Final Cut Pro FEATURE REQUEST: have your say!

[NickM]

If anyone ot there is using Final Cut Pro, and has some Briliant Ideas for making it beter, here's your chance to get those ideas out there, talked about, and sent on to Apple.

The Los Angeles Final Cut Pro Users Group (AKA Lafcpug) is organising another FCP Top 10 Round-Up.

They did this a couple of years ago, and most of the submitted ideas wound up being implemented in the next version of FCP, which was FCP3, I think.

As before, all the Brilliant Ideas submitted to lafcpug will be colected,
distilled to about 40 or so, and put into a poll.
The aim will be to then reduce the 40 or so Poll items to a choice selection of
the Top 10 Feature Requests which, as last time, will be presented to Apple.

Talk here, and I can gather the posts and send them on,
Or drop on over to Cafe LA http://www.lafcpug.org/phorum/list.php?f=1 and
post directly
Include FEATURE REQUEST in the Subject heading.
Remember, last time this was run, almost all of the requested features wound
up in FCP.

Thanks for your indulgence,
Nick

[Jude]

Several things we would like at this end -
1. A 4x3 title safe overlay inside the 16x9 canvas.
2. A grid overlay - possibly with snapping - in the canvas for quicker item positioning.
3. The ability import music straight from the cd like you used to be able to do in system 9 / fcp 2.

I'm sure I can come up with more later ;)

[NickM]

Yeah, these are great ideas, I especialy like the Title-safe grid. Very important.
Keep 'em coming, folks,

I'll add some of my own later tonight.
Nick

[Jude]

Hey Nick

A couple of people asked me to say that they wanted the timeline to track the movement of the playhead so that it was always onscreen.

It doesn't really bother me, but I have seen it done well on a DNE2000 (IMHO about the only thing it does well...)

Another thing that would be good is a more robust 'user settings' system - it drives me mad when I sit at a system where another editor has unlinked the video and audio, turned off the audio scrubbing and snapping, changed the import settings to video only and a myriad of other things that I have to physically check before I can start to work. What would be great is to hit the "Judes settings" button and have the whole thing set up like I want it to be. It would save the atmosphere from gallons of abusive language, I'm sure :P

[NickM]

Hi, Jude.

Timelie tracking seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it, but it's been years now without it.
Maybe this time, eh?
All those other settngs you mentioned tho, are simpe settings that are designed to be toggled during use.
(n for snapping, Shift S for Scrubbing, Shift L for Linking)
Sometimes I have snapping on, sometimes off, same with Scrubbing, and Capture Settings
the way FCP works at the moment, to have them as "Settings" they'd need to be inside the user prefs, which would mean opening prefs up every time I wanted to toggle snapping
I'm not sure I;d want that.
Of course you're sugesting a NEW way for FCP to work, so who knows?
There's been a lot of people caling for Scratch Disks to be project based, but aparantly it's buried deep in the user prefs part of the code. Maybe that'll hapen in FCP5 maybe never!

Sounds like you'd like FCP to open in some kind of "start-up" state that you pre-define.
Interesting

In the meantime....
Instead of checking them all before you start to work, you can simply deal with each one as it comes up.
I find i'ts always a good thing to check the Capture setings before I capture, anyway, as I may well have chaned the settings myself!

If you are sharing a machine with other users you should isolate yourself from them by creating a seperate user account for yourself.

If it's a matter of you going from machine to machine, then you can could have a collection of things such as your own set of prefferences, and your own custom windows, column layouts and keyboard and button layouts.
Wont help with the things you mention, tho.

Cheers,
nick

[Jude]

Yeah I agree with you about checking settings, but the thing is that often they are obscure settings that I just don't think to check. Then I capture a couple of hours of footage only to discover that it was a waste of time because for some ungodly reason someone has decided to set it as NTSC (for example)

The toggle settings like snapping I understand - its just something about the system that bugs me - you hit the nail on the head with the 'Start Up' state. Kind of like a neutral setting on a mixer- I don't want to have to waste time trawling through all the preferences for obscure changes if it could at all be possible to just set it back to a place where I know what everything is doing. "Factory Settings" in some programs do this - I guess kind of like a user defined factory settings.

The system that I share with others is on OS9, so no user account options. My own OSX one is not a problem, because only two of us use it and we put things 'away' when we are done.

I guess its probably not something that a lot of people struggle with - but for me it costs me money every week because I waste time dealing with it.

By the way - I don't suppose you know of a setting that would mean you can no longer drag certain transitions to the timeline? For the life of me I can't work out whats going on with that.

