Frustrated with FCP photo montage

[GmElliott]

I'm trying to edit my first photomontage in FCP and I'm having loads of problems. It's a very VERY easy montage- no timing or editing to music required. Just straight images, no audio, with a little ken burns effect.

The problems I'm having are:

1) I dropped all the stills into the timeline but they are all 6 seconds long by default. I figured, no problem I'll go under Final Cut Pro> User Preferences> Editing (tab) and change the "Still/Freeze Duration" from 6:00 to 4:00. Fine...I go back and try dropping the stills back on the timeline and they are STILL 6 seconds long. I even created a NEW sequence just to make sure that wasn't the problem and they are ALWAYS 6 seconds long. I thought chaning the "Still/Freeze Duration" would solve this. Apparently not- how do I resolve this????

2) I meticulously rotated all my images so they are right side up- however when I drop them into a FCP timeline they still display the way they were originally scanned. I even went back to the original file and double clicked it to load it in Preview and they are indeed rotated correctly. Why is Final Cut Pro not detecting my rotation fixes on these files?

3) I want a simple cross dissolve in between each photo however when I load each image into the viewer when I hit ctrl+i to go to the inpoint of the image to add initial keyframes I can't "see" the initial keyframe because it is obscured by the image before it in the timeline. I don't understand why it's doing this- I'm a) Double clicking the image to load it into the viewer for animation (aka Ken Burns effect) b) Hitting shift+i to move the cursor to the first frame to add the keyframes to the attributes I want to animate ...however it's not SHOWING me the first frame it's showing me the image from the picture right before it in the timeline even though it's not the one I loaded into the viewer. Thus I can't make the changes to the first keyframe because I can't SEE what I'm changing!!!!

Ugh I feel like snapping my MacBookPro in half over my knee right about now. :veryangry2: :veryangry2: :veryangry2: :veryangry2:

[AndrewMSV]

Solution: Go back to Vegas for this project. Finish it in 2 hours. Then go back to troubleshoot FCP.

[GmElliott]

I'd rather jump in and deal with the scrapes and bruises now than to lean on Vegas as a crutch. The more I submerse myself now the quicker I will pick it up. That said, if it gets REALLY bad I'll have no choice.

I figured a fewof my own questions sort of....1) I closed FCP and re-opened it and NOW the images I drop into the timeline are 4 seconds instead of 6. It wouldn't update the changes I made till I shut the program off an reloaded it. What a bunch of horse poo. :veryangry2: Again- I even made a NEW sequence after changing the prefrences just to see if that was the issue- which it wasn't. I tried all the troubleshooting avenues.

2) It's rotating the images that are landscapes to make them portraits. WHY?...I have no fricken' clue.

I found another glitch (well maybe user error- but can't figure out what I'm doing wrong)...
4) I want my default transition length to be 2 seconds instead of the default 1 second. I go in and manually change the "length" of the default (underlined) transition in the browser yet every time I add a transition it's STILL only 1 second long.

FCP seems to have issues with changing settings. I'm assuming if I close FCP and reopen it the default transition will be applied at 2 seconds similar to the issue I had with my Still/Freeze duration. :veryangry2:

My absolute BIGGEST problem is the issue with not being able to accurately make Motion changes with keyframes because of transition frames obscuring the first frame of the incoming image. I could simply add the keyframes and motion changes PRIOR to adding the dissolves but then the added handles of the dissolves wouldn't have any motion. I want the image to already be in motion as it's dissolving in rather than start moving the second the dissolve ends. I hope there is a way around this. If not this is SEVERELY limiting.

[Mathew]

I want the image to already be in motion as it's dissolving in rather than start moving the second the dissolve ends. I hope there is a way around this. If not this is SEVERELY limiting.

I'd like an answer to this as well. My work around is to a/b the stills on the timeline and adjust the opacity curves using keyframes. I know that when you've described how easy it was to dissolves with Vegas I was always envious.

