I'm playing with 10.8 and with audio skimming on (shift s) and using JKL keys to move frame by frame I'm no longer hearing the audio skim. Anyone else experiencing this? I actually use this a lot in my edits so I'll have to hold off on using 10.8 for every day use for now.
I think there may be a terminology problem in how this has been described. There are two fundamental different modes of playback: skimmer and playhead. The skimmer is a red vertical line.
If skimming is enabled, the playhead at rest is white and red in motion, with a little 5-sided pointer at the top. If skimming is disabled, the playhead is red in motion and at rest.
There is also a mode of skimming called clip skimming. The skimmer for that is also a red line, the height of the clip.
You can't move the timeline skimmer with JKL or with arrows. You can only move the timeline itself that way.
I think what is being described is *not* a problem with audio skimming (because the skimmer is not being used), but rather a failure in some cases for frame-by-frame audio when moving the playhead with either JKL or the left and right arrows. This is apparently a problem but it's not "audio skimming".
I can sometimes reproduce it, but it seems unpredictable. With skimming off, if I try frame-by-frame playback on a timeline clip, there may be no audio. Then if I select the clip (border turns yellow) then frame-by-frame playback may have audio. If I move the playhead to the previous clip (which is not selected), frame-by-frame audio playback may continue.
If there is no frame-by-frame audio when moving the playhead, if you disable the skimmer (S toggles) it then enables frame-by-frame audio when moving the playead. That seems reliable.
But if you enable the skimmer, then frame-by-frame audio when moving the playhead with JKL or arrows can be unpredictable.
Full use of FCP usually involves both skimmer and playhead. The skimmer (manipulated by the mouse) works very well for repetitively sweeping an audio clip to find words or syllables. But audio when moving the playhead frame-by-frame with the keyboard seems erratic if the skimmer is enabled.
It appears like a timeline "state problem" which is a typical kind of software bug.
Does this match what others are seeing?
I think there may be a terminology problem in how this has been described. There are two fundamental different modes of playback: skimmer and playhead. The skimmer is a red vertical line.
If skimming is enabled, the playhead at rest is white and red in motion, with a little 5-sided pointer at the top. If skimming is disabled, the playhead is red in motion and at rest.
There is also a mode of skimming called clip skimming. The skimmer for that is also a red line, the height of the clip.
You can't move the timeline skimmer with JKL or with arrows. You can only move the timeline itself that way.
I think what is being described is *not* a problem with audio skimming (because the skimmer is not being used), but rather a failure in some cases for frame-by-frame audio when moving the playhead with either JKL or the left and right arrows. This is apparently a problem but it's not "audio skimming".
I can sometimes reproduce it, but it seems unpredictable. With skimming off, if I try frame-by-frame playback on a timeline clip, there may be no audio. Then if I select the clip (border turns yellow) then frame-by-frame playback may have audio. If I move the playhead to the previous clip (which is not selected), frame-by-frame audio playback may continue.
If there is no frame-by-frame audio when moving the playhead, if you disable the skimmer (S toggles) it then enables frame-by-frame audio when moving the playead. That seems reliable.
But if you enable the skimmer, then frame-by-frame audio when moving the playhead with JKL or arrows can be unpredictable.
Full use of FCP usually involves both skimmer and playhead. The skimmer (manipulated by the mouse) works very well for repetitively sweeping an audio clip to find words or syllables. But audio when moving the playhead frame-by-frame with the keyboard seems erratic if the skimmer is enabled.
It appears like a timeline "state problem" which is a typical kind of software bug.
Does this match what others are seeing?
You're right
same bug here when I use arrow keys on the keyboard
If your pointer is in the timeline, the frame by frame audio skimming doesn't work
But if your pointer is in the viewer, it works...
I just tried on mackbook pro 2019 i9
I didn't try on my mac studio
It's different than the previous version of FCP I'm pretty sure, where audio skimming frame-by-frame worked regardless of where the cursor was.
Yeah, for me, when audio skimming is on (shift S) there's only frame-by-frame audio skimming when the macOS cursor is outside of the timeline. When audio skimming is off, there's no frame-by-frame or otherwise audio skimming at all.
With audio skimming on, dragging around FCP's playhead/pointer does have audio skimming of course , so it seems for me just frame-by-frame (JKL and arrow keys) is broken when the macOS cursor is inside the timeline's window. It's so odd.
As someone who has edited hundreds of multicam interviews on FCP, I agree that frame-by-frame audio playback in the timeline is important. However, audio clip skimming using the actual skimmer still works in 10.8 at a frame level and even at a sample level.
I tend to use JKL commands on the playhead a lot, so the current issue affects me. However there are workarounds.
If you hit the S key to disable skimming, then frame-by-frame audio playback using JKL commands on the timeline playhead seems to work. The S key toggles skimming (inc'l audio skimming) on/off/on, so you can use that to enable frame-by-frame audio using the playhead.
Another workaround is just use the clip skimmer with your mouse. Audio skimming seems to work in that case, and it's easy to do frame-by-frame audio skimming that way.
Hello W. Raider! Same issue here!!! Audioskimming doesn’t work when moving frame by frame… It’s very important to me as well!!! I had to rollback to FCP 10.7.1 to get it working again.
Hope Apple fix it soon!!!
I noticed that over the weekend. There will be frame-by-frame audio skimming when the cursor is anywhere but inside the timeline however once it's inside the timeline, no audio skimming when going frame-by-frame. It's a weird bug or if not, weird design. Another machine at the studio exhibits the same behavior.
Cursor inside timeline no arrow or JKL frame-by-frame audio skimming.
Cursor anywhere else (outside the timeline) and there is proper arrow and JKL frame-by-frame audio skimming.
When audio skimming is off, there's no frame-by-frame or otherwise audio skimming at all.
Not when audio skimming is off, when the skimmer S is off. I get frame by frame playback with KL regardless of where the pointer is. It’s only when the skimmer is on that the position of the pointer seems to matter for K tap L playback, which is not actually audio skimming just frame by frame playback.
Anyway it’s weird and shouldn’t be happening. Probably an easy fix so with a few reports it might get fixed in 8.1. There’s usually an update within a few weeks of a full point release.
Yup. Holding KJ and KL both have audio skimming for me. Holding K and tapping J or L doesn't though.
That's odd. Is the skimming icon blue in the Timeline? I have audio if I hold KL or KJ.
IIRC, this changed a few versions ago. I do remember someone complaining about it, though some others actually prefer it this way. A preference setting would make everyone happy, though. What version do you currently have?
That's strange and definitely should be reported to feedback. The position of the pointer should make no difference to the audio skimming behavior.
Have you read the while thread and the available fixes? Of you’re trying to report this to Apple use feedback. This is user to user only.
Audio Skimming in Frame by Frame was one of the most important feature in FCPX for me. 😢
Please give it back or create a setting where anyone can set if you want to hear audio frame-by-frame or not. For users like me, who are editing interviews it's supper anoying without that :(
I have little blips of sound when I tap L or J with the K key.
I sent some feedback.
10.8 Bug? No Audio Skimming in Frame by Frame?
