Fear not.
The title is not a mind-bending algebraic problem. It’s just me expressing my excitement over Final Cut Pro X by exclaiming “for the win!”
I’ll admit, when I first ran FCP X, my response was more “WTF?!” and I know I was not alone. The Final Cut Pro interface has pretty much gone unchanged since it’s genesis. But now, Apple has completely overhauled it in every way. Many users bashed it, and demanded refunds. I waited until I finished all current projects on FCP 7, then dove head-first into X.
The result: I plan to work exclusively in FCP X from now on. I’ll only use FCP 7 if necessary.
If you are willing to invest some time in learning the program (I like online video training from www.Lynda.com), you too will discover how powerful the program is, and will no longer be fooled by its iMovie-esque exterior.
Here are the three features that impressed me the most:
1. Instant Editing – Typically, one must ingest all video clips before beginning to edit. With FCP X, you can start editing as your footage is being captured with proxy clips. So, even though you may have an hour of material, once you hit the import button, you need wait only a few moments before FCP X begins generating proxy clips that you can work with. And no, these proxy clips are not low-res, shoddy-looking clips. They are high quality, full res clips. By the time the capture is complete, you could already have a rough assembly together. This saves a lot of time. On the down side, instant editing means you no longer have an excuse to check your Facebook while your capture chugs along.
Dislike.
2. Audio Syncing – Like many of you, I too have joined the DSLR revolution for producing videos. I record my audio separately to a ZOOM audio recorder. Any time I’ve had to sync audio in the past, it always felt like I was wasting so much valuable time, as I listen to a clip, nudge the audio forward, listen again, nudge the audio backward, and so on, until I am synced up. With FCP X, you simply select your audio and video clips and choose the “synchronize clips” command, and presto, you are golden! No more hours wasted in Nudge-ville.
3. Auditions – Trying to decide which take, or which angle works best is another time-consuming task. Generally, you insert one clip, view the footage, then delete the clip, replace it with another version, review the footage, and try to decide which one works best. This process can go in circles numerous times, and is about as fun as a Jersey Shore marathon. With Auditions, you can very easily, well, audition numerous clips without getting trapped in that pesky insert-review-delete-insert-review loop of doom. When you find your winner, thank all the other clips for coming out, then congratulate your star clip for winning its role on your timeline.
So those are my top three. An honourable mention goes out to the Magnetic Timeline, which automatically snaps your footage in place when you delete a clip, so you no longer have to manually drag it over.
Some will take issue with the fact that FCP X does not support multi-cam editing. Well, apparently it’s on the way. I read on Apple’s web site recently that multi-cam editing will be available in the next update, which is due out early this year. I trust that whatever other major features FCP X may be missing now will be made available through updates before you know it. They’ve completely re-written a very complicated piece of software, so cut them some slack as they play catch up. Remember, they are also busy developing their latest line of iProducts we all seem to enjoy, as they inch closer to world domination.
The bottom line is that you really need to give FCP X a chance. While everyone else is still complaining how it looks so amateur, you’ll be performing instant edits, auditioning clips, and syncing audio like a champ, with all kinds of extra time to spare. Then you can go check your Facebook.
Like.