Other than that, the simple way I typically do my montages, and it's probably similiar to how you do yours since we're both from the Peregrine School:

First lay all of the clips in order onto the time line. Do a group select of them all then adjust the duration. I then apply movement and effects to the stills as I see fit. I copy and paste motion and effects to different stills to save time. Then when I'm finished I adjust the opacity keyframes to one still and then copy and paste it to all of the others--roughly 1 second at the beginning and end of the still. Finally I take each still individually and a/b them on the timeline. I agree the last part is time consuming and I would like to know a simpler way to achieve seamless motion dissolves between clips. Maybe Joel can chime in about it.

[RatVega]

Solution: Go back to Vegas for this project. Finish it in 2 hours. Then go back to troubleshoot FCP.

Behave Andrew! We aren't about quitting here... :smile:

[Mathew]

Solution: Go back to Vegas for this project. Finish it in 2 hours. Then go back to troubleshoot FCP.

Or go into After Effects because of Vegas limitations and spend twelve hours.

I'm not offended by your remark but as a mod you need to avoid the smart ass quips.

[Mathew]

4) I want my default transition length to be 2 seconds instead of the default 1 second. I go in and manually change the "length" of the default (underlined) transition in the browser yet every time I add a transition it's STILL only 1 second long.


When you edit the duration of a transition you have to do it in the 'Browser' window under 'Length'. Just highlight the duration and change its numerical value. That should stick.

[MediaConcepts]

I'd rather jump in and deal with the scrapes and bruises now than to lean on Vegas as a crutch. The more I submerse myself now the quicker I will pick it up. That said, if it gets REALLY bad I'll have no choice.

I figured a fewof my own questions sort of....1) I closed FCP and re-opened it and NOW the images I drop into the timeline are 4 seconds instead of 6. It wouldn't update the changes I made till I shut the program off an reloaded it. What a bunch of horse poo. :veryangry2: Again- I even made a NEW sequence after changing the prefrences just to see if that was the issue- which it wasn't. I tried all the troubleshooting avenues.



Not sure why you had to restart the program but changing the still frame length in the preferences (as you discovered) is the answer.


2) It's rotating the images that are landscapes to make them portraits. WHY?...I have no fricken' clue.



This one is strange. Never had that happen.


I found another glitch (well maybe user error- but can't figure out what I'm doing wrong)...
4) I want my default transition length to be 2 seconds instead of the default 1 second. I go in and manually change the "length" of the default (underlined) transition in the browser yet every time I add a transition it's STILL only 1 second long.



Control click or right click on the transition you want and choose default transition.


FCP seems to have issues with changing settings. I'm assuming if I close FCP and reopen it the default transition will be applied at 2 seconds similar to the issue I had with my Still/Freeze duration. :veryangry2:


Control click or right click on the transition you want and choose default transition.


My absolute BIGGEST problem is the issue with not being able to accurately make Motion changes with keyframes because of transition frames obscuring the first frame of the incoming image. I could simply add the keyframes and motion changes PRIOR to adding the dissolves but then the added handles of the dissolves wouldn't have any motion. I want the image to already be in motion as it's dissolving in rather than start moving the second the dissolve ends. I hope there is a way around this. If not this is SEVERELY limiting.

In the Motion tab hit shift I to go to the beginning of the clip and shift O to go to the end.

PM me if you are still having problems.

Joe

[AndrewMSV]

Or go into After Effects because of Vegas limitations and spend twelve hours.

I'm not offended by your remark but as a mod you need to avoid the smart ass quips.
Actually, as a mod, I can say whatever the heck I want! ah ha ha ha. JK.

But seriously - I'm not making a 'smart ass quip'. I'm offering a serious solution to Glen's problem. If I had a simple project that is taking him way longer to get done because of software issues, I would go back to my known quantity, get the job done, and THEN go back to troubleshoot.

There's no time to lose!

[Mathew]

In the Motion tab hit shift I to go to the beginning of the clip and shift O to go to the end.

No he's talking about how when he applies a dissolve between two stills that are in motion that you see the 'start and stop' between the two. He wants the motion to appear seamless.

