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FCP advice for beginners
- Thread starter SpanishAppleNerd
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By anything pro? Never is a long time, you cannot know never won't happen.. There are loads of free tutorials, as a very very old video editor, my advice is to shoot some media, read the manual, then play, figure out scenarios you want to achieve, then try and solve for this, in this way, you build up your own understanding of how and what to do, to follow a tutorial that shows how, without explaining the why is really not helpful, at least for me...
When I am tasked with "training" I will guide the learner through a problem, but they must solve it themselves, so they understand it their way, and if they find a solution, that is different, even better, over the years, I have found that I have to adapt my editing to suit time, maybe change a method, not locked into doing it one way, but always adapting, trying, learning...
I have found way too many tutorials are all about showing off what the app can do, without explaining why you would want that, too much focus on technical ability rather than on creative, maybe that is a good thing, but when starting out, it seems so daunting, so overwhelming, massive, you get a sense of depression "I will never know all of this.." The more you play, the more you start to understand relationships between aspects of the app...
Shoot stupid video, brushing teeth, from 3 or 4 angles, or making coffee, build up a number of "b roll" clips, so that you have stock, and learn to use the tools in the app..
That is my advice, it cost $0.00 and maybe worthless... or not..
When I am tasked with "training" I will guide the learner through a problem, but they must solve it themselves, so they understand it their way, and if they find a solution, that is different, even better, over the years, I have found that I have to adapt my editing to suit time, maybe change a method, not locked into doing it one way, but always adapting, trying, learning...
I have found way too many tutorials are all about showing off what the app can do, without explaining why you would want that, too much focus on technical ability rather than on creative, maybe that is a good thing, but when starting out, it seems so daunting, so overwhelming, massive, you get a sense of depression "I will never know all of this.." The more you play, the more you start to understand relationships between aspects of the app...
Shoot stupid video, brushing teeth, from 3 or 4 angles, or making coffee, build up a number of "b roll" clips, so that you have stock, and learn to use the tools in the app..
That is my advice, it cost $0.00 and maybe worthless... or not..
Actually that is very useful. I am a motorsport fan and fond of recording video while travelling, so I have a good collection of videos in my external HDD for me to copy and experiment on. Excellent advice, thanks. I was gonna ask for the manuals, but found it as PDFs on Apple's site. I shall follow your excellent advice, thanks
I am sure that using the manuals and playing around, asking questions, will lead you to a great relationship with the app, I am not a fan of mass produced lecture type tutorials that are thin on the why, but very heavy on "press this to do that..." without explaining what they are doing..
FCP is a wonderful app, extremely useful for logging media, there are so many wonderful tools and built in workflows, enjoy the process and I hope you have fun..
FCP is a wonderful app, extremely useful for logging media, there are so many wonderful tools and built in workflows, enjoy the process and I hope you have fun..
I'm sure you're gonna see me more than once asking Qs on this area of the forum... I am still waiting to get my codes sent, stupid new year holidays lol.
As a fun side note, I am planning to learn FCP while writing my PhD. having active neurones is indeed dangerous haha
Insane, I barely finished high school, tried the college education, gave up, started a small biz, never looked back.. I am sure the PhD will be huge, Dr..welcome to the forums..
Nah. you're far too kind, having a PhD is commonplace if you want to earn a living out of the university... although I must admit it is interesting, to say the least. Having FCP knowledge will be interesting for the teaching innovation project I'm gonna be in
Hope you had a great start to 2024, me, and education, never really clicked... Love the editing though..I do enjoy "teaching" in that I enjoy guiding new users along the pathway of the app, maybe I found the preachy method of education did not gel with me, that is maybe for some folks it works, I am more about I will learn what I need, and no more, any more is just not going to be a useful use of time/energy..
"I have just bought the Education bundle apps but I intend to use the video apps only. I am a complete beginner and a hobbyist, so I do not intend to use Final Cut Pro for anything pro ever. Do you have any advice for a newbie noob like me? Tutorial and plugins recommendations also welcome."
