3 lessons from a FCPX FILM MAKING MASTERCLASS
If you are newer to film making, or if you are thinking about cutting your next project in Final Cut Pro X, you might enjoy watching this film making masterclass hosted by Director John Williams of Soho Editors.
In this 90 minute course, John takes you through a complete workflow, from initial concept to final color grading, and covers some really useful tips and tricks which help you become faster and more efficient at cutting compelling stories. You will see an expert at work, as John covers topics including direction, shooting and editing, followed by a quick behind-the-scenes presentation on the ‘making of the day’, including footage captured during the Film Scoring Masterclass (found here).
Here are 3 valuable tips and tricks we think you will enjoy:
1 - Luma Keying
John shows us how he uses a luma key to bring a different sky image into a shot. You can find the luma key in Effects under Keying. From the demonstration, this effect seemed to be pretty intuitive and easy to use. This will be helpful whenever you need to key a background or replace part of an image in a clip.
For quick changes the luma keyer should work well, and it’s a whole lot easier than exporting a shot into After Effects or another secondary graphics editor.
2 - The Comparison Viewer (⌃⌘6)
The comparison viewer is used for color correction and is crucial for making your video as look as uniform as possible. Trying to correct each shot on its own can be tedious, especially if you are struggling to match shots from different camera sources. The comparison viewer window lets you view the previous or next clip, side-by-side with one that you are working on, so you can reference it while grading. You can also change the reference image if you need to match a specific look from a previous scene.
The comparison viewer will help you create a consistent grade, by minimizing the amount of variation between shots. A valuable tool for sure.
3 - Assigning Roles
When importing audio clips, you can assign them different roles to help you organize the project. On the right side of the import window there is an “audio roles” section with a drop down window that reads, “automatically.” Once you click this setting, different role options appear for dialogue, effects, and music. You can select the one which applies to the clip(s) you are trying to import and the clip will be assigned to that role when you import it. Clips with assigned roles will appear in the timeline as different colors, depending on the role. Dialogue tracks are blue, effects are cyan, and music are green.
Assigning roles to your audio tracks will make organization a snap and will inevitably help you work faster. You can also use role selections for specific tasks, like sending one lav mic for mastering.
Conclusion
John is a talented film maker and educator. His work at Soho Editors, training visual storytellers, has given him an ability to not only create compelling stories, but also teach these methods to others with clear examples and demonstrations.
We hope you enjoy this film making master class as much as we did. If you are interested in sharing what you found valuable, please comment below!
check out the full video here and below you can find links to specific content
Content Overview
0:00 Mike Roberts, Head of Guildhall School Electronic Music Dept
1:25 John Williams, Multi-Award Winner, Soho Master Editor and Film Director
2:00 90 seconds short film titled Just in Time
4:11 Tutorial begins
4:35 Equipment used
5:22 Shooting in raw
6:18 Concept and location
7:38 Shot list of over 20 scenes
8:10 Behind the scenes
FCPX - IMPORTING AND ORGANIZING MEDIA
10:00 Managing media
12:39 Key wording
14:55 Smart collections
16:36 Rejecting and favoring
20:17 Recap FCPX - EDITING THE IMAGE
21:37 Creating a project timeline
22:00 Appending and trimming clips
25:50 Inserting Clips
28:33 Connecting Clips
29:40 Synchronizing picture with external audio
37:26 Recap
FCPX - ENHANCING THE PICTURE
38:10 Adding effects
41:05 Keying and replacing the sky
44:00 Compound Clips
47:04 Re-timing to slow motion
49:55 Color Correction
58:36 Recap
FCPX - WORKING WITH SOUND
59:32 Adding Atmos
1:01:22 Exporting
1:02:14 Importing Music Stems
1:03:15 Using Roles
1:05:00 Mixing Audio
1:07:55 Recap
Conclusion
1:08:42 Live edit using multiple cameras (Behind the music)
1:24:00 Recap