[MediaConcepts]

Ugh I feel like snapping my MacBookPro in half over my knee right about now. :veryangry2: :veryangry2: :veryangry2: :veryangry2:

Don't do that, FedEx it to me!

[GmElliott]

I'd like an answer to this as well. My work around is to a/b the stills on the timeline and adjust the opacity curves using keyframes. I know that when you've described how easy it was to dissolves with Vegas I was always envious.

Other than that, the simple way I typically do my montages, and it's probably similiar to how you do yours since we're both from the Peregrine School:

First lay all of the clips in order onto the time line. Do a group select of them all then adjust the duration. I then apply movement and effects to the stills as I see fit. I copy and paste motion and effects to different stills to save time. Then when I'm finished I adjust the opacity keyframes to one still and then copy and paste it to all of the others--roughly 1 second at the beginning and end of the still. Finally I take each still individually and a/b them on the timeline. I agree the last part is time consuming and I would like to know a simpler way to achieve motion dissolves between clips. Maybe Joel can chime in about it.

So this isn't me being a bumbling newb- I've encountered a definitive limitation. I don't need much I just need to be able to "see" what I'm doing to the image without the handles of the outgoing clip transition obscuring them.

Vegas's Pan/Crop opens up and shows you every frame of the clip from start to stop despite it being part of a transition. It won't even display the overlaping handlles from an adjacent clip- allowing you to make quick and accurate changes to the animation starting and stopping at the VERY "end" of the clip.

I'm sure if you ask Joel you'll find that he A/Bs his stuff. I know he does this with with his standard editing. God bless him, I have tremendous respect for Joel as an artist and as a person but I do know there are more efficient ways of working in FCP. No offense Joel. :notworthy:

[MediaConcepts]

No he's talking about how when he applies a dissolve between two stills that are in motion that you see the 'start and stop' between the two. He wants the motion to appear seamless.

I know. I can read. If you select the clip and then go to the MOTION tab in the viewer, hit shift I - it goes to the beginning of the dissolve which is also the NEW beginning of the clip.

I do this all the time. Works like a charm.

This is assuming the the transitions are already there.

[GmElliott]

Or go into After Effects because of Vegas limitations and spend twelve hours.

I'm not offended by your remark but as a mod you need to avoid the smart ass quips.

I didn't take it that way. In fact it's pretty sound advice- go back and finish it on something I know will work and worry about finding the answers AFTER you've full-filled the deadline.

I just find, despite the extra frustration, it's better in the long run to stick it out and work through the problems that arise. The more problems that arise now the less I'll have to deal with in the future. I still remember the droves of issues I had with Vegas when starting out ...heck, even the first time I tried to author a DVD. I felt like pulling my hair out.

I want to get up and running with FCP asap. I'm sticking with FCP to complete this montage because it's 1) An easy montage and a perfect project to get started with animating stills in FCP beings it doesn't require timing to music etc. and 2) Once I trudge through these issues now I can can be up and running come time for my next project.

Thanks for letting me know you have found similar diffiulty- it's somewhat consoling knowing I'm not the only one.

[GmElliott]

When you edit the duration of a transition you have to do it in the 'Browser' window under 'Length'. Just highlight the duration and change its numerical value. That should stick.

That's EXACTLY what I did- it didn't work. I found if I ctrl+click and choose make default transition (despite the fact it's ALREADY the default) it will THEN work. I wonder why there is a discrepency between our programs. ????

In other words if I highlight the "Length" of the default (underlined) Cross Dissolve and manually change it to 2 seconds and hit return. When I cmd+T or ctrl+click a transition and choose add transition it shows up with the default 1 second transition despite the fact that I manually changed it. If I go and choose "set as default transition" redundantly on the ALREADY default transition it will finally pick up the change in length.
:confused:

[docile]

So this isn't me being a bumbling newb- I've encountered a definitive limitation. I don't need much I just need to be able to "see" what I'm doing to the image without the handles of the outgoing clip transition obscuring them.


