We have many enquiries about writing for FCP.co - we love new interesting stories. This short article explains what you need to know about our content and what you need to supply to get published.
We pride ourselves here on FCP.co by trying to publish original stories that our readers will find interesting.
We like:
- User stories featuring FCPX
- Showcase videos that have been edited with FCPX
- Software or hardware releases that relate to FCPX
- Reports from exhibitions and events
- Tutorials on all the Apple Pro Apps
- Other newsworthy items
What we don't like:
- Sponsored articles that have no relevance to our audience
- Poorly crafted stories designed to grab clicks (although we do like relevant cardinal listicles)
- Churnalism - The recycling of other people's web stories by quoting a short paragraph and then linking to the original
So how do you go about getting an article published on FCP.co?
First thing to do is contact the editor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (click or copy & remove the spaces) and briefly detail the article you are considering writing. This is just to avoid duplication- it has happened!
It might take a while to get back to you as that mailbox gets a LOT of mail!
How do I write the article?
Write what you feel, make it as long as you think the article warrants. Imagine yourself as a reader, what would you find interesting about the story?
Include as much details as you like as our readers love the tekkie stuff. This could include your hardware setup, software versions, codecs e.t.c.
Photos and screen grabs bring life to a story, as do YouTube and Vimeo videos for embedding.
What do I need to supply?
You can supply the story as a Word, PDF or Pages document with embedded photos or a text document indicating where you would like the photos to be placed. It helps a lot if you could also supply a folder with the original sized photos and screengrabs.
Can I supply a bio?
Yes of course, in fact we encourage it! A short bio about yourself can be placed at the bottom of the article with a supplied headshot. Please detail any links to webpages or social media. We are very keen to get people to go to your website or follow you online.
What happens then?
The article will be formatted up for publication and time permitting, you can check it over for mistakes & typos before it goes live.
What we ask
- You have permission to use the content and any images & videos
- We are happy to respect an embargo, but please respect that yourselves. We don't want to do a big PR push with a story to find out it has been out on Facebook overnight.
- Let us know if you are intending to give the article to other outlets.
That all sounds rather formal, it's not, it's just what we have learnt over the years publishing FCP.co and we hope it saves some time by answering some of the more common questions.
So if you have a story, please get in touch and share your article with the Final Cut Pro X community!
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!