Advice???? Yes. Don't! As a 6 year user of FCP (2015-2021) my advice would be if you do not plan on anything professional then learn how to use iMovie. If your needs are anything more than iMovie, then do not bother with FCP and move on to Davinci Resolve--it is free. I did in late 2021. It is an all-in-one package that includes a video editor, compositor (Fusion) and an audio editor (Fairlight). You do not need any plug-ins for Davinci Resolve.
I began my journey with FCP in 2015 because it ran better on a Mac than Adobe Premier Pro. Stuck with it for 5 years. Even purchased a few plug-ins. But something was never correct. I found grading (color correction) difficult particularly with skin tones. If I wanted to track something (say a title to some point moving across the frame) it did not work exactly. If I want to add some special effect that was not in the FCP, then I would have to go into Motion to develop said effect. Then bring it back into FCP and attempt to keyframe so that it did what I wanted at the right point the timeline. Plug-ins would stop working whenever Apple upgraded their operating system or updated FCP. Need to do green screen? FCP green screen removal is the horrible. You will need to purchase a plug-in. Maybe even pay for the plug-ins again to get updates for the new MacOS.
Davinci Resolve eliminates all of these issues. And, the best part. It is free! Even the updates are free! It runs faster than FCP and you will not need to pay for plug-ins. Why? Because you do not need any plug-ins. Everything is included with Davinci Resolve.`The most difficult thing you will have to learn is color correction (FCP or Davinci Resolve)--skin tones in particular. And, face tone correction is far easier with Davinci Resolve than FCP. Davinci Resolve has a little more of a learning curve than FCP. But it can be over come quickly. Look at Casey Ferris YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/CaseyFaris777
Individuals are moving away from FCP towards Davinci Resolve as evidenced by the shut down of FCP.com. Heck, even Apple is featuring the use Davinci Resolve in their new release commercials.
My two cents. Let the flaming begin.
Don
Advice???? Yes. Don't! As a 6 year user of FCP (2015-2021) my advice would be if you do not plan on anything professional then learn how to use iMovie. If your needs are anything more than iMovie, then do not bother with FCP and move on to Davinci Resolve--it is free. I did in late 2021. It is an all-in-one package that includes a video editor, compositor (Fusion) and an audio editor (Fairlight). You do not need any plug-ins for Davinci Resolve.
I began my journey with FCP in 2015 because it ran better on a Mac than Adobe Premier Pro. Stuck with it for 5 years. Even purchased a few plug-ins. But something was never correct. I found grading (color correction) difficult particularly with skin tones. If I wanted to track something (say a title to some point moving across the frame) it did not work exactly. If I want to add some special effect that was not in the FCP, then I would have to go into Motion to develop said effect. Then bring it back into FCP and attempt to keyframe so that it did what I wanted at the right point the timeline. Plug-ins would stop working whenever Apple upgraded their operating system or updated FCP. Need to do green screen? FCP green screen removal is the horrible. You will need to purchase a plug-in. Maybe even pay for the plug-ins again to get updates for the new MacOS.
Davinci Resolve eliminates all of these issues. And, the best part. It is free! Even the updates are free! It runs faster than FCP and you will not need to pay for plug-ins. Why? Because you do not need any plug-ins. Everything is included with Davinci Resolve.`The most difficult thing you will have to learn is color correction (FCP or Davinci Resolve)--skin tones in particular. And, face tone correction is far easier with Davinci Resolve than FCP. Davinci Resolve has a little more of a learning curve than FCP. But it can be over come quickly. Look at Casey Ferris YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/CaseyFaris777
Individuals are moving away from FCP towards Davinci Resolve as evidenced by the shut down of FCP.com. Heck, even Apple is featuring the use Davinci Resolve in their new release commercials.
My two cents. Let the flaming begin.
Don
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I somewhat agree with Don, Resolve has certain advantages, however, for editing before color grading and the like, for media management, for sorting the media, FCP has it down to a science, the keywording, the hide used media, just those 2 features are worth the price of the app..