This is how I make motion changes:

Set the playhead position to the first frame where you can see the image you want adjusted
Adjust the position of the image so you can see the changes you are making.
Then drag the keyframe back to the start of the transition.

[GmElliott]

I know. I can read. If you select the clip and then go to the MOTION tab in the viewer, hit shift I - it goes to the beginning of the dissolve which is also the NEW beginning of the clip.

I do this all the time. Works like a charm.

This is assuming the the transitions are already there.

Yeah the problem is when you hit shift+i (for example) and to to the first frame in the still you can't accurately make changes to it's size and position because it'll be obscured by the outgoing transition on the adjacent clip. I can turn on wireframe and see where it is as a generalization but it's not accurate for proper framing beings I'm seeing the wireframe of the clip I'm editing but the image of the previous clip.
I wonder if there is a way to view all the frames of a clip that is in between to other clips with transtions and NOT be obscured at it's edges. It's the only way to make accurate changes in Motion.

Please don't tell me they dropped the ball on this. I already have to go OUT of the program to do any audio normalization, I hope it's not the same for a simple photomontage with dissolves. :veryangry2:

[GmElliott]

This is how I make motion changes:

Set the playhead position to the first frame where you can see the image you want adjusted
Adjust the position of the image so you can see the changes you are making.
Then drag the keyframe back to the start of the transition.

Sounds like a PITA but is there a way to do that without accidentally dragging slightly up or down as you pull the keyframe back to the edge? Is there a modifier key that will lock the keyframe at it's current setting and allow you to ajust it's hoizontal position on the Motion timeline without unwantingly nudging an attribute up or down in value?

[MediaConcepts]

In other words if I highlight the "Length" of the default (underlined) Cross Dissolve and manually change it to 2 seconds and hit return. When I cmd+T or ctrl+click a transition and choose add transition it shows up with the default 1 second transition despite the fact that I manually changed it. If I go and choose "set as default transition" redundantly on the ALREADY default transition it will finally pick up the change in length.
:confused:

In your browser, change the length of your transition and hit enter. THEN right click on that transition in the browser to set the default transition.

[docile]

Sounds like a PITA but is there a way to do that without accidentally dragging slightly up or down as you pull the keyframe back to the edge? Is there a modifier key that will lock the keyframe at it's current setting and allow you to ajust it's hoizontal position on the Motion timeline without unwantingly nudging an attribute up or down in value?

I don't usually have any problems with values changing as long as I have snapping on ('n' for keyboard shortcut ;) and keep the mouse in the general vertical position of the keyframe.

It's not that much of a hassle. I just set the keyframes and then move them into the correct position in the timeline. With snapping on, it's pretty easy.

[MediaConcepts]

Instead of changing the length of transitions all the time, why not make a transition with several lengths?

http://videographybymediaconcepts.com/images/favorites.gif

[RatVega]

I'd rather jump in and deal with the scrapes and bruises now than to lean on Vegas as a crutch. The more I submerse myself now the quicker I will pick it up. That said, if it gets REALLY bad I'll have no choice.

Never forget that for a simple montage, you always have iPhoto which can create a 5-minute montage of startling quality in minutes... It's designed for the "after-the-fact" kind of workflow.

I figured a fewof my own questions sort of....1) I closed FCP and re-opened it and NOW the images I drop into the timeline are 4 seconds instead of 6. It wouldn't update the changes I made till I shut the program off an reloaded it. What a bunch of horse poo. :veryangry2: Again- I even made a NEW sequence after changing the prefrences just to see if that was the issue- which it wasn't. I tried all the troubleshooting avenues.

FCP works against the asset base (not the timeline) in cases like this. The system prefs are not "dynamic" in the sense that they will change what you've already done. Restarting FCP invoked the new duration; I'm thinking that if you'd deleted and re-imported the images it'd have done the same thing.

A workflow I use a lot is to run my scans (and digital camera caps) through Pshop for a very quick clean-up and then into a folder for organization. If I know the order I want, I can control that at this point. I then import the entire folder into FCP, I can even throw the folder onto the timeline and will do so if the photos are in order.

