with the updated one manually, by dragging it onto the clip then choosing Replace from Start. What I’d like to see is Final Cut Pro prompt me if I want to update all the titles in the currently open project with the updated version.
In legacy Final Cut Studio, we could right-click on a clip and send it to Motion. The clip in the timeline would be replaced with a Motion project. Any saved changes in Motion would appear in Final Cut Pro’s timeline. We understand Rigging and Publishing is a unique workflow, but having to export a clip, then re-import it back into Final Cut Pro and then replace the clip in the timeline is, well, cumbersome.
Click the Subscribe button below.
If you have an idea comment or suggestions, leave those below as well. Go to RippleTraining.com for fast professional training in Final Cut Pro X, Motion, and DaVinci Resolve from industry professionals.