[NickM]

Have you experimented with trashing your prefs?
I dont know if things such as Linking and Scrubbing are affected by that, maybe they are?
If so, then you can trash them to get a new fresh set (no coruptions), set all your prefs up how you like, then save a copy of them in a folder called "Judes FCP Prefs" or something.
Before each session, drag your preffs into where the real ones live, over-writting them.
This is fairly standard preactice, but as I said I dont know if it;ll re-set the things you want it to.

The transition thing's weird.
Obviously if you've no handle NO transitoin will aply properly, but you're sayng that SOME transiton will work and others wont??
Sounds like it's time to trash your prefs, anyway!

Cheers,
Nick

[Jude]

Actually, thats a great idea - I'll give it a go and let you know if it covers snapping and linking etc.

The transition problem has only started recently and its only custom transitions (ie ones I have changed the settings in) I think you're probably right about the preferences - guess I'll find out pretty quick once I trash the prefs.

thanks :)

[NickM]

Dont know if this is relevant, but here's a copy /paste from the lafcpug Bug report
(basicaly I was having problems with some transitions and Ralph Fairweather came up with a workaround):

_Dragging Custom-Length Default Transitions from cut to cut changes length
Author:_NickM_(62.59.75.---)
Date:___08-26-03 11:16

OK, this and the previous 2 I just added are all old issues.

Dragging Custom-Length Default Transitions from cut to cut changes length.

This has been around for a long time.

Modify the length of a transition in the effects tab of the browser, and select as the default transition.
Create a default transition on an edit, either with Apple T or Option Apple T in the timeline, or by using a "with transition" edit function.
Now move any default transition from one cut to another in the timeline, and the length becomes very short.
In fact this is very weird. The new duration is one 25th the original. (maybe 1/30th in NTSC)
A 2 second transition becomes a 2 frame transition.
3 seconds turns into 3 frames

This only appears when I have modified a transition length, before setting it as the default transition.
When I leave the default transition with the factory set length (one second) the behaviour is as expected.
If I create a custom length, I get the problem. The if I revert the length to the factory 1 second, ISTILL get the problem

ACTUAL BEHAVIOUR: Dragged or copy/pasted default transitions become a fraction of their original length,
DESIRED BEHAVIOUR: Dragged or copy/pasted default transitions maintain their editor specified length


Reply To This Message
_
_CONFIRMED: Drag Custom-Length Deflt Transitions from cut to cut changes length
Author:_Ralph Fairweather_(63.206.195.---)
Date:___08-28-03 10:59

Hi Nick,

I can confirm this behavior above in FCP 4.0.1, and suggest a workaround.

Another way to see this bug is to:

1) Change the duration of any transition in the Length column to 03;00 secs, for instance.

2) Open it into the Viewer and then drag it to the Favorites bin in the Effects tab.

RESULT: Length changes to 00:03.
EXPECTED: Length would remanin the same.

NOTE: In NTSC land, the default semi-colon in the Length column changes to a colon, anytime you change the duration of a transition. This may be a clue to the code cause of the bug.

WORKAROUND: Instead of changing the duration of the effect in the Effects tab > Length column, open it into the Viewer, change duration there, and then drag to Favorites tab. Then, in the Favorites tab, make that the default transition. When I do that, I get the desired behavior you describe.

Cool. Our first confirmed bug. Chawla, Tom, Peter, does this happen for you, too?

--Ralph

-------------------------

and here is the link to the whole thread:
http://www.lafcpug.org/phorum/read.php?f=4&i=124&t=124#reply_124

All the Best,
nick

[Jude]

Thanks Nick - thats almost exactly the problem and the workaround I use.

I didn't realise that it was changing the duration, but it makes sense to me because it would explain the way it refuses to 'stick' on the cut point. Mind you, I have only had to start doing this in the past few weeks - up till now the problem did not exist (about three years of problem free operation) so I'm still gunning (and hoping) for a prefs corruption.

By the way, I realised this morning that I already have a small application called 'FCP Rescue' installed on my OSX system that does exactly what I want FCP to do. It makes a backup of your preferences and with the click of a button restores them to your desired specs. Sadly, its OSX.3 only. Happily, its very small, simple, quick and free - so probably FCP doesn't need to include it at all.

[Jude]

I trashed the preferences today and tried to recreate the non-stick transition problem and it's still there. I checked it out and youre right - its set to 1 frame instead of 12 when I drag it to the TL. Bit of a bummer - when I get some time I'll reload FCP and see if this makes a difference. Thanks for your help :)

[NickM]

Oh, well, good to know anyway...