2) It's rotating the images that are landscapes to make them portraits. WHY?...I have no fricken' clue.

If the image source (in browser) is a portrait view, that's what will go to the timeline. Again, orientation is part of my Pshop clean-up (I have actions set up) as well as resizing for the monster formats like 8.2MP.

It's not clear to me where you're doing your re-orientation...

If the source is landscape view and they're rotating as they go to the timeline then indeed you may have found something... we should talk if this is the case.

On Item 3 from your initial post:
"I want a simple cross dissolve in between each photo however when I load each image into the viewer when I hit ctrl+i to go to the inpoint of the image to add initial keyframes I can't "see" the initial keyframe because it is obscured by the image before it in the timeline. I don't understand why it's doing this- I'm a) Double clicking the image to load it into the viewer for animation (aka Ken Burns effect) b) Hitting shift+i to move the cursor to the first frame to add the keyframes to the attributes I want to animate ...however it's not SHOWING me the first frame it's showing me the image from the picture right before it in the timeline even though it's not the one I loaded into the viewer. Thus I can't make the changes to the first keyframe because I can't SEE what I'm changing!!!!

I think I see what's happening here, and it's one of those "wow, I didn't know" kind of things (though in your case you probably knew and overlooked.) If you have already placed the cross dissolve, Viewer sees its "first frame" as the beginning of the transition (out on the leading "tail") so you'll probably see an image in Canvas that is a frame of the previous shot composited with the first frame of the shot you're trying to work. This can be very handy if you're doing something like ramping a blur you've put on the transition but can also get confusing... Starting your animation here will cause the incoming frame to start moving as the transition starts.

The Q&E way to set the initial keyframes (if you want them to start animating after the dissolve) is: in the timeline use your up arrow to go to the cut point, then double-click the shot into Viewer. Then, either the Keyframe button on the Viewer or Control-K will set initial keyframes at that point.

4) I want my default transition length to be 2 seconds instead of the default 1 second. I go in and manually change the "length" of the default (underlined) transition in the browser yet every time I add a transition it's STILL only 1 second long.

FCP seems to have issues with changing settings. I'm assuming if I close FCP and reopen it the default transition will be applied at 2 seconds similar to the issue I had with my Still/Freeze duration. :veryangry2:

Er... let's just say FCP "defends" it's defaults more than some apps... (something I wish Pshop would do.) To do what you want to do, double-click the transition to be altered from the Effects tab in browser into Viewer. Make the changes, then drag the altered transition into the Favorites bin in the Effects tab. Once there, rename the transition something like Cross Dissolve 200 so you'll be able to differentiate it, then control-click on the it and set Set Default. Now it'll come in on the Cmd-T shortcut...

My absolute BIGGEST problem is the issue with not being able to accurately make Motion changes with keyframes because of transition frames obscuring the first frame of the incoming image. I could simply add the keyframes and motion changes PRIOR to adding the dissolves but then the added handles of the dissolves wouldn't have any motion. I want the image to already be in motion as it's dissolving in rather than start moving the second the dissolve ends.

I commented on procedures above, so I think that's covered. I understand the frustration involved (you have no idea...) but if you think about it, what difference does it make what's in the Canvas? You're setting keyframes. Now if the total movement to end of transition is an issue, just (making sure you have the Viewer window selected) step (or play) the clips from there. I do this all the time when I'm doing frame-critical work; stepping while watching Canvas to see what each (composited) frame is doing. I like it because if I find a problem or anomaly I'm right where I need to be to scoot the keyframes around.

I hope there is a way around this. If not this is SEVERELY limiting.

Like all things in life, we set most of our limitations... :smile:

Hope this helps.

[GmElliott]

In your browser, change the length of your transition and hit enter. THEN right click on that transition in the browser to set the default transition.

