R Geoff Baker
June 24th, 2011, 07:18 AM
I'm not an 'early adopter', but i do like to know what's available. I've been a 'video professional' for more than twenty years -- and I made the transition to desktop editing seamlessly from cutting film (!) and later tape-to-tape facilities. I've gone from being a director working with an editor in an NLE suite, to being a director working with an NLE. I've worked for boutique production companies in North America & the UK, more recently I've settled for being a director for hire by boutique production companies.
As a freelance director of corporate & government/NGO, television 'documentary' & PSAs and occasional net-destined what-have-you … there are some capabilities I've come to rely on:
- portability of project. So far this year I've picked up a few projects that were begun by other directors who can't or won't continue on them. Typically, the client had a shooting and delivery schedule, something in their plans changed and the project was put on hold for a time -- now there is a desire to finish it and the original director is no longer available. Sometimes it is the other way around -- I'm the original guy, and it is handed off to someone else to finish. It has been really nice to use an external drive for all the source material, with an FCP project file and a polite readme file -- I hope FCPX will let me do the same.
- audio flexibility. About half my work is in multiple languages. Typically I build a video that has an english language track, then do a second version where I change the audio track. Sometimes I hand it off to another director with skills in that language (see above). Sometimes the only audio narrative track I have is one I self record as a guide track, and I hand the project off to someone else to record the professional V/O track. Or a combination of the above. When the project is sold to a broadcaster (especially but not only international) they want the music on one audio track, and sfx on another, the narrative track on a third -- I hope FCPX will let me do the same.
- graphics flexibility. Often hand in hand with the above -- alternate language version requires alternate graphics and keys. Build a project with two graphics tracks, one in each language. Make the one shy when you need the other. Easy to keep the timing and sync right when the two are just duplicates of each other except for the actual keys -- I hope FCPX will let me do the same.
- details. Broadcasters have always demanded an EDL with every delivery. As a habit, many of the production houses that hire me ask for the same. I like to work with three monitors -- one for bins and such, one for the timeline and two monitors, and a third for the output monitor only. I'm not inflexible, but that's what I like. I like to bounce from laptop to my desktop. Typically I start while still on the road, with all the source material on a fast portable RAID drive. When I'm back from the shoot, I attach the same drive to my desktop and continue; sometimes I'll walk that drive over to a producer and show them where we're at -- eventually I'll deliver that drive to my client.
In truth I utilize a fraction of the capabilities of a program like FCP 7 -- most of my transitions are cuts & dissolves, with the occasional use of some thing different for effect. Or not. Complex graphics are always produced by someone else, and I drop them in where I want to use them. Or I build simple keys and titles. Same with narrative tracks -- I work with the location audio, maybe I'm given some sort of music stock … or I hand the 'finished' project off to the audio post guys to polish it up. I didn't bother moving away from Premiere v6.5 for years after they'd moved on, and I could well do the same with FC … but sometimes the tail wags the dog.
My reading of posts here suggests FCPX is a long way from being able to deliver the above for me. I can't change the fact that my clients want & need multiple languages, or that broadcasters demand an EDL … so either FCPX works for me, or I ride out FCP 7 until such time as a) something that does comes along or more likely b) the production houses that hire me require that I switch to a different project format.
Thoughts and comments welcome.
Cheers,
GB
As a freelance director of corporate & government/NGO, television 'documentary' & PSAs and occasional net-destined what-have-you … there are some capabilities I've come to rely on:
- portability of project. So far this year I've picked up a few projects that were begun by other directors who can't or won't continue on them. Typically, the client had a shooting and delivery schedule, something in their plans changed and the project was put on hold for a time -- now there is a desire to finish it and the original director is no longer available. Sometimes it is the other way around -- I'm the original guy, and it is handed off to someone else to finish. It has been really nice to use an external drive for all the source material, with an FCP project file and a polite readme file -- I hope FCPX will let me do the same.
- audio flexibility. About half my work is in multiple languages. Typically I build a video that has an english language track, then do a second version where I change the audio track. Sometimes I hand it off to another director with skills in that language (see above). Sometimes the only audio narrative track I have is one I self record as a guide track, and I hand the project off to someone else to record the professional V/O track. Or a combination of the above. When the project is sold to a broadcaster (especially but not only international) they want the music on one audio track, and sfx on another, the narrative track on a third -- I hope FCPX will let me do the same.
- graphics flexibility. Often hand in hand with the above -- alternate language version requires alternate graphics and keys. Build a project with two graphics tracks, one in each language. Make the one shy when you need the other. Easy to keep the timing and sync right when the two are just duplicates of each other except for the actual keys -- I hope FCPX will let me do the same.
- details. Broadcasters have always demanded an EDL with every delivery. As a habit, many of the production houses that hire me ask for the same. I like to work with three monitors -- one for bins and such, one for the timeline and two monitors, and a third for the output monitor only. I'm not inflexible, but that's what I like. I like to bounce from laptop to my desktop. Typically I start while still on the road, with all the source material on a fast portable RAID drive. When I'm back from the shoot, I attach the same drive to my desktop and continue; sometimes I'll walk that drive over to a producer and show them where we're at -- eventually I'll deliver that drive to my client.
In truth I utilize a fraction of the capabilities of a program like FCP 7 -- most of my transitions are cuts & dissolves, with the occasional use of some thing different for effect. Or not. Complex graphics are always produced by someone else, and I drop them in where I want to use them. Or I build simple keys and titles. Same with narrative tracks -- I work with the location audio, maybe I'm given some sort of music stock … or I hand the 'finished' project off to the audio post guys to polish it up. I didn't bother moving away from Premiere v6.5 for years after they'd moved on, and I could well do the same with FC … but sometimes the tail wags the dog.
My reading of posts here suggests FCPX is a long way from being able to deliver the above for me. I can't change the fact that my clients want & need multiple languages, or that broadcasters demand an EDL … so either FCPX works for me, or I ride out FCP 7 until such time as a) something that does comes along or more likely b) the production houses that hire me require that I switch to a different project format.
Thoughts and comments welcome.
Cheers,
GB