Final Cut Pro , ready or NOT
D3Sshooter
Registered Users Posts: 1,188 Major grins
Hey,
I have tried for a few days the latest Final Cut Pro for apple. Lots of very nice features, BUT it has been stuck or crashed at numerous instances. Even with small movies. I either crashes with a report or just stalls and in one case the whole IMAC was frozen..... Strange for a new release.
It can not be the IMAC as I use the new 27 inch i7 with 8G memory.
I really wonder if I should buy it after the trial period.:scratch
Anybody with a similar experience ??
I have tried for a few days the latest Final Cut Pro for apple. Lots of very nice features, BUT it has been stuck or crashed at numerous instances. Even with small movies. I either crashes with a report or just stalls and in one case the whole IMAC was frozen..... Strange for a new release.
It can not be the IMAC as I use the new 27 inch i7 with 8G memory.
I really wonder if I should buy it after the trial period.:scratch
Anybody with a similar experience ??
A photographer without a style, is like a pub without beer
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I am not sure what's going on on your machine and what else you have installed that could cause a conflict.
You should start with Larry Jordan's FCP X troubleshooting tips: http://www.larryjordan.biz/app_bin/wordpress/archives/1623
You could also try this - when you bring in your H.264 DLRS clips, try the "transcode to Proxy" option. FCP X will create smaller sized proxy files in a scaled down version of its ProRes 422 codec. This format should put very little strain on your Mac. Even though FCP X can deal with H.264 natively, you're still putting your computer through a heavy workout. Proxy allows you to work much faster and more efficiently, and whenever you want to look at your sequence in full resolution, in FPC X preferences / playback - simply switch from "proxy" back to "original media". It's one of the coolest features of FCP X.
What about hard drive speed? Where do you store the media you use in your FCP X events? How full are your drives? All this could contribute to the problems you're having.
--- Markus ---
Thanks for the reply.
The issues I have seen are both with H.264 and native JPEG pictures (1080 at 72 DPI). A small movie 3 minutes with 20 pictures (JPEG each 400K) is already crashing when applying certain effects such as blurs and the rolling text (trapezium).
The IMAC i7 is new 8 G mem, 2 Terra HD (90% free) storage in the default FCP area's. Besides the FCP and the default MAC applications I have LR and CS-5 installed. So that should not be an issue.
The Macbook Pro is fairly new
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro6,2
Processor Name: Intel Core i7
Processor Speed: 2,66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 4 GB
I will check the link,,,, so you recommend to go for it anyhow ?
Yes, I do recommend it, despite the strange problems you're having. I am a professional editor (working in a collaborative environment with other editors). I use the old Final Cut Pro on a daily basis. Unfortunately FCP X is not (yet) suited for us high-end editors. But I do personal DSLR projects for fun on the side. And for these projects I am using FCP X only. I have to say - Apple built this app with DSLR shooters in mind. I also have Premiere Pro CS 5.5 installed on my system, but FCP X is way more fun and a lot easier to use (for DSLR projects, IMHO).
If you end up taking the plunge and getting it - I highly recommend you download this free and very helpful app called FCS REMOVER http://www.digitalrebellion.com/fcsremover/
It makes it very easy to remove FCP X (including the trial version) along with all its preference files and other little things you might otherwise miss. Highly recommended. By the way - that's another big advantage FCP X comes with - the APP STORE! I have already erased and reinstalled it twice - for troubleshooting a problem I had with Compressor. And thanks to FCS REMOVER and the APP STORE you just click on re-install and it's being downloaded and restored without you having to mess with any installation discs or serial numbers.
I also have CS5.5 installed on my MacBook Pro along with LR and I don't have any problems at all. So, do try to erase the app and start from scratch. This could potentially solve your crashing problems. And by the way - 8 GB is a must for FCP X. If you can put an extra 8 into your iMac - even better.
--- Markus ---
Do you shoot with flat picture profile and correct it in FCP X? If so what do you use?
Hmmm I only found the 299$ full version in the App store <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/ne_nau.gif" border="0" alt="" >
After seeing your post about the movie with the 7D and the shooting with flat picture style and then applying color correction/contrast in an app - all i can say is that deck chair screen grab blew me away - i want to shoot video with THAT kind of image quality!! <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/thumb.gif" border="0" alt="" >
Thanks
Jase
Jase // www.stonesque.com
Yes, the 299 full version is the only version there is. Pretty cheap for a full-blown editing app, I'd say. They do however have a trial version - just follow this link: http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/trial/
In terms of picture styles - I am using two and I haven't fully decided which one is more useful -
- the free Technicolor Cinestyle http://www.technicolor.com/en/hi/cinema/filmmaking/digital-printer-lights/cinestyle
- and this one, which is 19 bucks (but well worth it!) http://www.cineplus.ch/cinema.html
The not-free Cinema style is quite close to NOT having to do anything in post and I think I prefer that one for many projects. You can and should still grade. The Technicolor one takes more work - or a plugin that reverses the flat curve automatically, but it's not free: http://pomfort.com/formats/pluginsfcp.html
In terms of sharpness - I am torn. It's actually not that difficult to sharpen in post. And fortunately FCP X has opened up the plug-in world greatly and made products so much cheaper. I really like this one: it's called FINISHER and it's FCP X only. http://www.crumplepop.com/?page_id=1086 A graet way to put the finishing touches on shots and it comes with good a built in sharpener. That's really all I use and need these days.
if you want to shoot with a bit of sharpening or not sharpening - well that's up to you. At least with tools like FINISHER, it's easy to make your images look as crisp as you want.
Another important tip when working with FCP X:
When you're on a laptop, turn BACKGROUND RENDERING off!! And set your playback quality to BETTER PERFORMANCE. Makes a gigantic difference!!!! So much faster.
Hope that helps.
--- Markus ---
it's still quite intimidating to me as i've no idea where to start - but i've found a preset for the d7000 which is meant to emulate the technical cinestyle of the canon - so will start with that maybe and see how i go.
No idea yet how to use FCP X and unsure as to what I have to do to get the contrast and color back after using one of these ultra flat dull presets - but i'll take a look at colorpop.
i'm kinda of itching to move away from iMovie but not yet sure if i really should - if it's worth my time and effort...
Cheers
Jase
Jase // www.stonesque.com
If you're using iMovie right now - it'll be easy for you to use FCP X. And it's a huge step forward and (especially for iMovie users) you can keep it very simple or you can make it more complex. it's up to you. Even for family stuff it's so much more powerful (in a non-complex way) than iMovie....
May I suggest taking a look a video tutorial - either by rippletraining or macprovideo or lynda.com - well worth the money. Also take a look at this excellent site that covers FCP X on a daily basis: http://www.fcp.co/
They also have links to a lot of free tutorials as a start.
Good luck and return for questions any time.
Markus