Yeah that's what I'm describing I found out through trial and error. I don't understand why changing the length on the default transition wouldn't take effect automatically. Why do you have to redundantly set it at the default transition when it's ALREADY the default?

Also what's the deal with the Still/Freez duration not taking effect? I found what I really have to do is start an entirely NEW project to get it to stick. ?????

Lastly does anyone know why FCP is rotating my images? Many of my images that are wider than they are tall are turned sidways viewing in portrait mode when dropped on the timeline????

[GmElliott]

Like all things in life, we set most of our limitations... :smile:

Hope this helps.

Tom can I call you? PM me your # at your earliest convenience- thanks!

[bruceo]

Or go into After Effects because of Vegas limitations and spend twelve hours.

I'm not offended by your remark but as a mod you need to avoid the smart ass quips.

Yeah Andrew! You should have been honest and told him that he could finish it in 15 minutes with Ultimate S. Oh....duh... that's Vegas script not FCP...Sorry :grinning-smiley-021

[Scott S]

Or go into After Effects because of Vegas limitations and spend twelve hours.

I'm not offended by your remark but as a mod you need to avoid the smart ass quips.

That's too funny.....Makes me think of pots and kettle or something...

:D

Besides, Andrew knows that Vegas is for editors who can't handle a grown up application. ;)

(It's a joke Andrew, don't ban me!!)

Scott

[gl]

Since you have been ablely assisted by so many I will refrain from technical comments but, the potential FCS workflow is not being utilized to it's full advantage - your thinking like a Vegas guy still :eusa_think:

For a simple photo montage you could do it in iPhoto like was mentioned by our esteemed Rat. The only problem with this is if you want to make adjustments to it later the iPhoto method becomes problematic. However, you may want to look into Motion for this as there are some vey simple ways of doing this in there. If you use the RoundTrip methodology, then the montage becomes an asset like a photo still that you would edit in with Motion becoming the asset editor. With sufficient RAM you don't even have to close FCP when making the changes - just launch the editor (Motion) make the changes, save and cmd-tab back to FCP. This is the way I prefer to work personally but, I realize it takes a modality shift.

I highly recommend anyone who has not given Motion a solid chance to go through it and take the time to learn the basics. It is a powerful app for a lot of uses and makes simple work of things like this. It also runs very well on the MBP.

-gl

[Scott S]

Yeah that's what I'm describing I found out through trial and error. I don't understand why changing the length on the default transition wouldn't take effect automatically. Why do you have to redundantly set it at the default transition when it's ALREADY the default?

Also what's the deal with the Still/Freez duration not taking effect? I found what I really have to do is start an entirely NEW project to get it to stick. ?????

Lastly does anyone know why FCP is rotating my images? Many of my images that are wider than they are tall are turned sidways viewing in portrait mode when dropped on the timeline????

You haven't said what application you are using to rotate them initially. If it's Aperature or iPhoto, they don't actually change the original file. They save an instruction to display it with your changes when viewing them inside the app. Non destructive editing. You will need to use Photoshop to "destructively" change their rotation. Using this method, I have never seen the problem you are experiencing.

Cheers,
Scott

[GmElliott]

Scott; I used Adobe Bridge. That could be the problem. Oddly enough though Apple Preview displays it as if the rotation has already occured.
I spoke to Tom tonight on the phone and he had me do some troubleshooting steps and we realized if I open it up in photoshop and "save as" out to another file it opens up correctly. Odd.

GL; I haven't even learned Motion yet but it sounds like an interesting idea. Thanks for the heads up. Right now I've learned FCP and am in the midst of Soundtrack Pro training. DVDSP and Motion are next.