Yes Apple has not been at all kind to creatives in the way Apple Inc handled Final Cut Studio [aka classic or "7"] leaving it on an odd update 7.0.3, then going silent for way too many years, then crisis with the launch of FCP X, then the relaunch as FCPX 10.1, then the rename to Final Cut Pro...
Updates are way too infrequent, this led creatives to write an open letter to Apple Inc, that really put Mr Cook in a sour mood, even longer periods of updates, and then when finally there was an update, nothing to write home about...
12 years from launch to get a scrolling timeline that does not work.. I am still using final cut pro 7 professionally, we have FCP 2023 version, the X version, and it helps me professionally..
I detest Resolve, not a fan of Resolve, it is a great app, but it suffers from the syndrome of tracks, and once you start using a trackless system like Final Cut Pro 2023, then going back to a track based system, and the lack of features in X, it is hard, if or when we ever upgrade, I hope it is edit in X, media manage in X, then final grade and publish from Resolve..
I am old school, kind of set in my ways a bit, for kids today, Resolve would not be a handicap, you should work out what is best for your professional or student work...
What frustrates many is the "raw" war, the battle of which "raw" to use, and now it is getting really hard to figure out what to use, logs, luts, raw files, side car files, you need a PHD in Comp Science from a decent US university with the letters M I T or Caltech...
Apple of late has almost slammed Final Cut, every keynote, we all take note of what apps are shown, and more often than not, it is Resolve or shudder Adobe products, which sort of makes sense with Apple now renting Final Cut Pro for ipad.. [Why they rent this for $5 a month, never been explained..as far as I know...]
Final Cut Pro 2023 version is a great app, and you are more than free to learn multiple apps...
Yes Apple has not been at all kind to creatives in the way Apple Inc handled Final Cut Studio [aka classic or "7"] leaving it on an odd update 7.0.3, then going silent for way too many years, then crisis with the launch of FCP X, then the relaunch as FCPX 10.1, then the rename to Final Cut Pro...
Updates are way too infrequent, this led creatives to write an open letter to Apple Inc, that really put Mr Cook in a sour mood, even longer periods of updates, and then when finally there was an update, nothing to write home about...
12 years from launch to get a scrolling timeline that does not work.. I am still using final cut pro 7 professionally, we have FCP 2023 version, the X version, and it helps me professionally..
I detest Resolve, not a fan of Resolve, it is a great app, but it suffers from the syndrome of tracks, and once you start using a trackless system like Final Cut Pro 2023, then going back to a track based system, and the lack of features in X, it is hard, if or when we ever upgrade, I hope it is edit in X, media manage in X, then final grade and publish from Resolve..
I am old school, kind of set in my ways a bit, for kids today, Resolve would not be a handicap, you should work out what is best for your professional or student work...
What frustrates many is the "raw" war, the battle of which "raw" to use, and now it is getting really hard to figure out what to use, logs, luts, raw files, side car files, you need a PHD in Comp Science from a decent US university with the letters M I T or Caltech...
Apple of late has almost slammed Final Cut, every keynote, we all take note of what apps are shown, and more often than not, it is Resolve or shudder Adobe products, which sort of makes sense with Apple now renting Final Cut Pro for ipad.. [Why they rent this for $5 a month, never been explained..as far as I know...]
Final Cut Pro 2023 version is a great app, and you are more than free to learn multiple apps...
Too late lol, although the bit about DR being free is not... true? you have to pay 300 $/€ to get the full version?
After trying Lightroom for a while, I detest the Adobe model with a passion. I have done my calculations and for the price of the full pro apps Apple package I would get apprx 9.5 months of Adobe Premiere... I refuse to abide by the subscription model for such a niche type of software, that's why I paid for Pixelmator and Photomator, be those apps as good or bad as one thinks they are.
About the updates, well, Apple could really update FCPX more frequently, but so could they update a bunch of other apps, am I right? I think the lack of updates is a chronic problem in Apple made apps.
And you are right about learning other apps. One is free to learn any other app one wants, except Premiere which I hate. I think that in the end it is a matter of tastes. One can like FCPX, others Premiere, others Da Vinci, etc.