I suspect re-loading FCP wont make any difference,
Maybe try the Ralph Workarund for the Transitions...

Good Luck with it all,
Nick

[bradleyj]

The ability to ad transitions to more than one cut at a time would be useful.....unless it is already there and I just haven't found it.

[Matthew]

Originally posted by NickM
NOTE: In NTSC land, the default semi-colon in the Length column changes to a colon, anytime you change the duration of a transition. This may be a clue to the code cause of the bug. [/B]

As I recall, the semicolon indicates drop-frame timecode as opposed to straight 30fps timecode, so 29.97fps may be confusing the poor thing as well as us mortals.

Though, why you'd be getting this in a PAL project i've no idea. (Well, actually i have, and i reckon its something to do with where the code was written ...)

Hi james!

[Jude]

Hey Bradleyj

There is a way to add transitions to muliple cuts but only if they are contiguious.

Make the transition you want to add the default transition, then put your playhead at the beginning of the multiple clips. Click and drag over all the clips you want to add the transition to. Drag this collective of clips to the canvas and drop them over the "overwrite- with transition" popup box.

This will overwrite your clips to the same place they were before, but with the default transition applied to every cut.

Its not that great a system though - Im with you that it needs work.

BTW Nick - the transition problem *is* only happening to certain transitions and not others. I can't get a 12 frame cross dissolve to work at all using the drag and drop method, but a 12 frame box slide goes on like hot butter. (that is to say, all yellow and kind of runny .. no .. wait..). Anyway - sorry, I do understand that this is not a help forum - just thought I'd clarify now that I have more info.

And! Snapping, linking and all associated annoying little thangs *are* restored by overwriting the preferences. I'll do a little dance of appreciation in your honour every day I use this from now on in. :)

cheers
Jude

[NickM]

Hey, Bradley,
Disolves to Multiple Transitions may well be being included in the Ballot, a lot of folks have been asking for it.
Jude, that's great news er the prefs.

I dont see a problem with this being a help forum.
This particular thread has gotten a bit side-tracked, but that's the nature of things, I guess.
Tihs is a tech- forum, so I think we should talk tech sometimes.
I know there are the big US forums, but it could be good that Assie Editors get in touch with each other.
There are a lot of intersting things happening out there with this new(ish) FCP thang,...
I know a few Aussie features are being cut on it, (Including one by me!) and all with varying techniques and approaches.

I reckon if any of us have any more FCP things to discuss, we could post to this thread, so the others notice, then start a new thread at the top of the list.

Does this sound feasible, Mathew?
or I supose I could just keep checking back to the ASE site every day, too.... 8>)

Cheers,
Nick

[Jude]

I would love to see an Aussie group like the LAFCPUG (which you kindly pointed me towards), but I don't know if this is the place for it, because those boards tend to get flooded with the same simple questions over and over (and over again) which might not be welcomed by either the readers or the webteam of this one. Matthew?

I read them and contribute to them and learn a lot from them and I would be happy to help out on an Aussie version if a good one were around.

I have been hearing a rumour about a Perth FCPUG about to start up, and if that comes off I will be in there batting for a help forum - I'm sure you would be a very welcome contributor if you were interested. Are you interested?

What film are you working on?

[NickM]

Sure I'm interested.
Love Perth, or Freeo to be precise.
I'd love to have a SyFCPUG (pronounced: sif-see-pug) to rock up to.
Of course they are rather large commitments for anyone to run, I imagine.
The film I'm working on is an adaptation of a novel, "Three Dollars" by Melbourne writer Eliot Perlman.
If you've seen any press for tonight literary awards, you'll have seen him mentioned.
David Whenham, and Frances O'Connor, and pretty much the same team who made :"The Bank" (including me!)

Nick

[stib]

As an FXSCript nerd I'd love to see a way of storing data between frames in an fxscript plugin. This would radically increase the quality and number of available plugins in one fell swoop.

[Jude]

Just a quick update in case anyone is reading this and hoping for an answer to the manky transitions problem.

I reinstalled the OS and FCP and it made no difference. The problem still existed. But I was opening the old project to check, and as soon as I started a fresh project, all was back to normal.

So - it seems as if it was some kind of hangover problem in projects made before the big reinstall. Sadly, I'm not sure if it was the fresh OS or FCP that made the difference.

I'll be looking out for your film Nick! Oh - and I found a plug-in that does the 4x3 titlesafe insde a 16x9 box, as well as user definable grids - Digital Heaven in the UK sells them for about $15 AU. I bought one and it works great