I've come to the realization that FCP sucks for editing photomontages. Vegas's pan/crop tool is such a spoiler. On another note I'm close to finishing my first wedding piece (Bridal Prep) in Final Cut Pro. I'm really liking the workflow. :dance1:

Thanks Tom for all your time- you are the best! :icon_cool: Also thank you all for the quick replies and multiple inputs. I appreciate the support tremendously. :notworthy:

[MediaConcepts]

I've come to the realization that FCP sucks for editing photomontages. Vegas's pan/crop tool is such a spoiler. On another note I'm close to finishing my first wedding piece (Bridal Prep) in Final Cut Pro. I'm really liking the workflow. :dance1:

Thanks Tom for all your time- you are the best! :icon_cool: Also thank you all for the quick replies and multiple inputs. I appreciate the support tremendously. :notworthy:

I also hated FCP when I made the transition from Media 100 because I wanted it to function like Media 100. When you let go of your old ways and learn all the tricks and power of FCP you'll change your mind.

Don't hate,
Joe

[Psynema]

Or go into After Effects because of Vegas limitations and spend twelve hours.

I'm not offended by your remark but as a mod you need to avoid the smart ass quips.

Ban

[D4rK F0CuS]

Ban
89
Rumor has it Apple will be releasing Final Montage Pro 1.0.

[tbanucci]

GM-

FCP lags a little for making good, smooth photo montages. A great and cheap solution I found is to use a program called "Still Life". You can make a 10 minute montage with 100 pictures in about 30 minutes. It's really a great piece of software. Then you export the QT file it makes into FCP and make your edits/combine to music in there.

Still Life (http://www.grantedsw.com/still-life/)

[Edward]

Yeah Andrew! You should have been honest and told him that he could finish it in 15 minutes with Ultimate S. Oh....duh... that's Vegas script not FCP...Sorry :grinning-smiley-021

Actually, Bruce, Glen already has Excalibur which can do the same thing. Complete slide show with motion: < 1 second! Maybe FCP needs to add scripting.


Besides, Andrew knows that Vegas is for editors who can't handle a grown up application. ;)

Naaahhh... Vegas is for editors who like to get the job DONE. :innocent0007:

[RatVega]

Actually, Bruce, Glen already has Excalibur which can do the same thing. Complete slide show with motion: < 1 second! Maybe FCP needs to add scripting.

As I mentioned above, iPhoto (which came with the machine) is just about perfect for this sort of thing, and will export straight to iDVD...

FCP has scripting capabilities, but I'm not aware of one for mundane things served by free apps... FCP shines when the complexity approaches what most people are using AE for... :smile:


Naaahhh... Vegas is for editors who like to get the job DONE. :innocent0007:

And as several have noted, FCP is for editors who like to get the job DONE WELL. :innocent0007::innocent0007:

[GmElliott]

Heyyyy now, I have to rise to Edwards defense. :wink:

I ended up having to use Vegas to do the photomontage. I used Excalibur to reduce the time required expedientially. :dance1:

That said I'm really REALLY enjoying the workflow of sequences/tabbed timelines!

+1 for Vegas in regards to better tools and workflow for photomontages.

+1 for FCP in regards to workflow and project management.

[Scott S]

Heyyyy now, I have to rise to Edwards defense. :wink:

I ended up having to use Vegas to do the photomontage. I used Excalibur to reduce the time required expedientially. :dance1:

That said I'm really REALLY enjoying the workflow of sequences/tabbed timelines!

+1 for Vegas in regards to better tools and workflow for photomontages.

+1 for FCP in regards to workflow and project management.


You didn't even try motion (the motion graphics program) for it?

-1 for Glen for falling off the wagon and not trying to use the right tool for the right job! ;)

Cheers,
Scott

[Maureen]

How about a quick "motion for photomontages" tutorial?

[bruceo]

You didn't even try motion (the motion graphics program) for it?

-1 for Glen for falling off the wagon and not trying to use the right tool for the right job! ;)

Cheers,
Scott

What if you need to mix an extensive amount of photo video for a multimedia montage? Flip back and forth between motion and FCP?

[GmElliott]

You didn't even try motion (the motion graphics program) for it?

-1 for Glen for falling off the wagon and not trying to use the right tool for the right job! ;)

Cheers,
Scott

Heyyyy, 1 program at a time. I'm amazed I retained so much from FCP in such a short period of time. I'm learning Aperature, Soundtrack, and DVDSP now. Motion is next. :smile:

[Scott S]

What if you need to mix an extensive amount of photo video for a multimedia montage? Flip back and forth between motion and FCP?

