File management: they’ve taken a page from iMovie, and moved to “Events” and “Projects.” I’m not 100% sure why I need both, and can’t just have a folder with my FCP file, and video files. If you have a file management system you’re used to using, it appears you’ll need to rethink most everything.

Editing: by default the timeline isn’t visible. I spent about a minute and a half swearing and trying to drag clips around. Command+2 brings up the actual timeline you need to put a project together. Also, the default view for the audio portion of the clip is tiny. If you expand it so you can actually see what’s going on with the audio, it looks like you can’t trim audio and video with one move. Think of it like having linked selection off, permanently.

Audio meters are hidden by default, if you click on the icon next to the timecode, it’ll bring them up.

I’m having problems with playback lag. I pulled some 1080p30 ProRes 422 LT clips into FCP X, and it’s definitely dropping frames where it never did before. I’m on an i7 MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM and GT330M, also connected to a 30 inch Cinema Display. Haven’t tried it without the display, but this is ridiculous. If I hit K (stop) while a clip is playing, it takes at least two seconds to respond. It’s set to high quality playback. Switching to “better performance” smooths out the video, but my audio meters still aren’t in real time. This is bad.

They also changed many of the keyboard shortcuts, so my six month old FCP keyboard is useless. They got rid of the F9-12 quick keys to insert clips. It looks like W is the new insert (old F9) and E adds the clip to the end of your sequence.

There is no pen tool. UPDATE: FCP X keyframe editor

Tracks in the traditional sense are gone, you get little bubbles for your clips, which can still be layered. Like this:

There’s no saving, everything is automatic a la iMovie.

I haven’t tried adding non-video media, so I’m not sure how it handles stills or audio yet.

I hate to sound negative, but it seems like they did everything I was afraid of when I first heard about FCP X. Making a video editor that works for absolutely everyone is a pretty tall order, and one I’m not convinced is a good idea at all. I’m not giving up on FCP X, but using it gives me a huge sinking feeling. Did the best video editing suite on the market just take a big step backwards?

UPDATE: I forgot to mention the App Store purchase process. One glaring flaw with my actual purchase of FCP X was that the App Store offers very little control over how  you actually pay for things. If you have a gift card balance, it’s going toward your purchase whether you want it to or not, and it doesn’t support multiple credit cards. I had to go in and switch the payment card over to my business AmEx, then change it back, because I don’t want iTunes purchases going on that card all the time. I also lost my $15 gift card balance. I can write off the cost of FCP, but music isn’t tax-deductible, so it would’ve been nice to actually keep my balance.

The Fall Workshop – a video about headphones from Jamie De Pould on Vimeo.

Stills shot on a D700, music in Garage Band, edited in Final Cut Pro.

Then the hail started from Jamie De Pould on Vimeo.

You can also use an XML export to transfer a Final Cut Project to Adobe Premiere Pro, and from there to a program like After Effects or Photoshop. This cuts down on exporting intermediate files between FCP and other programs.

Whatever the reason, it’s a fairly simple process.

Open the project in Final Cut Pro, and click File>Export>XML

From there, you’ll need to select an XML interchange format. I found that XML 4 works best when you’re transferring back to Final Cut Express. I haven’t tried it with Premiere, so experiment and see what works best.

I generally uncheck “include master clips outside selection,” because this gives you all the clips used in the timeline, but doesn’t include any clips in the browser but not in the timeline. I prefer to import all of my clips at once, rather than try to figure out which ones I’m missing.

I save the XML file in the same location as my .fcp files, and give it a clear name like JAMIEDEPOULD_EXAMPLEPROJECT-XML.

Once that’s done, you can quit Final Cut Pro, and launch Express (or Premiere). From there, simply click File>Import XML from iMovie. Navigate to the XML file you just created, select it, and Final Cut Express will prompt you to save the new project. I generally like to call it YOURNAME_PROJECTNAME-FCE.

When it’s finished, you have your timeline, complete with edits, right there in front of you. Import your assets, and you’re ready to get back to editing. If you’re working on a machine with both Final Cuts Pro and Express, it’s best to control+click on your .fcp, and choose “Open With,” or drag the file onto the correct dock icon. That way, you won’t unwittingly convert a Final Cut Express file to Pro.

Images shot on Nikon, audio recorded on Sound Devices. Edited with Pro Tools LE and Final Cut Pro.

View it in HD

Funk N Waffles, Syracuse, N.Y. from Jamie De Pould on Vimeo.