Tag Archives: Final Cut

Important Information for Panasonic AVCCAM Users

Posted by Web Master in Courses and tagged with , , ,

Issues with Panasonic AVCHD and Final Cut Pro X 10.2

Apple Support have released the following information:

Resolve black frames issues with Panasonic AVCHD and Final Cut Pro X 10.2

Final Cut Pro X 10.2 might display some video as black frames when working with Panasonic AVCCAM cameras at certain frame rates.

If you’re working with Panasonic AVCHD video files from an AVCCAM device recorded at 25p or 30p, video will occasionally play as black frames. This might occur on systems using Final Cut Pro X 10.2 on some Mac systems, depending on the graphics card. If you are using a Mac Pro (Late 2013) or playing several streams of AVCHD video on a MacBook Pro or iMac, you might see the black frames playback issue.

This issue can be resolved by recording at a frame rate other then 25p or 30p. This includes recording at 50p, 50i, 60p, 60i, or 24p.

You can avoid the black frames issue by transcoding 25p or 30p AVCHD recorded with a Panasonic AVCCAM to another codec like ProRes. ProRes 422 LT and ProRes 422 are excellent intermediate codecs that preserve original image quality. Note: Your new files will take up more hard drive space than the original files.

Follow these steps to transcode:

  1. Locate the AVCHD media which has already been imported into Final Cut Pro X. If your library uses an external media location then this media will be in an external media folder. If your media is managed inside the library, use the Consolidate function to move it to an external folder.
  2. Transcode your media to an intermediate format using Compressor or another transcoding application. If you create a Compressor droplet, you can transcode all of your media as a batch. But if you don’t have Compressor, you can use a wide range of transcoding applications. Be sure to target a folder on a drive that is large enough for all of this new transcoded media.
  3. Identify the specific problematic AVCHD clips in the Final Cut Pro X browser. If you view the library as a list, you can sort by codec and look for H.264 at 25p and 30p. Move these clips to their own event.
  4. If you made optimized or proxy media from these clips, you should delete those files. Select the new event with the h.264 media, go to File > Delete Generated Event Files, and choose to delete Optimized and Proxy media.
  5. With the event still selected, go to File > Relink Files. Choose Relink: All, click Locate All, and navigate to the folder of transcoded media.

If transcoding is not an option, and you already opened an older library with Final Cut Pro X 10.2, you will need to open a back up of that library with Final Cut Pro X 10.1.4. If you backed up a copy of Final Cut X 10.1.4 as described in the instructions, then you should delete Final Cut Pro X 10.2 from your system and restore the compressed Final Cut Pro X 10.1.4. Then launch Final Cut X 10.1.4, navigate to File > Open> From Back Up> Other and open the last library backup that was automatically saved before you upgraded to Final Cut Pro X 10.2.

Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple’s recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information.

Improve the Filters and effects within Final Cut Pro

Posted by Web Master in Courses and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Use Motion 5 Filters without leaving Final Cut Pro

 

Motion Filters are much more detailed than those in Final Cut Pro. We have recorded a tutorial that shows how to create filters in Motion and publish ALL of their controls into Final Cut Pro so that they work directly in Final Cut Pro.

motion filters

This means that you don’t have to export your video clips, out of Final Cut Pro, import into Motion – then make the adjustments with Motion’s filter controls, and then re-import into Final Cut Pro

what a procedure that you can now avoid!

 

 

In the tutorial we have used the example of the Contrast filter, which is part of the Color Correction sub set of filters in Motion 5. This filter offers special controls such as Pivot point, Smooth Contrast and the choice of contrasting Luminance only – all things you can’t access within Final Cut Pro.

 

Our tutorial shows how to install the Contrast filter inside Final Cut Pro so you can use these controls without leaving Final Cut Pro.

contrast filter

 

 

 

 

 

The same can be done for other Motion 5 filters that you want to use directly within Final Cut Pro. Just remember to “publish” the controls that you want to access within Final Cut Pro

 

 

This tutorial is part of our NEW 63 lesson training course available on the Mac App store for $9.99. 14 hours of video tutorials and 600 topics.

 

Use this link to access the Tutorial on The Mac App store.

 

We recommend the plug-in collection 
from FCPEffects:

Editingwhizmarchemail001

Review of Update 10.1.2 Final Cut Pro

Posted by Web Master in Courses and tagged with , , ,

The New Features of

Final Cut Pro X 10.1.2

How and why you use them.

 

On 27th June Apple released an update to Final Cut Pro X. These new features do not change how Final Cut Pro is used now, they simply add to the functionality.

The most noticeable thing is the speed increase for longer projects. The best new features are the increased Flexibility to locate Render files and optimized/Proxy Media in different places. The new Voice over tool is an improvement. The ability to adjust audio on relative basis to much appreciated. Also welcome: ability to delete generated files, not just render files and ability to trash preferences on Final Cut Pro launch with Command and Option Keys.