Flipping back and forth isn't really as much of a hassle as it wounds....motion is kin of integrated with FCP much like livetype, soundtrack pro, etc...

It's this combo of Final Cut Studio that makes it so much more powerful a solution that vegas and many other programs.


Scott

[RatVega]

Okay, okay...

I sort of perpetuated this "bickering", but then I can be a cranky old f@rt from time to time. Here's the "real deal" as I see it:

• I jumped Edward more for rubbing my jingoist side more than anything. :smile: I recognize Vegas as a decent editing tool that has undergone a lot of improvements over the last couple of years, but this is a Mac forum. I honestly don't know it's full capabilities (especially when you throw in something like Excalibur) and doubt that I'll commit the time to discover it since I'm a Mac guy and am buried in production that requires pretty much everything in my current suite of Final Cut Studio/Shake/Boris/etc. I don't think this is an extraordinarily narrow view, just a realistic one.

In the absence of hard data, I usually resort to well considered logic. In this case that logic includes these points: 1.) Apple isn't the only one making good editing software, but Apple software (especially free Apple software) that gets the job done pretty much seamlessly is probably preferable to alternative solutions. 2.) That said, other solutions may have features that make them attractive but leaving the Macintosh environment isn't what most of us here signed up for. :smile: 3.) In the end, the editor and his "comfort level" will be a major determinant.

• The original assignment was for a "vanilla" montage and sounded like exactly what iPhoto can do. I'm a ProApps guy, but not a stupid one. My wife can jump on iPhoto, load/cull/order a hundred photos, add music that will either play to the last photo or cut the photo durations to fit the music, add transitions and Ken Burns, and take the whole thing to iDVD and be burning in 1-2 hours. I have "issues" with the lack of AC-3 audio and the "template" approach (hey, I'm a geek...) but it's a viable, productive workflow for the level it represents.

• As many of you may be aware, I snicker at After Effects. This is mainly because I have had Boris RED for years and could never justify the purchase of AE to do work that I do about 80-90% in the FCP timeline and 10-20% in RED (or more recently I share with Motion.) This doesn't make AE bad, it just makes it and systems like it superfluous. It's probably easier to use than RED but I doubt it has the reach.

• Motion is an excellent motion graphics system but not the first place I'd turn for a quickie montage. I'm betting that most of us don't have a real "command" of Motion because it has an amazing amount of depth. I include myself on the "most of us" list even though I just finished a couple of months working in the environment doing HD titling and animation. I have created montages in Motion, but usually because the requirements were far beyond "vanilla." If I were tasked with giving Maureen a "quick Motion for photomontages" tutorial, the first line would probably be "Learn Motion" and the second (and final) line would be "Go Crazy". It has huge potential.

So, no offense to anyone and no demerits to anyone for how they solve their workflow issues. Each of us has a slightly different need and slant on the problems at hand; and there is no "right' answer, just possibilities.

Gotta finish with a quote that I like for this kind of thing: "You're unique... just like everyone else."

[mxlplx]

That's EXACTLY what I did- it didn't work. I found if I ctrl+click and choose make default transition (despite the fact it's ALREADY the default) it will THEN work. I wonder why there is a discrepency between our programs. ????

In other words if I highlight the "Length" of the default (underlined) Cross Dissolve and manually change it to 2 seconds and hit return. When I cmd+T or ctrl+click a transition and choose add transition it shows up with the default 1 second transition despite the fact that I manually changed it. If I go and choose "set as default transition" redundantly on the ALREADY default transition it will finally pick up the change in length.
:confused:

Glen,

Drag a copy of the Cross Dissolve transition in the browser to the FAVORITE folder in the browser. Double click the COPIED copy and change your length, then ctrl click the COPIED copy and put it as default transition. I think because the transitions are locked and you can't make permanent changes....that's what the favorites folder is for.

E