Welcome to an occasional article about writing plugins, video editing and generally anything else in the video world that we find interesting.
This article first appeared on the Idustrial Revolution website.
In this first post:
- Functionality is key with Final Cut Pro plugins
- How to add another angle to a single clip already edited on the timeline
- We love text, this video proves it!
FCP Plugin Functionality is Key
There’s a lot of Final Cut Pro plugins out there now. It is very easy to jump into Motion and build a quick effect, title, generator (stay clear of these) or transitions.
What’s more difficult is to make a plugin that does a task well and offers the functionality that an editor needs. Sometimes the rush to get a product to market overtakes the need to spend more time developing the product.
This isn’t just a case of publishing every parameter possible, it’s working out how the plugin will be used on the timeline and modifying its construction to suit.
An example here might be linking colours of objects together so that colour schemes can be easily applied via singular controls, but, have the ability to manually enter each colour if needed.
Here’s an example, the colour picker in our Viral Video plugins.
And while we are on the subject of our (rather excellent) Viral Video plugins, another hidden feature is that they now all work flawlessly in 16:9 landscape, 1:1 Square and 9:16 vertical video. That’s a lot of Motion programming under the hood that’s invisible, but highly beneficial to the editor. All the animations line up, no matter where they are on the screen or from where they animate in from.
That’s why the free plugins trial that FxFactory delivery system uses helps a lot. You can try the plugin out for yourself and see if it actually does what it says on the tin. Try your logo, your colours, your data before committing to purchasing.
How to Add an Angle to a Single Clip Already Edited on the Timeline
How many times have you been surprised by a client or cameraman (Sorry the card was in my bag all the time) suddenly producing another angle of an interview?
To add a new angle to an edited interview on the timeline is a complete pain in the rear, it’s probably quicker to build a new multicam and then re-edit the sequence.
We came across this new app recently called Multicam Express from FontGear that might have a very quick fix to this problem.
Without trying it out ourselves (There is a demo version to download) this looks like a huge timesaver. Once you have a multicam clip on the timeline, you can add as much as much video and audio as you like.
It might also be a quick way of replacing a third-party generated proxy clip with the full resolution version and/or a polywav.
Have you tried it out? Let us know in the comments below!
We Love Text, Watch This Video!
Finally, for inspiration we thought we would publish this video from Max Cooper. Amazing stuff and great creativity going on, although it has put us off opening Microsoft Excel for a while!
I am the Editor-in-Chief of FCP.co and have run the website since its inception ten years ago.
I have also worked as a broadcast and corporate editor for over 30 years, starting on one inch tape, working through many formats, right up to today's NLEs.
Under the name Idustrial Revolution, I have written and sold plugins for Final Cut Pro for 13 years.
I was made a Freeman of Lichfield through The Worshipful Company of Smiths (established 1601). Though I haven't yet tried to herd a flock of sheep through the city centre!
Current Editing
2020 has been busy, the beginning of the year was finishing off a new property series (cut on FCP) for Channel 4 called The Great House Giveaway. I also designed and built the majority of the graphics as Motion templates. It has been a great success and the shows grabbed more viewers in the 4pm weekday slot than any previous strand. It has been recommissioned by C4 for 60 episodes, including prime-time versions and five themed programmes. The shows have also been nominated for a 2021 BAFTA.
Although both were postponed to later in the year, I worked again on ITV's coverage of the Tour de France and La Vuelta. 2020 was my 25th year of editing the TdF and my 20th year as lead editor. The Tour was the first broadcast show to adopt FCPX working for multiple editors on shared storage.
BBC's Snooker has played a big part in my life, I've been editing tournament coverage since 1997. I'm proud to be part of a very creative team that has pioneered many new ideas and workflows that are now industry standard in sports' production. This is currently an Adobe Premiere edit.
Covid cancelled some of the regular corporate events that I edit such as trade shows & events. I was lucky however to edit, from home, on projects for Amazon Kindle, Amazon Black Friday, Mastercard and very proud to have helped local charitable trust Kendall & Wall secure lottery funding.
As for software, my weapon of choice is Final Cut Pro and Motion, but I also have a good knowledge and broadcast credits with Adobe Premiere Pro, MOGRT design and Photoshop.
Plugin Design & Development
I'm the creative force behind Idustrial Revolution, one of the oldest Final Cut Pro plugin developers. It hosts a range of commercial and free plugins on the site. One free plugin was downloaded over a thousand times within 24 hours of release.
I also take on custom work, whether it is adapting an existing plugin for a special use or designing new plugins for clients from scratch. Having a good knowledge of editing allows me to build-in flexibility and more importantly, usability.
FCP.co
Now in its 10th year and 4th redesign, running FCP.co has given me knowledge on how to run a large CMS- you are currently reading my bio from the database! Although it sounds corny, I am pretty well up on social media trends & techniques, especially in the video sector. The recent Covid restrictions has enabled live FCP.co shows online. This involves managing a Zoom Webinar through Restream.io to YouTube and Facebook.
The Future
I'm always open to new ideas and opportunities, so please get in touch at editor (at) fcp.co. I've judged film competitions, presented workflow techniques to international audiences and come up with ideas for TV shows and software programs!