I tend to think of Apple Final Cut Pro as a sort of operating system, you buy the plug in's you need, Resolve comes in 2 sizes, free and paid, the paid is really like buying a 16 wheel truck to move a box of macaroni... overkill...
It all depends on your needs, FCP is a brilliant app, extremely useful for logging, rough cuts, Resolve is more for high end studio priductions, tv news video editing.. Try them all, there are others, Lumafusion [ I have issues with Lumafusion..]
It all depends on your needs, FCP is a brilliant app, extremely useful for logging, rough cuts, Resolve is more for high end studio priductions, tv news video editing.. Try them all, there are others, Lumafusion [ I have issues with Lumafusion..]
Happy new year by the way! I found out first that I love doing research, I wasn't so sure about teaching, especially at university, but I have tried it and, apart of allowing me to earn all the money needed to spend in all the Apple stuff I have now, which is very satisfying in and of itself, I also discovered I have a penchant for teaching... Never would have I thought that, but it seems I've found my place in this world lol
Although to be fair, teaching in the field I teach (financial economics and accounting), there is not much room to tinker with computers and tech in class, but that could always change don't you think?
I agree, the rental is a stupid solution, why anyone would trust any work to a rental house is beyond my level of comprehension, maybe a Dr PHD in Mental health can explain why someone would rent software...
Back in the 1990's, everyone and their granny had a copy of Premiere Pro, it was the only viable option, yeah, it was "borrowed/shared" with everyone that had a pc.. So I guess they got scared and went rental only.. Not sure that was successful..
Stick with FCP, give it 2024, if not, then download Resolve in 2025... Try one, get used to using it, you might not need what Resolve offers, I would if I had the choice, edit in X/FCP, then grade and publish from Resolve..
Back in the 1990's, everyone and their granny had a copy of Premiere Pro, it was the only viable option, yeah, it was "borrowed/shared" with everyone that had a pc.. So I guess they got scared and went rental only.. Not sure that was successful..
Stick with FCP, give it 2024, if not, then download Resolve in 2025... Try one, get used to using it, you might not need what Resolve offers, I would if I had the choice, edit in X/FCP, then grade and publish from Resolve..
Yeah I don't think Lumavision is for me, too chintzy for my tastes.... I think FCPX is the best app for me, the best for beginners, no AI stuff, no frills, no gimmicks... as you said, FCPX = operating system with plugins to be added
Honestly I find that at least 50% of the people I see using FCP could get by with Mac iMovie. If you don't intend using the pro-features in FCP, doing 'non-pro' stuff is just easier in iMovie. And the same goes for GarageBand vs Logic. There's this stigma that they're both for five year olds or something. It's completely untrue.
I don't think I'll ever have the need for Da Vinci, it seems to pro for me. Overkill, as you said earlier.
Plus if I learn to edit with Final Cut Pro is to make good use of my knowledge
I totally get what you say, I got FCPx because I'd like to go a little bit more pro with my hobby videos, I would like to use my YouTube channel like an archive of sorts for my videos of races, travels, etc and I would like them to look as best as possible even if it means taking on a software with a learning curve just as FCPX
Yes, as you explore FCPX, you can log media with keywords, favorites, reject clips, create a database of clips, then you can forget, once you have logged the clips, keywords, etc, later, just do a search, and there, this is why I love FCPX, it has that power, easy to use, and there is a community of creatives, producing plug ins...Give it time, have fun, and enjoy the journey, I am sure you have made the wise choice, it is for me the right choice starting out.. Any questions feel free to post.. welcome to 2024... good luck on the Dr thing..PHD, well done..
i'll keep this thread in my watched list for when I start having questions... it will be handy for sure... and it will keep my sanity somewhat intact while I navigate the waters of my last year of preparation before my PhD dissertation
Which says lots about the mental health us PhD students have hahah
I am just editing a new music video for my friends, if anything you are interested, feel free to ask.
Thanks for the offer
again my PhD sucks all my will to live.. I mean, time, so I haven't had the chance to read the manual properly 🤣💪🏼
you don't have to read it actually. It is quite intuitiveThanks for the offer