Recommended are these plug-ins
from FCPEffects:

Editingwhizmarchemail001

The Apple documentation lists the new features as:

 

  • Final Cut Pro X version 10.1.2 adds these features.
    • Optimized, proxy, and rendered media can be stored at any location outside of the library
    • View and set storage locations for each of your libraries using the Library Properties inspector
    • Easily delete optimized, proxy, and rendered media from within Final Cut Pro X
    • Used media indicators for Compound, Multicam, and Synced clips
    • Option to show only unused media in the Browser
    • Apply a standard (Rec. 709) look in real time to high dynamic range and wide color gamut video from ARRI, Blackmagic Design, Canon, and Sony cameras
    • Automatically apply an ARRI embedded 3D LUT from the new AMIRA camera
    • Support for Apple ProRes 4444 XQ
    • Improved speed and accuracy when synchronizing clips
    • Audio recording improvements including countdown and automatic Audition creation from multiple takes
    • Fast export of cuts-only projects containing XDCAM media
    • Export entire library as a single XML file
    • Selecting a library displays key metadata in the Inspector
    • Adjust relative and absolute volume of a clip or range selection
    • Create keywords from Finder Tags when importing media
    • Option to sort events by date or name in the Libraries list
    • Import a clip by dragging directly into the Browser
    • Share 4K video to Vimeo

    Final Cut Pro version 10.1.2 also addresses the following issues

    • Faster opening, closing, copying, and overall performance when working with large libraries
    • Linear and smooth motion interpolation between keyframes applies to both time and distance

Apple now also suggests to before updating you create a zip file of your current Application.

 

see this link: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5550

Below is my video review of new features  and the new transition in the Dissolve Subfolder.

This is taken from the new 14 x hour “Final Cut Pro A-Z” tutorial, soon to be released.

14 x hours of video tutorials

61 x Lessons – Download All Lessons index

Over 600 Topics:

Download Topic list – All topics A-Z

 

We recommend Final Cut Library Manager as a Must have Application:

FC Library manager 2

New Final Cut x will combine Events and Projects

Posted by Web Master in Courses and tagged with , ,

There are some Pointers hidden within the new iMovie.

We could take some pointers from the new iMovie to preview one the changes in Final Cut X 10.1 if we look at the code in the new version of iMovie.

If it is any indication the code in the new iMovie May give some clue of possible changes to the next version of Final Cut Pro.

What it seems to be saying is that Events and Projects maybe combined into what appears to be called a library. This would make sense and would bring it more in line with the Projects in FCP 7 where a Project contained both the raw footage and the timeline. If what is contained within the new iMovie code is any indication, the single container will be called a “Library”.

The following text is contained within the frameworks of the new iMovie:

“In Final Cut Pro 10.1 and later, projects and events are contained in a library.

” Click Update All to create a new library for the projects and events on each connected hard disk.”
” Click Update Later to skip the update process for now.”
” Click Locate to manually create a library for a specific hard disk, folder, or SAN location.”

“Review the newly created libraries and confirm your projects and events are intact before emptying the trash.”
“To skip copying your Projects and Events into the Library, click Ignore. (You may import them later.)”

“Copied Projects and Events can still be opened in earlier versions of %@. To copy your Projects and Events, click OK.” [parts of text that include @ characters can be replaced by the app depending on the context. In this case the text would be ‘iMovie’ or ‘Final Cut Pro’]

“You are editing clips between libraries.”
“You are editing compound clips or multicam clips between libraries”

“The Library must contain at least one Event”

File management

“Consolidate Library Files ”
“Consolidate Library Media”
“Consolidate Library Files will copy all of   external Media into your library.”
“The selected events refer to files outside the library bundle. To copy external media into the library bundle click Continue. You cannot undo this command._”
“Choose the current library or an external folder to consolidate the files into”

“Duplicate Project as Snapshot”
“Duplicate Open Project as Snapshot”

“Open Library Backup”
“To open this library backup, click Save and choose a new location to save the library”
“Opening a library backup will create a new copy of the library and attempt to restore its original media. The current version of library will not be affected.”

“You have projects and events that refer to media on missing hard disks”
“To play back the missing file “%@,” connect the hard drive “%”

There maybe another new feature that allows placing markers on the beat.

Read the following from within iMovie’s code

Markers

“This timeline contains Music Markers”
“%@ can align your clips to the music markers to time them to beats”
“Align Clips at Music Markers”
“Align to Music Markers”
“Edit to Markers”
“Ignore Markers”

“This snapshot is incompatible with the effect bundle part.”
My Effect Bundle
“The selected clip has no %@ effects.”
“Please enter a valid name for the bundle.”
“Could not save bundle”
“Could not save the effects as a bundle.”
.fcpbundle

There maybe also an option to move Projects from iMovie to final cut pro:

The following is also in the iMovie code:

iMovie to Final Cut Pro

“To send your movie to Final Cut Pro, you must have Final Cut Pro version 10.1 or later installed.”
“Send Movie to Final Cut Pro”
“Sending To Final Cut Pro”
“A compatible version of Final Cut Pro cannot be found.”

It will be interesting to see how things pan out.

 

We recommend the plug-in collection
from FCPEffects:

Editingwhizmarchemail001